Last few days to place your bids

The window of opportunity to take home a unique Christmas tree is fast approaching, as bidding on the Francis House Festival of Trees ends on Sunday, December 13.

Visitors to the pop-up shop at Quayside MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, have been placing bids on the 32 stunning trees packed full of prizes and gifts donated by generous sponsors.

Julie Williams and Jason Connor from Francis House together with hospice trustees and volunteers, have been busy taking pledges from members of the public and selling Christmas merchandise – all to raise crucial funds for the hospice that cares for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.

Julie said: “We only had two days trading in November before the national lockdown measures came into effect, but we were excited to re-open on December 2. Since then have been welcoming visitors and it’s encouraging to see bidding increase in the tree auction.

“We want people to come into the shop, experience the magical display, purchase some lovely Christmas items and place a bid on one of our stunning trees. This has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone and the hospice has been working hard throughout supporting vulnerable children and their families.

Prizes on offer

Trees laden with hampers and gift vouchers worth hundreds of pounds include: Co-op Heaton Moor, Morrisons Reddish, Tesco East Didsbury, Lowbury Construction, Manchester City and Manchester United football clubs.  There is even a tree donated by Floorbrite Cleaning Group that comes with a Henry Hoover and Santa mop.

For the past 14 years Quayside MediaCityUK have generously donated a retail unit to the hospice for the duration of the event. This year they have also kindly donated two trees one of which comes with Bed and Breakfast for two at the Pullman Hotel, Liverpool, dinner for two at an Italian Restaurant, Liverpool, 4 tickets for Velocity play centre, a £10 M&S voucher plus Joop aftershave and Paul Smith perfume.

How to take part

The Festival of Trees is located on 1st Floor, Quayside MediaCityUK, The Quays, Salford M50 3AH, and is open Monday to Saturday 10 am until 6pm and Sundays 11 am until 5pm.

Bidding on the trees closes at 5pm on Sunday, December 13, to allow winning bidders to come and collect their trees before the shop closes on Sunday, December 20.

Members of the public can also bid on the trees online at a new auction site which will remain live until bidding closes. Visit www.festivaloftrees.co.uk