The Sheep River Health Trust is ready to deck the halls.

The Avenue of Trees fundraiser is back where local groups and businesses will be decorating trees which will be put up for auction. Funds raised from the trees will be used to support local health and wellness initiatives.

Tanya Thorn, Sheep River Health Trust representative, says three judges will help to choose trees to win 10 different categories.

"They'll select trees for the 10 ribbons, then between them and our staff in the office we will select 10 trees that will go to live auction, then the rest get silent auction bid sheets put on them and people can bid on those trees to take them home and if they find one they absolutely love they can do a 'buy it now' option and put a $500 bid down and it will be theirs."

Thorn says some of the trees end up being donated.

"Out of the 37 trees we had last year 15 of them were donated back into the community. Through some of our partner agencies we select families in need or we've had trees go to the Foothills Country Hospice and Rowan House, but we select families in need or that could use a bit of brightening of the Christmas spirit and donate trees to them."

This year, 41 trees are being decorated with 39 set up at the Okotoks Recreation Centre, one at Okotoks Urgent Care, and one at Oilfields Hospital. Set up for the trees begins on Wednesday.

The auction for the trees will take place Dec. 10 in conjunction with the Mistletoe Market.

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