A garden centre is giving away Christmas trees for free to offer a helping hand to those struggling this festive season. Sandyhill Nurseries Garden Centre and Florist in Saundersfoot has taken the decision to offer the all important centrepieces to people for free to stop them from going to waste.
A post on its Facebook page read: "Ok guys, so in all honestly this year has been pretty slow all round, usually by now we have no cut trees left for sale but this year we do have a few that we’d hate to see go to waste. Now I know most of you will already have your trees up but why not put one outside your home or business to make it feel even more Christmassy this year. We don’t want anything for them but they would need to be collected."
And the response has been overwhelming, with many coming forward to collect the trees already, some with some heartfelt stories as to why they were in need of them. Get stories like this straight to your inbox with our newsletters.
READ MORE: Christmas pantomimes and shows in Wales 2022: We review the big festive productions
Keilly Cooke, who owns the garden centre together with her mum, Maureen Webb, said: "It's been a bit of a weird year for everyone and we've got trees left over that we never usually have. We don't want to see them just go to waste. We've never really thought about it in the past to be honest because we've always sold out of Christmas trees. Being left with them, we probably would have had to just burn them or something, which would have been tragic.
"As soon as I put that advert on Facebook, everything went mad. And there's some nice stories too. One girl got a tree for her neighbour who has lost his wife and didn't really want to do Christmas this year, but she got one for him. Things like that have been quite nice. Everyone has been amazing about it and have been really, really grateful. We didn't do it to get thanks or anything, we just didn't want to see them go to waste. I can't believe how much feedback we've had over it to be honest.
"A few people have given us money for our charity box. We're raising money for the Wales Air Ambulance. Quite a few people have donated towards that. It has been a really tough year for everybody, we've noticed it in the business as well, we're a lot quieter than normal. It's nice to do something."
Sandyhill Nurseries Garden Centre and Florist can be found at Sandy Hill Road in Saundersfoot. The opening times are Monday, December 19, until Friday, December 23, from 9am until 5pm, and Saturday, December 24, 9am until 1pm. Call 01834 813744.
READ NEXT:
Santa and Christmas experiences in Wales ranked from most expensive to cheapest
The food and drink prices at Cardiff Christmas Market and how they compare to others around the UK
The best pictures from the magical Swansea Christmas Parade 2022
Christmas spirit comes early with Llandaff festive lights switch on
