Elves dropped by the Mundy Street premises to give Y Service Club of Bendigo volunteers a hand selling the freshly cut timber on Friday.

Colin Lambie is among those who organise and sell the trees and says regulars have begun arriving to take part in what many Bendigo families regard as a Christmas tradition.

"Someone who came yesterday was telling us this was their 18^th year," he said.

"We've had people say they are in the third generation and that their parents and grandparents used to buy them from us too. That may very well be true. The club has been doing this for more than 50 years."

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Everyone who arrives has different tree needs but Mr Lambie was particularly happy to see one boy get the one he wanted on Friday.

"He, his siblings and his parents arrived and he said 'this is the tree'. His parents went off to look at different ones but he stood his ground," he said.

That boy got his dream tree and Mr Lambie said the rest of Bendigo could find theirs among the 500-odd that remained.

They will be on sale from 9am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as from 3.30 to 6pm on Fridays.

Proceeds from Y Service Club of Bendigo fundraisers go towards a range of groups including Bendigo Foodshare, YMCA youth orientated projects, SES and CFA groups, choirs and cancer support groups, to name a few organisations.

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