Are you only able to afford one Christmas tree You could also be out of date.
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.
Some families have two trees, so their children can make it as elaborate as they wish. The other tree is for the family’s home, which will be used to display any homemade masterpieces.
Two Christmas trees are a must for more than 25% of UK homes (File Image)
Carole Middleton is the mother of Duchess Catherine and she gets a second tree at Bucklebury in West Berkshire for her children George, Louis, or Charlotte.
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 stated that smaller trees were selling at a 50% increase across all 58 of its sites this year. Director Boyd Douglas-Davies, 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.’
Carole Middleton (left), the mother of Duchess Catherine, receives another tree to decorate her Berkshire home. Pictured: With her husband Michael and daughter Pippa at a Christmas community carol service held in Westminster Abbey, London
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.’
As well as purifying the air and improving mental health, bedroom plants are said to be beneficial for 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.’
A bedroom tree, he said, could transport someone back to an earlier time when they were more relaxed and young.
‘Christmas can be a pretty stressful time. Bedroom trees take you back to your childhood and make it easy for people to forget all about the stress. That is always good for sleep.’