Festive gran keeps Christmas tree up for almost a year

A festive gran has kept her Christmas tree up for nearly a year.

Pavola Slessor, 48, put her plastic Christmas tree up on December 13 2020 with the intention of taking it down after lockdown.

But she found the festive decoration was giving her a mood boost and delayed taking it down beyond April.

The 48-year-old from Kirkcaldy, Fife, has been branded ‘the crazy Christmas tree lady’ and teased kids trick-or-treating for Halloween that she believed it was Christmas already.

After missing seeing family members last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pavola has a special Christmas planned this year with baby grandson Myles, who was born in October.

Daughter Stacey, 30, and grandson Cody, 11, will celebrate along with her father Pete, 74, who was shielding last year due to his age.

Pavola, who works as a home carer, said: “I love Christmas, it’s a great time of the year but with Covid, everybody has just been down in the dumps.

“They lifted restrictions for a couple of days last year and then took it away from us again.

“It started as a joke and I usually keep it up for the 12 days and then take it back down again, I’ve always done that.

“But this year I just started saying to folk I’d keep it up until the end of lockdown.

“Lockdown came and went and it kind of dwindled out, it was March, then it was April and I thought, I’ll just keep it up.

“It just gives you that nice Christmas feeling.

“Mostly people just say ‘Oh my God, you still have your tree up!’

“It just became a standing joke and I still switch the lights on it every night.

“I had the guisers at Halloween and I pretended to them I thought it was Christmas time.

“It’s in the front hall, so as soon as I open the door, there it is.”

She is hoping to have more time for things like present wrapping this year, although she is ahead of the game already as Pavola shops for gifts all year round.

“It will be my grandson Myles’ first Christmas,” she said.

“I’ve already got Christmas presents wrapped, I buy through the year, so I’ll still get that Christmas feeling.”