Christmas Cheer

So it’s the 18^th March and finally the sun is shining. Outside the crocuses are blooming and there’s absolutely no sign of a drop of snow anywhere in my general vicinity. So what, you might ask, would you be thinking spending two days travelling to Holland via Germany in order to listen to Christmas carols playing over the music system?

Well in retail, as you know, we are always at least one season ahead and right now it’s time to be buying Christmas. Not just in a little way either; we’re talking full on Christmas with lights, baubles, dancing reindeer and a fifteen foot inflatable Father Christmas! The company we visit is the biggest in Europe and what they don’t know about Christmas isn’t worth knowing.

We arrived on Wednesday and spent the afternoon acclimatising ourselves with the showroom. You really need to get your bearings; this year there are nine theme rooms as well as a candle room, a lighting room, and a room full of animated soft toys. Once we get an idea of the general layout it’s time to start painting a picture of how the season will be put together.

A fresh start this morning and all becomes clear. We head straight for the candle department. This is an area that we have been looking to improve in the last 12 months, and this year they look great.

Having cracked the scented candle market we move to the sparkle and shine room. WOW it’s truly glittertastic. The showroom is a real source of inspiration the displays really do make for phenomenal viewing. The artistry behind making Christmas look this good really is second to none. Even if you are a true Christmas Scrooge you would be blown away by how good it can look if you set your mind to it!

Well it’s been a great trip, even if I am sick to death of hearing jingle bells in the background! It’s great to see some fantastic new products and this year they really have surpassed themselves. Who wouldn’t want to buy a set of reindeer deely boppers?

Remember it’ll soon be Christmas! Ho Ho Ho.