Days before Christmas, families flocked to a parking lot in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where a special giveaway is brightening their holidays.

When the Portsmouth Rotary Club's annual tree sale ended Sunday, volunteers packed up the cash register, but left behind the 50 trees that didn't sell, choosing instead to offer them to community members for free.

Since then, people have been flocking to the Lafayette Plaza parking lot to pick up a free tree or wreath, everyone with their own special reason for making the trip.

People say the generosity bringing the spirit of the season alive.

By the end of the day, all the trees were gone. Dozens of them went to local families while the rest ended up in a chipper and sent to Public Service of New Hampshire to be used for fuel.

The annual tree sale raised more than $40,000 that will go back into the seacoast community.