We went to choose our 2017 Christmas tree recently from our nearest Pines and Needles pop-up stall which in our case was in the beautiful city of St Albans at the edge of Verulamiam park opposite Westminster Lodge overlooked by the magnificent cathedral.
We were greeted by Matt, a very friendly and knowledgeable chap who went out of his way to make the tree choosing experience lots of fun. He told us about the different trees on offer. The children got to feel and sniff the branches to see which trees felt softer and which smelled strongest.
Because we always like to get our tree relatively early, we took Matt's advice and chose a Nordmann Fir, a premium non-drop Christmas tree which if watered and cared for properly (keep away from direct heat etc) should easily still look great on Christmas Day even if like me it was decorated on the first weekend in December.
While Matt netted our tree his colleague arranged delivery which he confirmed the next day, narrowing down the time slot, by text.
Pine and Needles offer a variety of levels of service ranging from helping you choose a tree to make away right up to a full delivery and decoration service. They sell stands, wreaths, min trees, mistletoe and accessories - everything you need to make your home or office look festive.
Once our tree was decorated with help from my younger children it was time to name him.
Yes, you heard right. It was time to name him.
Pines and Needles are running a fun competition asking customers to share pictures on social media of their decorated Pines and Needles trees along with the name they have chosen for him/her/it and the hashtag #BruceTheSpruce.
Our magnificent tree deserved an equally magnificent name we thought so meet Spikey Pine-Willmore. Yes we know he's a Fir not a Pine but my 9 year old wanted that bit so we've included it.
We thought it was a lovely new tradition to include in our preparations for Christmas so I think it might be one we adopt for years to come. Thanks to Pines and Needles for the idea and for our lovely tree!
Pines and Needles have lots of stores (albeit mostly in London) or you can order for nationwide delivery online. As well as delivering to homes and offering to arrange collection and recycling of your tree afterwards they offer bespoke installation for events and corporate clients - check the website for a full list of services on offer.
Stores are generally open from around 8am until around 9 or even 10pm. Hours do vary so find your nearest store and check opening times here. You can find out more about the company by reading this blog post I wrote recently or this one I wrote last year.
Disclaimer: We received Spikey Pine-Willmore free for the purpose of this honest review.
We were greeted by Matt, a very friendly and knowledgeable chap who went out of his way to make the tree choosing experience lots of fun. He told us about the different trees on offer. The children got to feel and sniff the branches to see which trees felt softer and which smelled strongest.
Because we always like to get our tree relatively early, we took Matt's advice and chose a Nordmann Fir, a premium non-drop Christmas tree which if watered and cared for properly (keep away from direct heat etc) should easily still look great on Christmas Day even if like me it was decorated on the first weekend in December.
While Matt netted our tree his colleague arranged delivery which he confirmed the next day, narrowing down the time slot, by text.
Pine and Needles offer a variety of levels of service ranging from helping you choose a tree to make away right up to a full delivery and decoration service. They sell stands, wreaths, min trees, mistletoe and accessories - everything you need to make your home or office look festive.
Once our tree was decorated with help from my younger children it was time to name him.
Yes, you heard right. It was time to name him.
Pines and Needles are running a fun competition asking customers to share pictures on social media of their decorated Pines and Needles trees along with the name they have chosen for him/her/it and the hashtag #BruceTheSpruce.
Our magnificent tree deserved an equally magnificent name we thought so meet Spikey Pine-Willmore. Yes we know he's a Fir not a Pine but my 9 year old wanted that bit so we've included it.
We thought it was a lovely new tradition to include in our preparations for Christmas so I think it might be one we adopt for years to come. Thanks to Pines and Needles for the idea and for our lovely tree!
Pines and Needles have lots of stores (albeit mostly in London) or you can order for nationwide delivery online. As well as delivering to homes and offering to arrange collection and recycling of your tree afterwards they offer bespoke installation for events and corporate clients - check the website for a full list of services on offer.
Stores are generally open from around 8am until around 9 or even 10pm. Hours do vary so find your nearest store and check opening times here. You can find out more about the company by reading this blog post I wrote recently or this one I wrote last year.
Disclaimer: We received Spikey Pine-Willmore free for the purpose of this honest review.