Why a second Christmas tree may be good fir you

GOT just the one Christmas tree? Then you could be behind the times.

This year’s trend is for a second tree in the bedroom, and it has sent sales of smaller spruces soaring.

More than a quarter of British homes now boast two festive firs, experts say – and it could be more than a status symbol.

Both the soothing green colour and the pine aroma are said to be good for mental health and sleep cycles – while even fake trees can help evoke a feeling of nostalgia.

Other families get two trees so children can decorate one as gaudily as they like, providing a place for any home-made masterpieces, while leaving a more elegantly garlanded fir on more prominent display to impress the neighbours.

Among those buying into the trend, which started in the US, are Carole Middleton, mother of the Duchess of Cambridge, who gets a second tree for grandchildren George, Louis and Charlotte at her home in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

Last week, she posted on Instagram: ‘Once again this year we plan to have two Christmas trees: one for the children to decorate and one which I do myself.’

British Garden Centres said sales of smaller trees are up 50 per cent this year across its 58 sites. Director Boyd DouglasDavies, who is also president of the Horticulture Trades Association, said: ‘People are trading up from a plant in the bedroom and putting in beautifully decorated trees.’

Fellow garden centre chain Squire’s reports that 30 per cent of their customers plan on having at least two trees – and more than one in ten intend to have three or more. Chairman Sarah Squire said: ‘They give a bedroom a lovely, calming scent that is the perfect aid for a good night’s sleep.’

Just as bedroom plants have been known to help mental health and purify the air, trees are also said to aid slumber. Sleep expert Carl Walsh said: ‘Our brains collect information from our surroundings and this translates into signals releasing hormones in response.

‘In this instance melatonin and cortisol are the hormones that control your sleep cycle and put your body into a sleepy state.’

He added that a bedroom tree could also transport people back to a more carefree and youthful era.

‘Christmas can be a pretty stressful time. A bedroom tree takes people back to their childhood when they had no responsibilities and can forget about stressful things. That is always good for sleep.’