Manchester Arndale gets a brand spanking new Christmas tree the size of a house

Instagram addicts rejoice. Manchester finally has a giant Christmas tree to feature in your festive selfies this year. Score.

The 25ft Christmas tree is located just outside the entrance to Manchester Arndale on Corporation Street, overlooking Exchange Square.

Reaching the height of a two-storey house, it’s the perfect backdrop for all your festive pics.

Featuring over 75,000 thousand individual LED lights, the golden decoration scheme is inspired by the Manchester worker bee, with honeycomb-style decorations featured throughout the centre.

Shoppers can also see three 20ft suspended light displays in Exchange Court to match the bright lights of the newly refurbished Next flagship store.

Working against the clock, Santa’s little helpers spent 40 hours over five nights installing the tree and Manchester Arndale’s brand new Christmas decorations – but you can see them do it in just 30 seconds in the time-lapse video.

“Manchester has so many fantastic festive pop-ups, including the extensive Christmas Markets and iconic Santa in Albert Square,” says Manchester Arndale centre director, David Allison.

“Christmas trees are dotted around the city, but we were missing a large, destination tree like some of the other UK cities have. Each year we get lots of shopper requests for a tree, so we hope the new addition will make your photos of the area extra special.

“We’ve also designed completely new decorations, and incorporated subtle honeycomb elements to celebrate Manchester’s heritage and complement some of the amazing pieces of Worker Bee artwork popping up across the city. We’ll be running a special bee-themed giveaway in December so watch out for that.”

Manchester Arndale’s Christmas lights will be officially switched on in line with the city’s illuminated decorations on Saturday 4 November.