Decorating

One of the biggest issues our clients face each year is adding lights to their Christmas tree.  They are concerned it will take too long, and the lights won't work, and it will look uneven, etc. etc.

Each year we help a small number of corporate customers create a beautiful decorated Christmas tree to be enjoyed by their staff and clients. Most of these trees are between 8ft and 10ft tall and rather than traditional corporate, most of our trees are more simple elegance in style.

Finally the second part, and the conclusion to the range of Christmas trees being presented by one of my favourite suppliers, Raz Imports, in 2015. Please give us your feedback on your favourite designs. Enjoy!

Each year one of my favourite suppliers, Raz Imports, release a series of images of their new decoration themes for the coming season. These trees are always full of magnificent decorations with barely an inch of Christmas tree still visible through the decoration packed branches.

This year I was lucky enough to visit two of the most significant Christmas decoration fairs in the world. The first was the Dallas Market and second Christmasworld in Frankfurt, Germany.These 2 fairs, plus the offerings of the Australian suppliers provide us with the ultimate understandings of the trends for the coming year.

One of the tips we are asked for often is garland designs. Today I'll show the simple processes to create a gorgeous staircase garland. Oh, and if you don't have a staircase don't worry. You could use exactly the same methods to create a garland for around a door frame (inside or outside) or to sit across a mantel or sofa table.

For the past 3 years I've created staircase garlands.  They are (apart from the Christmas tree) my favourite parts of the Christmas display.

Each year, when we start planning our new store, our aim is simple - to create a Christmas store that creates wonderment in children and inspires our customers to create their very own Christmas wonderlands at home.

These gorgeous ribbon wreaths are so easy!  We have just published our simple video "How to Make a Christmas Ribbon Wreath" on YouTube with full instructions.

Each year when we head to the Dallas Gift Market the big question is "what's new"? What are we going to see we haven't seen before, or what will we see everywhere that makes it very clear there is a new trend in town? This year was no exception. 2014 was the fourth time I've been to the Dallas Market and I still find it inspiring and over-whelming. There were a few few stand out trends this year that we noticed in many of the supplier showrooms.

I love seasonal baking - but it's got to be easy, and these cupcakes are just perfect. I won't go through the recipe for the cupcake and icing.

Ok, you simply can’t have a blog about Christmas shops and not include Kathe Wohlfahrt, and in particular their stunning premium store in the walled town of Rothenburg in Bavaria.  Wow!  Wow!  Wow!