The annual IKEA Real Christmas Tree offer is back. You buy a real Christmas Tree for £25 from IKEA and you’ll get a £10 voucher to spend next year.
What is the IKEA Christmas Tree offer?
The offer is ‘Buy a Real Christmas Tree for £15* ‘ Note the *, that tells you it’s not really all it seems….
So you buy a real Christmas tree from Ikea for £25. You are given a voucher for £10 to spend next year. Previous years it’s been slightly more generous where the treecosts £29 and you get a a £20 voucher so the tree only cost £9*
The dates for 2022 are buy a real Christmas tree between 25th November and 24th December 2022 and receive a voucher, which can be redeemed in store between 9th January and 12th February 2023
The tree must be a ABIES NORDMANNIANA Christmas tree (Article number: 80228363)
A Christmas tree can be purchased from all IKEA stores except for IKEA Manchester and IKEA Leeds.
How much does a real christmas tree cost?
The cost of a real Christmeas tree depends on size, type and treatment. The IKEA trees in this offer are person size (about 5ft 7″). Our local ‘non-drop’ real trees are about £55 for this size.
I’m not sure if KIEAs real christmas trees are marketed as ‘non-drop’ but they aren’t. You get loads of needles dropping off and covering the presents underneath. Which is kind of lovely. Not so many that it’s noticeable on the tree though.
Ok in IKEA it’s a one size fits all tree and if you leave it too late there will only be ropey ones left. Make sure you choose your tree and have them wrap it rather than picking a ready netted one so you know you have a good one.
The IKEA real trees for £25 are a good price, even without the £10 voucher.
Fab offer, why and how on earth do they do it?
I love a clever marketing campaign and this is one of the best. Nothing wrong with it by the way – you’re not getting tricked and it is a great deal. Let’s look closer though.
But this is a Real Christmas Tree for £15* ? Yep, note the star. This is where the cleverness starts. What is more likely to get the customers’ attention?
Christmas tree for £15* or Christmas tree for £25?
You are going to spend a minimum of £25 in IKEA once you decide to buy the tree. The scenarios are:
You go buy the IKEA real Christmas tree for £25.
Go straight to the tree part, pay your money and leave with your tree and your voucher. Maybe you get it on the way back from work. You don’t have to go into the store to get the tree, it’s in it’s own area outside (at my local one anyway). You don’t go back and spend your voucher between 9th January and 12th February. You spent £25, a reasonable price for a decent tree.
Or you go and buy the tree for £25. Plus…….
You go to buy the tree for £25 but first have a wander round the store, maybe have some meatballs (IKEA meatballs are part of the experience!). Maybe put the kids in the play area, pick up some mugs, oh and some towels, and a rug, ooh and love that picture, and we need some hangers, and a shoehorn, and lets get some Christmas presents while we are here, and decorations and a fake plant…….. and on the way out a big bag of dime bars and some warm cinnamon rolls. Then you get the tree. You spent how much?
In January you remember the voucher. We’ve got £10 to spend at Ikea, it’s free, we don’t want to waste it. You don’t really NEED anything but it’s £10, it’s like free money, you can’t waste it. Off you go again. You can’t spend the voucher in the restaurant and kids play area, but you have the meatballs (and apple cake) and leave the kids in anyway – they love it and you can wander round in peace. You pick up some kitchen utensils, storage boxes, a new bin, ooh those duvet covers are lovely, we could do with a new one. That lamp, ginger biscuits, let’s have a look in the bargain corner, a big bag of dime bars which are right by the tills. You pay with your voucher.
How much extra do you spend? ….. and on the way out a hot dog each (they’re only 50p) and some warm cinnamon rolls.
If the tree was £25, you may decide to buy one from somewhere else that’s a little bit dearer but more convenient. But make it £25 and a £10 voucher and, well you see what happens? People go and spend money in IKEA when they wouldn’t normally do so.
The 9th January to 12th February is a really quiet time. Christmas is over, the January sales are over so it’s a genius idea to get customers in to spend their ‘free’ £10 voucher.
So how can you make the most of this offer? This is how to Maximise Joy and Maximise Value.
First get an IKEA Family card. It’s free, you can get one there or sign up online. Never go to IKEA without getting one of these (if you forget yours you can print out a temporary one there). As well as free tea or coffee on weekdays and a 6 item cooked breakfast for £1.75 before 11am, you get reduced prices on selected ‘Family’ lines, free product insurance, extra 10% discount on sale items and special ‘family price’ restaurant offers. You also get a £5 voucher on your birthday (that does not mean you HAVE to use it!).
Read all about the IKEA Family Card benefits in this article.
Head to IKEA on a weekday morning, free coffees and £1.75 breakfast. Lovely start to the day. Weekends and evenings are bonkers busy there anyway. Avoid if possible (though we did see Johnathan Ross there once, which was cool). Anyway. Skip the wandering through the store and go get your tree. Pay on your Amex to get the points. Head home and spend the next 3 hours finding the (very heavy) pot for the tree, making the tree fit in a space that’s far too small for it and decorating. Then 10 minutes sweeping up the dropped needles (repeat that last bit a few times a day for a month).
What is the best way to use your IKEA voucher?
When it comes to using your voucher. Which is not actually a voucher like a gift card, which you could give as a Christmas present, it’s just something stapled on your receipt that you have to keep together and safe. I wonder how many people lose the voucher? Ask yourself ‘Do I need anything from IKEA?’
If the answer is no then this is what you do. Head to Ikea anyway and…
Use your IKEA voucher even if YOU don’t need anything
Every November the UK Money Bloggers Community take part in #FoodBankAdvent and encourage everyone to join in with the Reverse Advent Calendar. You basically put an item in a box every day and at the end of the month drop it off at your local foodbank. There is still a huge need for donations all the year round so how about using your IKEA voucher to help your local foodbank.
I’m not talking about bags of dime bars and jars of herrings. Find your local foodbank (link in this Reverse Advent Calendar article) and they will have a list of urgently needed items. But they also need Tin-openers, cups, cutlery etc. Or see what your local Salvation Army need, or Crisis. They also welcome donations all year round, blankets, towels and sleeping bags – £10 could help ALOT. What better way to spend your voucher?
Let me know how much you spend on your £15* IKEA tree. How did you maximise Joy and maximise value?
Have you got a stand for your real Christmas tree?
Of course you’ll need a decent stand for your real CHristmas Tree, one that will last for years. Ours is an iron one that we have had for 6 years and it’s still going strong. Amazon have plenty of options with quick delivery. Skip the plastic ones and get a lovely looking metal one to make the most of your tree. Here are a couple of our favourites.
Large metal Christmas Tree stand with glittery green finish £16.99 Simple and classy looking.
Metal tree stand in the shape of a present £49.99 Love this – you can have the red one with a yellow bow or a white one with a gold bow.
Like this post? Have a look at some of our others that show you how to spend Smarter, including
- How to Invest £1 and make hundreds
- How to get at least 5% cashback on your shopping
- Benefits You’ll Love With the IKEA Family Card
- Tesco Clubcard: Everything You Need to Know
How about free stuff? Check out our How to get free coffee article and 5 freebies to claim today
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Oh I’ve heard of this before but never done it! I’m a huge fan ok Ikea and we go there quite a lot but we’ve never had a tree from there!