Fir real? Where to buy your Christmas tree this year

BUCKS

Lillingstone Pick Your Own, Lillingstone Dayrell

The Christmas Tree paddock opens this Friday (26 Nov) for you to wander through and choose your tree but booking is essential here, so pick up your tickets first. There is a Christmas barn full of decorations, gifts and local crafts, festive snacks and drinks at the Christmas Cabin, Father Christmas’s sleigh for trips around the farm and animals to meet. Talk about get you in the mood.

Christmas Tree Farm, Chesham

This place, would you believe it, sells Christmas trees and is now open for business every day (9.30am-5.30 or 5pm at weekends). The trees are all cut just days before being sold. You can choose your tree (traditional and non-drop) before it’s netted and then the helpful staff will take it to your car.

Stoke Goldington Christmas Trees, Newport Pagnell

Just off the M1 (Junction 14-15) is Stoke Goldington Christmas Trees, which opened its gates last weekend (20 & 21 Nov) and every other weekend thereafter until 18 & 19 Dec, between 10am and 4pm. Walk the fields to choose your tree – Nordmann Fir and Norway Spruce (with 10,000 to choose from you’ll be busy…). Then stop by in the log cabin to warm up around the log burning stove with a mulled wine in hand.

Peterley Manor Farm, Great Missenden

Christmas tree sales are go at Peterley alongside wreaths and foliage. They’re A-list trees too darling – Peterley has this year supplied trees to the sets of Eastenders, X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Opening times are Tues-Sat (8.30am-5pm) and Sun (9am-3pm). While you’re there, pick up a handmade wreath and a warming brew from the newly opened Barn Kitchen.

Dobbies – branches in Aylesbury, Beaconsfield and Milton Keynes

This popular garden centre chain has a decent selection of artificial trees, or you can go the pot-grown route and replant it in Jan.

OXON

The Tree Barn, Watlington

Just outside Watlington, The Tree Barn at Christmas Common (again, no confusion here as to the purpose of this venture) is one of the big Christmas Tree players, delivering robust spruces to Downing Street no less. If you fancy mingling with the Christmas Tree elite, you can either click & collect, have your tree delivered, or roam the store/barn in person where there is, literally, every conceivable bauble you can buy. It’s open every day, 9am-5.30pm and until 7.30pm on Thursdays and Fridays, if you fancy swerving the masses.

Farmer Gow’s, Faringdon

There are several types of traditional and non-drop trees on offer at Farmer Gow’s that you can order online and collect or have delivered. Alternatively, make an event of it and turn up to pick your tree and go mad in the Christmas shop buying a veritable smorgasbord of meats, decorations, gifts and, er… firewood. There are also pot-grown trees available. It’s open Weds-Sun 10am-5pm.

Appleton Christmas Barn, Appleton

To the southwest of Oxford sits Appleton and its rather sweet Christmas Barn that not only hosts fir and spruce trees (available since 13 Nov!), but also decorations, fresh mistletoe and a couple of real-life reindeer, Tim and Bonnie. You can of course roam the fields and pick a tree of your choice and pot-grown, should you prefer. It’s open daily from 10am – 6pm (Thurs & Fri until 8.00pm) until 24 Dec.

Hadsham Farm, Banbury

This family-run farm in North Oxon is a bit special and does a roaring trade in traditional and Nordmann trees every winter, which owner Wykeham hand-prunes to get that perfect Christmas tree shape (talk about a perfectionist!). This year they’ve allocated two designated tree choosing and collection weekends: 4-5 Dec (10am-4pm) and 11-12 Dec (10am-4pm).

Bunkers Hill Plant Nursery, Kidlington

This excellent garden centre north of Oxford is styling itself as a winter wonderland again this year, with lights and displays to make picking out your tree a total joy. There are both cut and potted trees available in both Norway spruce and Nordmann fir varieties, and you can choose whether you want local delivery or to collect your prize specimen that day. There’s even a Bunkers Hill Reindeer Hunt for littlies, with a prize and certificate if you can spot all of Santa’s helpers around the nursery. Open daily 9-7pm.

GLOS

Yeah yeah, it’s not strictly in county but this idea is so cool I hope a local company picks it up! Cotswold Fir Christmas Tree Company offers a rental service, with pick-up in Bentham, Cheltenham (only delivers locally). There’s even the option to reserve the exact same tree for next Chrimbo too, should you become deeply attached to your fir.

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