I adore Christmas. Apart from the Christian celebration which we focus on as a family, we also throw ourselves wholeheartedly into making the most of the special food, lights and glittery things, decorating the whole house inside and out.
I pride myself at not being too bad at the whole decorating thing mixing old favourite tree decorations and ornaments with new ideas generally "borrowed" from the internet, and enjoy spending time with friends Christmas crafting over a cuppa and a mince pie or four.
But I am truly an amateur compared to the amazing team at The Christmas Decorators who not only decorate shops, restaurants, hotels, malls and the homes of the rich and famous, but also supply a massive range of decorations to suit any taste and pocket from their shop in Wavertree, Liverpool and their online store, Christmas Lights Etc.
I travelled north recently,not following any stars, just the rail line from Euston to Liverpool to learn some skills from the glitter-coated Queen of Christmas decorating, Sarah Bolton, who along with her husband Nick launched the business in 1999.
I'm not joking about the glitter - it's a byproduct of the industry that pretty much everyone and everything ends up sparkling to some degree!
Anyway the very lovely Sarah firstly revived our flagging spirits with some festive mulled wine and then got us to work firstly building and decorating a Christmas tree. The key seemed to be decorate it, then decorate it some more and then at the point when fainter-hearted souls would back away, decorate it some more - the results were spectacular! I was particularly grateful for all the ribbon related tips - can't wait to try them out on my own tree.
After finishing the tree- and supping maybe another glass of mulled wine- we moved onto wreaths.
More clever ribbon twisting and after being let loose on an exciting array of baubles and berries my pre-lit ginormous wreath was complete. Proud doesn't sum up how I felt about the wreath which is a good job as I had to lug it south again later that day!
It is already hung on the inside of the back door just waiting for the start of Advent when it will be promoted to the outside of the front door - lets see if the neighbours can produce anything anywhere near as magnificent.
It even has The Christmas Decorators special battery packs which have a memory built in so if you click your lights on at 5.30pm on the first night, they will turn off automatically after ten hours then come on again automatically at 5.30pm the following night. Clever!
I loved the team at The Christmas Decorators- friendly and hard working and truly passionate about their work.
But the reason I really love them was finding out that it was a team from their Wavertree base who brought baubles to Bethlehem.
Yes, thanks to these down-to-earth Liverpudlians there is a host of wonderful decorations lighting up the famous Manger Square just a few steps from the place we believe Jesus was born. The centre piece is a fabulous tree which symbolises how the spirit of Christmas can transcend race, religion and a significant language barrier bringing joy to all.
The story of the team's efforts getting to Bethlehem and erecting the decorations is outlined in the following short video.
I URGE you to watch it, even if you normally don't bother clicking - this is worth it!
Such a wonderful feel-good story for this time of year when we are just days away from opening the first window on the Advent Calendar and an appropriate way to start the Christmas countdown here on madmumof7.com.
Keep popping back over the next few weeks for lots of festive fun as well as the usual random anecdotes, opinions and tips.
Disclaimer: My trip to Liverpool was paid for and I received a free decorated wreath. Views and opinions remain honest and my own.
I pride myself at not being too bad at the whole decorating thing mixing old favourite tree decorations and ornaments with new ideas generally "borrowed" from the internet, and enjoy spending time with friends Christmas crafting over a cuppa and a mince pie or four.
But I am truly an amateur compared to the amazing team at The Christmas Decorators who not only decorate shops, restaurants, hotels, malls and the homes of the rich and famous, but also supply a massive range of decorations to suit any taste and pocket from their shop in Wavertree, Liverpool and their online store, Christmas Lights Etc.
I travelled north recently,not following any stars, just the rail line from Euston to Liverpool to learn some skills from the glitter-coated Queen of Christmas decorating, Sarah Bolton, who along with her husband Nick launched the business in 1999.
I'm not joking about the glitter - it's a byproduct of the industry that pretty much everyone and everything ends up sparkling to some degree!
Anyway the very lovely Sarah firstly revived our flagging spirits with some festive mulled wine and then got us to work firstly building and decorating a Christmas tree. The key seemed to be decorate it, then decorate it some more and then at the point when fainter-hearted souls would back away, decorate it some more - the results were spectacular! I was particularly grateful for all the ribbon related tips - can't wait to try them out on my own tree.
After finishing the tree- and supping maybe another glass of mulled wine- we moved onto wreaths.More clever ribbon twisting and after being let loose on an exciting array of baubles and berries my pre-lit ginormous wreath was complete. Proud doesn't sum up how I felt about the wreath which is a good job as I had to lug it south again later that day!
It is already hung on the inside of the back door just waiting for the start of Advent when it will be promoted to the outside of the front door - lets see if the neighbours can produce anything anywhere near as magnificent.
It even has The Christmas Decorators special battery packs which have a memory built in so if you click your lights on at 5.30pm on the first night, they will turn off automatically after ten hours then come on again automatically at 5.30pm the following night. Clever!
I loved the team at The Christmas Decorators- friendly and hard working and truly passionate about their work.
But the reason I really love them was finding out that it was a team from their Wavertree base who brought baubles to Bethlehem.
Yes, thanks to these down-to-earth Liverpudlians there is a host of wonderful decorations lighting up the famous Manger Square just a few steps from the place we believe Jesus was born. The centre piece is a fabulous tree which symbolises how the spirit of Christmas can transcend race, religion and a significant language barrier bringing joy to all.
The story of the team's efforts getting to Bethlehem and erecting the decorations is outlined in the following short video.
I URGE you to watch it, even if you normally don't bother clicking - this is worth it!
Such a wonderful feel-good story for this time of year when we are just days away from opening the first window on the Advent Calendar and an appropriate way to start the Christmas countdown here on madmumof7.com.
Keep popping back over the next few weeks for lots of festive fun as well as the usual random anecdotes, opinions and tips.
Disclaimer: My trip to Liverpool was paid for and I received a free decorated wreath. Views and opinions remain honest and my own.