For people wanting a special Christmas tree this year, the first annual Family Place Festival of Trees may offer a solution to those holiday wishes.

The festival, running from Nov. 15-29, involves the lavish decoration of 12 Christmas trees and six wreaths for public display, which will be then auctioned off at a Christmas-themed reception on Nov. 29.

The festival is sponsored by the Family Place, which is putting proceeds from the event into its newly created Mini-Go School, a preschool program for three and four year olds.

"We wanted to be a little creative about fundraising," said Linda Rudachyk of the Family Place, who also organized the festival. "We're hoping that it is a fun thing for the community and it grows from here."

The trees and wreaths were decorated by several community organizations and businesses throughout Weyburn, and the organization with the tree or wreath netting the highest bid will be awarded a free homemade Ukrainian dinner from the Family Place. There will also be a special people's favourite award for the tree or wreath receiving the most votes from the public.

Rudachyk said the festival was inspired by the success of Saskatoon's Festival of Trees, which sometimes sees bids of $400-$500 per tree. Although the Family Place has no set fundraising goal, she said it "would be wonderful" to receive bids in that range for the trees.

The trees and wreaths will be on display at the Wealth Management Centre of the newly-renovated Credit Union, with viewings on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and special viewings on Nov. 23-25.

The reception will take place Nov. 29 at the Credit Union from 7:30-9:30 p.m., with cookies, hot chocolate, and Christmas-themed snacks supplied by Champagne Catering.