When Does The UK Put Up Their Christmas Tree?

28th Nov 2024

Posted by Alice Ewens on 28th Nov 2024

It's all starting to feel a bit sparkly! We wondered what the UK's most popular day to put our Christmas trees up is. We polled 1,000 people to find out, and got an insight into some fab festive stats. Scroll down for some budget-friendly tree decoration ideas.

Survey Says Saturday 7th December Is Most Popular 'Tree Day'

Our survey results show that Saturday 7th December is the most popular day to put up a Christmas tree in the UK. A third of households (31%) mark the start of the festive season by buying and decorating their tree in the first weekend of December.

One in ten homes beat the rush by putting their tree and decorations up in November and many Britons buy trees during the week. One in 50 homes (2%) don’t get their tree until Christmas Eve. More than half of Britons (54%) have an artificial Christmas tree, a third have a real one (32%) and 14% are real-life Grinchs with no tree or decorations at all.

Some of our customers have already got their trees up! @athome_withsammi shows us how it's done. Shop this coffee table now.

Decorating For The Holidays Can Be A Family Tradition

Our survey also told us that 66% households buy their trees on a Saturday then spend the whole weekend decorating it. 52% buy new decorations each year, while 48% re-use old ones to save money. Almost two-thirds of homeowners with real trees worry about falling needles and the tree looking dried out by Christmas Day.

63% of homes like to do external festive displays outside. Door wreaths are their most popular choice for 31% of respondents, followed by Christmas lights (28%). 60% of homes take their Christmas Tree down by New Year and only 15% wait for the Twelfth Night. Three-quarters of our survey respondents (74%) put up their Christmas decorations at the same time each year as a tradition passed down through the generations.

Our Thoughts On The Survey Results

This Saturday is Christmas Tree Day in the UK when more people will buy trees than any other. There is a lot of debate about when is the best date to put up the Christmas trees and decorations - even within our own office! Some people like to turn the whole of December into a Christmas holiday while others prefer to wait - often because they fear their Christmas tree will die before Christmas Day. But, nearly all of us agree that we don’t feel Christmassy until we buy a tree and decorate our homes.

A (Very) Brief History Of The Christmas Tree

Christmas trees originated from Germany and were introduced to England in the early 19th century. Popularised by Prince Albert and his wife Queen Victoria, they were decorated with toys, small gifts, candles, ribbons and chains.

An engraving published in the 1840s of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert created a craze for Christmas trees. Image credit: public domain.

Budget-Friendly Tree Decoration Ideas

Our interiors and style expert Laura Rich details 5 key on-trend budget and eco-friendly looks that will wow without costing the earth.

1 Use Cardboard Toilet Roll Tubes to Create Stars & Snowflakes

Pinch your cardboard tubes on either side to make an oval shape, then cut into strips. Use a glue gun to stick 5 'petals' together in the centre (add a bead or button to the middle if you're feeling fancy). Stick a loop of string or thread to the 'top' of one of your petals. Paint in your fave festive colour or leave it cardboard-brown for a Scandi-looking tree decoration.

2 Paper Baubles & Retro Glam

There’s been an embracing of vintage and retro looks this year and that ties so well with the maximalist trend for Christmas. Get a little bit kitsch and quirky with mismatched old and colourful baubles, retro lights and paper ornaments for your festive dining space this year. This is the perfect excuse to raid your grandma’s loft or go on a thrifting expedition. Add in paper lanterns, baubles and snowflakes for another vintage touch that screams bygone years. If you’re feeling crafty, paper ornaments are a fun, easy and cheap group activity, with lots of online tutorials to follow.

3 Simple & Sweet Scandi Garlands

Scandinavian-inspired Christmas decor will always be a crowd-pleaser. Unfussy and simple, this style evokes crisp, cold nights cosied up with our loved ones. Gather up fallen pinecones during a winter walk and hang on your tree. Add some cinnamon sticks. You can also dry orange and apple slices in a low oven, being careful not to burn them, or using the dehumidifier setting on your air fryer. String these into pretty garlands using fishing wire, string or thread. Add dried foliage, rosemary, and star anise for pretty garlands that will smell gorgeously festive.

4 Air Dry Clay Ornaments Make For Fun Family Activity

Use air-dry clay to make DIY tree ornaments. You can purchase the clay on Amazon. Press leaves into round clay discs, or use cookie-cutters to make festive shapes. Or, you can make hand prints of your children or paw prints of pets (make sure you clean off hands and paws well afterwards!). Poke holes through for the string and let them dry in front of a radiator. Then you can paint them and thread a hanging string.

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