Toronto's giant Christmas tree has arrived at city hall

It's beginning to look a lot (okay, a little) like Christmas in Toronto this week with the arrival of a gigantic evergreen tree at Nathan Philips Square.

The process of installing Toronto's official 2017 Christmas tree began this morning when the it arrived at city hall on a flatbed truck from Bancroft, Ontario.

Toronto's 18 m white spruce Christmas tree is here @npstoronto ! It'll be covered with thousands of lights for #CavalcadeofLights on Nov 25 pic.twitter.com/4sRNyFjM9R

— City of Toronto (@TorontoComms) November 6, 2017

It took three cranes, six people and approximately four hours to get the 6o-foot-tall (or 18 metres) tree in place – but that's all that has happened so far.

"The tree requires three days to settle before it can be decorated," according to the city. "Countless pieces of large machinery, including a cherry picker, are used by the decorating crew to string the lights and place each ornament on the tree."

I can see how that might be jarring for a tree.

Up goes Toronto's official Christmas tree! #CavalcadeofLights @TorontoComms pic.twitter.com/VStIjPAUns

— Special Events T.O. (@specialeventsTO) November 6, 2017

Once it has settled, the traditional process of decorating and lighting the tree with machines will commence. A City of Toronto media release says that it should be ready for the holidays in about two weeks – just in time for the 51st annual Cavalcade of Lights on Nov. 25.

The tree will remain on display throughout the holiday season at Nathan Philips Square. In 2018, it will be recycled.