How much are public Christmas tree displays costing us?

Standing outside Commercial Bay and Britomart, Auckland’s 18.5-metre tree is hard to miss: 10,000 LEDs, 200 stainless-steel baubles and thousands of flowers.

Last year, Auckland Council supported the co-owners of the tree, Heart of the City and Precinct Properties, with a one-off $800,000 contribution - half went towards purchasing it and the other half towards installing it across two years. That money came from city centre targeted rates.

Auckland Council said it expected the co-owners to bring in private investment to continue displaying Te Manaaki over future festive seasons.

Reactions are mixed:

“I think it gives the true spirit of Christmas,” one passer by said.

“It's a really nice Christmas decoration just to have. Bring some like holiday spirit. Looks nice, the ornaments, the lights – how they change.”

But not everyone agrees: “In person, it doesn't look as nice as the picture, I suppose.”

The capital spreads its festive budget of just over $65,000 across three CBD trees — from a film-themed display on Courtenay Place to a seaside-inspired tree on Queens Wharf.

In addition to the trees the council also spent $2500 on lights for the Bucket Fountain; $18,000 on festive flags for CBD street poles.

Sarah and Jonny thought Wellington's trees were nice, but they were inclined to think the council should either go all out or not bother.

"If they're able to do just the one massive tree in Auckland which is so much bigger, it would make more sense for us to do that here in Wellington where it's smaller," Sarah said.

But Jonny said as the capital, their tree should be even bigger than Auckland's.

India remembers the days of the Telecom Christmas Tree in Waitangi Park. The Telecom Trees were about 27m-tall and there were trees in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.

With the council's trees and decorations, India said it was nice to have something "Christmassy around town", but she said in her retail job she'd also heard expats express what a letdown the city's decorations were and how little there were.

At the same time, she said people were still feeling the pinch and she wondered if the money would be better spent elsewhere.

Christchurch’s 10-metre tree beside the Bridge of Remembrance costs just under $56,000, plus $8000 each year to install.

“I think it's nice to come in, like celebrate Christmas all together,” one said.

“I know this is a popular spot that people take photos - maybe if it had some marketing for Christchurch, it would pay for itself a bit better. You know, maybe something local to the city, if it had like local ornaments or something that could be nice, that could do a little bit more for the city in general, rather than just a big price tag,” another passerby said.

“That's a lot of money,” a third responded. “I expected it to be expensive, but I didn't expect it to be that expensive.”

Dunedin’s tree in The Octagon — bought in 2019 for $63,000 and now costs $20,000 to install — draws some harsh reviews.

“It's cheap, tacky and tired looking,” one resident said. “I don't like any of it. It's ancient and it's been there for years. Comes out every year and there's nothing new about it."

The resident believed the money should instead go towards “those useless cycling tracks”. “Then they'll have a bit more money towards them without putting us into debt.”

Others agreed on its appearance. “Personally, I think it's a bit of an eyesore and unnecessary.”

“We all know that it's Christmas. We don't need a gigantic tasteless reminder of it in the middle of town,” another local added.

But one passerby noted the money – although a lot – spreads out across the years the tree is in use.