It’s that time of year again. The dusty box of decorations comes out of the back of the hall closet, the windows are covered in tinsel and fairy lights, and, of course, a large tree smothered in baubles takes center stage in the living room.
Over the years, the debate between real or fake tree has raged on, but a recent trend has seen millennials opting more and more for a real tree than their parents before them. Now it seems a new trend, with a slight twist on the old one, may be on the rise. It is now possible for people to rent a living Christmas tree for the season, according to KCBS Radio .
Our City Forest Nursery is one such company offering rented trees for Christmas this year. They’ve also changed up the species of trees. A traditional Christmas tree is usually a Noble or Douglas fir tree, but Our City Forest Nursery instead offers trees that are native to California.
“We have a variety of California native and street tree approved species available to rent. This year we are asking participants to come by the Nursery to see our selection and make your choice in-person. We do not carry any ‘traditional-like’ species because they will not fare well in our communities. Instead we are growing trees that are suitable for the San Jose area,” their website reads.
If you’re looking for a green and more environmental-friendly Christmas tree this year, you can rent a living potted tree from @SFUrbanForester . Sign up by December 1 for an early-bird discount and pick up your tree this weekend. https://t.co/rceRvT3sxG
— SF Environment ??? (@SFEnvironment) December 1, 2018
Our City Forest Nursery is also not the only company offering this service. All over, rent-a-tree companies are popping up, with other businesses in California offering more conventional species if you’d prefer to have the traditional fir decorating your home.
Rent A Christmas Tree Online is one of these companies, with options like a classic Nordmann fir and a deodar cedar, or something a little more California, like a California Redwood. The Living Christmas Company is based in Los Angeles, and offers customers pine and spruce trees for rent for the Christmas season. Friends of the Urban Forest also rents out trees, but after the tree’s Christmas adventure in your home, it will be planted somewhere in San Francisco. Needless to say, these are also not traditional Christmas trees. Rent-a-Christmas , based in New York, has a range of different conventional trees for customers up north.
Many of the companies also offer customers a variety of sizes of Christmas trees, and provide ample instruction for how the tree should be cared for over the season.
This service is also not exclusive to America. Companies of this type have been popping up all over the world, including in the U.K., Western European countries, and even Slovakia.
This could be the perfect way to have the Christmas fun without creating a carbon footprint.