Christmas 2023 Highlights
Visit the Hayes Christmas display and loose yourself in a magical wonderland
Our Christmas spectacular here in the store at Ambleside, in the gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage Lake District, looks like being one of our best displays ever. If that’s not enough to tempt you to take a ride out then a trip to the Lakes would be the icing on the cake. We’ve changed the format slightly this year with Christmas hitting you as soon as you come in through the North Entrance.
Here we’ve sited the Magical Forest which is not just Christmas but there is plenty to tempt you into creating your own autumn extravaganza. With it’s warm cosy colours of amber, cream, cocoa and sage it perfectly suits one of our snowy artificial Christmas trees, such as the Yukon Pine which already comes with cones and warm white LED lights.
Mystic Luxury is a deep rich palette of cobalt, navy, mauve, lilac and gold and gives off rich opulent vibes. This palette gives you the magnificence without the luxury price tag. Decorate a plain green garland and run it down the centre of the dining table, intersperse with various sized chunky gold candles to give the arrangement some height. If you have a round dining table use a simple round green wreath as the base of your arrangement and fill the centre with a group of the gold candles.
Festive Ballroom comes in the form of luminescent pastels; soft pink, pale gold, pearl, crystal and oyster. We have showcased these colours on a snowy tree and the result is stunning. The pale colours perfectly toning with the snow to present a cool sophisticated vibe. If you want to change your colours in future years then you have the cream, oyster and pale gold as a basis, just add copper, cocoa and caramel for a colour theme based on the flavours of toffee.
Candy Shop is the fun theme this year and ideal if you’re going to decorate a child’s bedroom. This is where gingerbread people meet red and white. The major pieces on the tree are gingerbread decorations, lollipops and red, white and silver baubles. A snowy artificial tree perfectly suits just a red and white colourway. Included in this theme this year is Gingerbread Rat who is just standing around looking a wee bit bewildered, but would make an beloved companion for any child, whatever the age!
Winter Wonderland includes the Arctic Cabin which is covered in icy blue decorations and masses of icicles balanced with faux furs and silver birch decorations. This is the theme for those of us who prefer our Christmas decs chic and sophisticated and for whom Christmas isn’t Christmas without snow. This is the classic Scandi theme of icy blue, white, crystal, matt copper, sage and birchwood.
Traditional Festivities are the rich reds, golds and forest greens of a classic Christmas colour palette. This colour scheme allows you to seamlessly integrate all those precious decorations which have sentimental value. It allows you to easily change your colour scheme in future years without the expense of buying a whole new set of ornaments. Keep red the main colour and add secondary colours of white and silver, green can form the basis of a new woodland scheme with the addition of touches of copper, orange and cream and gold of course can be the basis of a calm opulent decorative scheme with the addition of cream, soft caramel and cocoa.
The Christmas dining table is one of the focal points of the festive season and so easy to make look spectacular. We have some tables set out in store to give you some simple ideas; ice blue, white and frost are brought to life with Christmas red candles and blush pink, cream and gold look particularly opulent with the addition a lots of gold micro lights. All you need are some sprays of florals and a few sparkly poinsettia heads, add candles and lights and the result is a sure fire talking point at dinner time. Click here and watch the video where Yvonne shows you just how anyone can make a Christmas dinner statement.
Lighted houses are the perfect decorative element for those of us who don’t like a lot of Christmas decorations. They are simple and elegant with a Scandi influence so perfectly fit in with the Winter Wonderland theme. They can be used as a stand alone piece or as a winter scene with the addition of artificial snow, some pine branches and small cones. If you live in a small space and can’t have a Christmas tree these little houses fit perfectly on a windowsill, mantlepiece of sideboard.
Twig trees are elegant and they make it so easy to achieve a festive look with minimal effort. All you have to do is take out of the box, dress out and plug in, you don’t even need to add decorations. They are available in brown or white to suit any colour scheme. The lights are low voltage LEDs which cost only a couple of pounds to run over the whole of the festive season. They are long lasting and cool to the touch so perfect if you have little ones in the house.
Artificial Christmas trees are the mainstay of the festive season and again this year it looks like the snowy and frosted trees are going to be the stars of the show. A stunning showpiece is so easy to achieve with these trees as they suit so many different colour schemes. Our Winter Wonderland, Enchanted Forest, Candy Shop and Festive Ballroom themes all look stunning on these trees. We have a huge selection of these trees on the shop floor here in our store at Ambleside. Click here to read the blog showing you which artificial trees we have on show on the shop floor. If you can’t make it to the store click here to check out our selection available online.
If you are short on time and decorative ability we have a large range of pre-decorated artificial wreaths and garlands. Place a pre-lit pre-decorated garland along the centre of the dining table, add some candles and you have a beautifully decorated centrepiece to accompany Christmas dinner in a matter of minutes. If you have a round table just use a wreath instead of a garland and group some candles of differing heights in the centre. Remember to place candles onto a heatproof plate. If you love to put your own spin on your table decoration click here to watch how Yvonne creates a stunning Christmas dinner table centrepiece.
Rat has turned from last year’s Bat Rat with superhuman powers to Gingerbread Rat who has a permanently bewildered expression and who loves nothing more than to laze besides the fire. They are available in 3 different sizes and are already proving to be a customer favourite.
Christmas food is a guilty pleasure that we can all excuse over the festive period. There are gifts galore for family and friends, the cheese lover, the gin lover, just to say thank you or for yourself just because you deserve it. There is a huge price range from a couple of pounds, so if you’re looking for stocking fillers this is the place to start.
Hayes can provide almost everything you need to make Christmas special, except the turkey. Don’t forget we also have a huge range of calendars, cards, gift wrap, bags, ribbon and tags.
Fresh trees are available from the middle of November but we suggest that you call beforehand if you’re making a special journey, but don’t forget we have a spectacular Christmas display this year which is well worth a special trip.
Once you’ve shopped and viewed our gorgeous Christmas display don’t forget we have the Four Seasons Terrace Café where you can relax with breakfast, lunch or just a coffee and home-made cake while you look out over the Lakeland fells. We now operate a table service so you don’t have to queue with a heavy tray.