Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Michelle Keegan are driving a new trend for replacing a single large Christmas tree in their homes with multiple small ones placed in different rooms.
Retailers and florists are reporting booming demand for smaller versions of both artificial and real trees. Supermarket Sainsbury’s says it has seen a 75 per cent increase in sales of its fake 3ft trees compared to last year.
Searches for smaller trees have more than doubled on the Argos website and jumped by 186 per cent on B&Q’s site.
Kardashian puts up small trees in all of her kids’ bedrooms, while Brassic actress Keegan, who has had her decorations up since
early November, has several miniature ones mounted above her front porch and throughout the £3.5million Essex mansion she shares with her reality TV star husband Mark Wright.
Meanwhile, singer Leona Lewis shared a photograph of her small potted fir tree decorated with red ribbons on Instagram last week. Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast host Giovanna Fletcher – wife of McFly’s Tom Fletcher – is also a fan of small trees.
Abi Wilson, head of buying at Sainsbury’s, said: ‘This trend is largely driven by customers wanting to take a total home approach to decorating, with many having two or more Christmas trees in their home of varying sizes.
‘From hallways, kitchens and even kids’ bedrooms, small trees are a quick and easy way to inject some festive cheer even in the smallest of spaces.’
Stars such as Kim Kardashian (pictured with her children from left: Saint, Psalm, Chicago and North) are spearheading a trend for smaller trees this festive season
Also inspired by the likes of Brassic actress Michelle Keegan (pictured), many are opting for several smaller trees in their homes instead of one large festive fern
Supermarket Sainsbury’s says it has seen a 75 per cent increase in sales of its fake 3ft trees compared to last year (stock image of several potted Christmas tree)
John Lewis said this year sales of standard-sized 6ft trees have slumped by 13 per cent while sales of its cheaper 4.5ft versions have risen 55 per cent.Â
The department store pointed out in a report last week that newbuild homes are smaller now compared to a generation ago, which might be part of the reason for the change.
Its Christmas buyer Lisa Cherry added: ‘Tiny trees give people the flexibility to try multiple looks.
‘Customers can still have their perfectly decorated main tree, while branching out into quirkier looks on the smaller sidekick.’
Small versions of real Christmas trees, which can be potted and kept all year round, are also in demand.
Online florists Bloom & Wild says its smaller trees, which range in price from £27 to £40, are popular because they can be sent as gifts in the post.
A spokesman for the firm said these mini trees ‘bring all of the joy of a real Christmas tree’ to smaller spaces, and that they ‘also have a lower environmental footprint, both due to their small size, and because they can be replanted after Christmas and enjoyed again the following year’. Larger trees are grown in fields for a period of eight to ten years before being cut down for Christmas.
Smaller trees, however, are grown from seed and kept potted in a nursery for a couple of years where they can be pruned and shaped to perfection. They are then moved to a field for a further three years before being cut down.
A survey for Bloom & Wild found more than two-thirds of people who have ditched a large tree this year are doing so because they only have a small space.
Just under a quarter feel that putting up a tree and decorating it is simply ‘too much effort’.
