See why many Christmas trees are still up – will latest trend make you want to keep yours?

Christmas may be over, but it seems some of us aren't willing to let it go just yet! As lockdown continues, it seems the rule book for traditions is being reworked for 2021 – with some keeping the Christmas tree up for a little while longer thanks to a new decorating craze. The latest trend sweeping Instagram sees people repurpose their Christmas tree, turning it into a ‘Valentines Tree’.

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Traditionally Christmas trees and festive decorations are taken down on twelfth night, which is either the 5th or 6th of January, but not this year. And with the gloom and doom in the world right now, who can blame them...it's all about love.

The quirky trend is becoming increasingly popular as it gains followers, with over 3,600 uploading photos to Instagram using the hashtag #ValentinesTree.

Valentines tree trend

Mark Rofe founder of Christmastrees.co.uk shares his thoughts behind this increasingly popular trend.

'As we are currently living through a difficult time, people are actively looking for distractions and things to do that can make them feel a little happier. For many, decorating their Christmas tree is a fun and even therapeutic activity, and people have found a creative way to recreate this experience now the festive season is over by repurposing their tree into a Valentine's Tree'

One follower writes, ‘The candy tree has been transformed!! Snowflakes and gingerbread have been replaced with hearts and more hearts!! 💗💗💗 So easy to do and I am in love with with how it turned out!’

How do you decorate a Valentine's tree?

There don’t appear to be any hard and fast rules when it comes to decorating a Valentines Tree. Lots of pink and red to get the heart racing is all. Simply replace your festive decorations and adorn your tree with something more heartfelt. Swap the candy canes for candy hearts; angels for cupid and stars for hearts. Keep the fairy lights, because fairy lights always welcome a sense of joy.

‘Okay, I’m totally obsessed!!😍😘 who else is doing a Valentines tree this year?❤️’ ask one user, who's most definitely following the trend.

Another shares this beautiful sentiment, as to why to embrace the trend 'My husband didn’t want to take down the Christmas tree so I made it a Valentine’s tree. Normally I don’t even decorate for Valentine’s Day but if 2020 taught me anything…love gets you through the tough times so why not have a love tree for a couple months?'

'Even though we took the Xmas decorations down, I can’t seem to take the tree down yet. It’s been up since November 1st and has given me a sense of calm and peace. So I decided to decorate it for Valentine’s Day! Hoping to manifest as much love and kindness as possible as we say goodbye to a tough year that taught us so much.'

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Will you be decorating a Valentine's tree?