Sorry, folks, but Coldwell Banker is all out of Christmas trees.

Yes, they usually do sell houses; not trees. So when desperate families began calling the realtors on Monday to ask if they would consider selling the trees displayed in the Coldwell Banker offices, representatives initially thought it was all a joke.

By Wednesday, when the calls were still flooding in, however, they changed their tune ? to a jaunty Christmas carol. Deciding to go ahead and sell the trees, the realtors agreed that whatever money was raised would be matched by the company, with the total donated to charity.

Though it has not yet been decided which charity the money will be given too, one representative said it would be a children's charity of some sort.

Increasingly desperate posts on E-Moo, Bermuda's online classified ads, as well as frustrated Island-wide odysseys by locals show the search for Christmas trees is still raging in Bermuda, however.

Most places seemed to have been all out by Saturday, with Aberfeldy Nurseries lamenting the loss of one third of their stock this year.

The 200 trees, imported from Canada, were barred from Bermuda by health inspectors after bugs were discovered on them.

An Aberfeldy spokesperson said yesterday the company had been out of Christmas trees for ages already. "It would've been nice if we'd had that container."

The lack of a tree wouldn't stop at least one family from enjoying their Christmas, however. "So we don't have a tree, that's ok," a mother told yesterday. "For the first time ever, my kids (three and five) have saved up their money to buy me a present.

"So how could it not be special?!"