Mine looked half-dead the day after I brought it home From Tesco, with a label saying it would last till 6th January It looks a bit better now it's lost half (or more) of its leaves and a whole branch 'Last' until 6th Jan is obviously loose terminology
The last few years mine have been lovely, and carried on for ages. Same house, same position, same treatment but this one almost died straight away, and it wasn't a particularly cold day either