Port Macquarie Hastings Councils epic fail Christmas tree goes viral

An Aussies council has gone viral after unveiling one of the most underwhelming Christmas trees of all time last week. Port Macquarie Hastings Council held its annual Christmas Fair on Friday with much fanfare, with the lighting of the Christmas tree planned as the events highlight.

An Aussies council has gone viral after unveiling one of the most underwhelming Christmas trees of all time last week.

Port Macquarie Hastings Council held its annual Christmas Fair on Friday with much fanfare, with the lighting of the Christmas tree planned as the event’s highlight.

However, eager families who gathered to watch the tree be lit up for the first time this season were left disappointed, with the council later conceding it looked like it was “decorated by Santa after he’s whizzed around the world and had too many eggnogs”.

In a statement, Port Macquarie Hastings mayor Peta Pinson said while the atmosphere on the night was great, bad weather had wreaked havoc with the decoration attempt.

“Unfortunately… in our efforts to deliver something a little different this year by decorating our natural pine tree, the weather worked against us,” Ms Pinson said.

“At the all-important lighting ceremony on Friday, we all discovered at the same time that a number of lights had moved or failed to turn on as result of the bad weather, and we were sad to see our inflatable baubles had deflated – much like our spirits when the tree was lit.

“We’ve read and heard all of your feedback, and we’ve taken it all on board. It was a setback in an otherwise successful night, and we’re now working hard to provide an alternate solution in the coming days.

Want to stream your news? Flash lets you stream 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >

“Fingers crossed that our original outdoor tree will be installed and working for everyone’s enjoyment well before Christmas.”

However, it didn’t take long for the sad tree to go viral online, even becoming a hilarious meme.

Social media users variously described the tree as “unhinged”, “very sad”, “craptastic”, an “epic fail” and the “worst Christmas tree ever”, while one person joked “this tree will haunt me for years to come” and another said it looked like “someone stood on a ladder and chucked it”.

Port Macquarie Hastings Council also addressed the debacle on its Facebook page, posting that “with everything our community has been through recently, we know everyone appreciates a good laugh!”

“We are glad our very sad Christmas tree could provide that for everyone,” the council posted.

“So let’s be real. Our poor tree does look like it was decorated by Santa after he’s whizzed around the world and had too many eggnogs.

“However, it began with the best of intentions, and our team did work hard to bring you this event, despite extraordinary winds … and rain threatening all day. And don’t forget – our magnificent and treasured pine tree was hit (like our cars!) in the hailstorm.

“Just like the rest of us – she’s battered and bruised, but she’s still standing. We hope everyone still had fun and enjoyed the festivities. And hey, at least it was memorable.”

The tree made waves across the nation, and even earnt the community a spot on the “S**t Town Power Rankings” of the week – a regular list shared on social media based on the most outrageous things to happen in Aussies towns.

More Coverage

Port Macquarie took out the top spot last week, with the page stating: “Christmas ruined after council erects sloppy mess of a tree”.

Port Macquarie has joined Australia’s grand tradition of sad public festive trees, with Lismore “leaning” tree going viral in 2014, and even being branded “the world’s most pathetic Christmas tree” by international media.

Lismore City Council embraced the hilarity, and since that year, it has erected various bold and wacky Christmas trees with a recyclable theme.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7zZqroqeelrlwutKwZJqbpGSysbXCZp2aoZxiu7TDjKWmnJmcYrCwwc2coKWrXZi1s7XSraSaq12pv6axjJupmqaUmrFurc1mnKmhk2KzorXLZpmyZaKawKqwxKerrGeemsS0edKtpquxX2V9p7CYaptyb2CXr6V%2Bw3Job51hm395fMWdcHKakWl%2F

 Share!