Could this be the year you finally ditch the fake plastic tree?
A new city index may influence your decision: UK-based florists Bloom and Wild has revealed the most — and least — expensive cities for buying a Christmas tree worldwide.
A six-foot (2-meter) spruce in Dublin will set you back on average €146, beating both London (€137.89) and New York (€67.85) as the most expensive place in the world to buy a tree.
According to the numbers, Prague, where an average tree costs roughly €11 (286 CZK). Bloom and Wild also deemed Prague one of the world’s “ultimate Christmas cities”:
We think Prague is one of the few cities in the world that can rival Paris as far as romance and beautiful architecture is concerned. It’s a magnet for tourists during Yuletide and is reassuringly cheap for a Christmas tree (with a real 6ft tree costing less than £10). Be sure to go for a frosty walk by the river with a mulled wine to keep your hands warm.
Czech on-line tree seller Vánoční stromky lists a 120-cm Norway spruce as their cheapest tree at 299 CZK, though larger trees can fetch upwards of 1,000 CZK.
Last year the Christmas Market Barometer deemed the Czech capital as one of the cheapest countries in Europe for mulled wine and gingerbread.
The countdown is on to the lighting of the iconic Christmas tree on Old Town Square, a 23-meter spruce from the Liberec region that’s set to light up the night on December 1, kicking off the 2018 advent season in Prague.
The markets run through January 6, 2019. For more details on the Old Town Market and Christmas tree lighting click here.