Forums

Posted: 03-12-2009 22:51 Post subject:

Whatever happened to the Credit Crunch?

Nativity play costs 'sent soaring'
By Hannah Richardson
Education reporter, BBC News

Time was when an old tea towel and a pair of striped pyjamas were all your child needed for their nativity play.

Now, it seems, Virgin Marys are appearing in luxury pashmina shawls and Wise Men in be-jewelled silk turbans.

Some pushy parents are spending as much as £150 on their child's Christmas play, department store Debenhams says. Shocked

And so great is the "manger chic" trend that the store's team of personal shoppers are now trying to persuade customers to see sense.

Debenhams spokesman Ed Watson said: "The amount of money that some parents want to spend on their child's nativity play appearance would enable the baby Jesus to leave the stable and check into a five star hotel.

"It's silly and we're doing all that we can to persuade competitive parents to change their minds - it is the season of good will after all."

He added: "Their sons and daughters will still look wonderful wearing a pair of pyjamas and a sheet rather than the latest dress or coat straight from the high fashion catwalk."

Debenhams said it noticed the trend after speaking to its personal shoppers who were suddenly being asked for tips on how to create the ultimate nativity play makeovers.

While the majority of parents wanted advice on how to use cheap readily-available materials to the greatest effect, a significant minority were insistent that only the best would do, Mr Watson added.

He suggested the cause of the phenomena may be, with the pressure on primary school places, parents wanting to get their child noticed.

He also said it may be that today's parents are simply not confident about making their child a costume and so they "throw money" at it instead.

And strangely it was those parents whose children had the less prominent parts in their plays, such as donkeys or sheep who were playing major roles.

Mr Watson suggested: "They feel they have to compensate for their child's minor role by putting on a much greater display of 'manger chic' to win attention."

Brand new bridesmaid dresses worth £50 are being sourced for the role of angel and arctic fur throws costing £60 for the role of sheep, he said.

While parents of would-be shepherds were paying £25 for striped Velour dressing gowns.

Mr Watson said: "While we applaud parents wanting to do their very best for their children, we feel certain that the story of the nativity can still be told using very simple materials."

Meanwhile John Lewis said it had found the reverse to be true, with parents desperately trying to improvise costumes at the last minute.

A spokeswoman said: "Every parent has felt it, that dreaded knot of panic as the realisation hits that a costume for Mary, Angel Gabriel and one of the three Wise Men has to be made within a week!"

Fabric expert at the Welwyn Garden City store Julia Dudrenec said: "I've been working in the haberdashery department for over 10 years and every Christmas it's the same.

"Worried parents and children arrive with sometimes only minutes to spare before the stage beckons. We try and help as much as we can, with the minimum of fuss, time and expense."

The store had also seen a surge in sales of tea-towels and tights.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8393701.stm

Posted: 04-12-2009 09:02 Post subject:

Elf jailed over Father Christmas dynamite hoax in US mall
A man dressed as an elf told a Father Christmas working in a Georgia shopping mall that he was carrying dynamite, causing the evacuation of the entire building.
Published: 10:09PM GMT 03 Dec 2009

But when a bomb squad arrived to inspect the three suspect packages the 45-year-old elf left next to Father Christmas, the incident was declared a hoax.

William C. Caldwell III, a petite man who is five feet tall, dressed as an elf and queued to have his picture taken with the Southlake Mall's Father Christmas.

When he reached the front of the queue, "he told Santa Claus that he had dynamite in his bag," James Callaway, the Morrow police captain, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"He said that two times to Santa Claus."

The man dressed as Father Christmas notified the mall's security team, and Morrow police quickly arrested Mr Caldwell, who was not part of the mall's Christmas staff.

The mall in suburban Atlanta was evacuated but no explosives were found.

Mr Caldwell was being held without bond on Thursday in the Clayton County jail.

He faces several charges, including carrying out a hoax and making terrorist threats.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6720096/Elf-jailed-over-Father-Christmas-dynamite-hoax-in-US-mall.html

Posted: 08-12-2009 21:48 Post subject:

Too Xtreme for Poole!

Fir replaces fake Christmas tree

A Dorset town's much ridiculed fake Christmas tree has been replaced with a traditional conifer.

Some residents likened the £14,000 fake tree in Poole to a "huge traffic cone" or "a witch's hat". It was damaged by people climbing on it.

The 33ft (10m) structure had been chosen because of fears that a real one could topple over in strong winds.

The Dolphin Shopping Centre donated the real tree which was put up on Tuesday morning.

Dorset police are studying town centre CCTV video to see who damaged the artificial tree.

Police said one or more individuals climbed the structure in Falkland Square and damaged its framework between 1700 GMT on 30 November and 0915 the following day. It was taken away for repairs.

Jonathan Sibbett, chairman of Poole Town Centre Management, which chose the fake tree, said: "We opted to have an artificial tree this year after feedback from Poole shoppers and residents.

"This led to the decision to bring in something different this festive season and we are very disappointed that the cone tree has been vandalised."

A Facebook group entitled, "We don't care about health and safety, Poole needs a proper Christmas tree", has almost 5,000 members who welcomed the move to replace the fake tree. Cool

It was made of artificial turf held together by metal mesh and had speakers hidden inside to play Christmas carols.

The Borough of Poole had argued it was safer, sturdier and cheaper in the long run than a real tree and that a Norwegian fir tree could topple over in strong winds.

It said people had complained about hoardings and guy ropes, necessary under health and safety rules, which had supported last year's real tree.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/8401015.stm

Posted: 08-12-2009 22:58 Post subject:

Posted: 18-12-2009 10:59 Post subject:

Couple planted tiny Christmas tree in front garden 30 years ago to 'make friends'... now it's grown to 50ft
By Andy Dolan
Last updated at 7:42 PM on 17th December 2009

When Avril and Christopher Rowlands moved out of London to the countryside, they wanted a way to meet other villagers.
So they planted a 6ft Christmas tree in their front garden and invited their neighbours to help decorate it.
Now, 30 years later, it seems the couple aren’t the only ones to have put strong roots down, because their tree is still standing – and has grown 44ft.

Yesterday the couple told how the tree that once took only six lights to dress now accommodates almost 900 bulbs and is so tall they use a cherry picker, donated by a local building firm, to decorate the top.
Every December, the tree is the focal point of Inkberrow, Worcestershire, particularly as the village is one of a few in the UK to spurn street lights to avoid light pollution. Mrs Rowlands, 64, a writer for television, does not know the species of the tree, but said the couple were inspired by one outside the post office in Christmas 1978, the year they moved to the village.
She said: ‘The post office tree looked magical, particularly as there were no other lights in the village at night.
‘That gave us the idea of planting a tree in our own garden to light up in the same way.
‘We also thought it would help us to get talking with our neighbours and make friends in the village.’

She said they expected the tree, bought for £6 in a garden centre in 1979, to grow to around 10ft, but even now it is getting taller.
Mr Rowlands, 65, a freelance producer for the BBC, said: ‘After a few years we realised the tree was growing incredibly tall and was getting more and more attention.
Soon the entire village was joining us every December to help us decorate it.’

The couple, who have no children, said they were warned when they bought the tree that it would ‘last for years and would certainly grow’.
Mrs Rowlands added: ‘We’ve been told it is the tallest residential Christmas tree in Worcestershire and maybe in the UK. We’re extremely proud of it even though it completely towers over our house.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1236639/Christmas-tree-planted-family-1979-make-friends-grows-massive-50ft.html#ixzz0a25YBTMT

Posted: 24-11-2012 19:51 Post subject:

Link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-20467316

Posted: 29-11-2012 02:08 Post subject:

Posted: 07-12-2012 02:41 Post subject:

Posted: 31-08-2013 08:59 Post subject:

Kent town is first in country to put up Christmas lights - 121 days early
A Kent town is the first in the country to put up its Christmas lights – 121 days before December 25.
By Claire Carter
4:20PM BST 30 Aug 2013

Tenterden Chamber of Commerce decorated a tree in the town with around 1,500 lights and said the lights are set to remain lit for the next four months until Christmas Day.
The display – believed to be the first in the country after being rigged up in August – has gone up early to encourage people to donate money to raise £15,000 to replace lights stolen last year.

The lights were put up by volunteers during a downpour that followed Britain’s hottest summer in seven years.

Jonathan Medes, events officer at the volunteer run Chamber of Commerce for the town, said they had put up the lights with the help of a tree surgeon this year to ensure they were secure.
He said: “The lights used to just get hung in the Christmas trees but this year we’ve gone for putting them up the stem and around the branches and securing them.
“We’ve got them all up and ready, and I think we will leave them up until Christmas now.
“We thought if we put some lights up to engage people’s interest it would help with the fundraising.”

Mr Medes said the lights were put up last Saturday and they hoped by having the display early this would help them raise awareness in the community and reach the £15,000 target they need to replace the stolen lights. He said he hoped to decorate a further nine trees and that most of the display would be underway by October – still two months before Christmas day.

All the town’s Christmas lights were stolen from a store at a local fire station before organisers could put up the display last year, leaving them with just a few small trees decorated with a supply of emergency lights.

Mr Medes added: “It’s really important to have this display for the community. In previous years trees on both sides of the street have been lit up, but last year we were left in the dark, and with nothing.
“We are determined not to let this happen this year.”

After the lights were put up, town councillor Sue Ferguson posted a photo of the lights, adding: "Tenterden Christmas lights going up!!”
A tweet from Tenterden Town added: "Tenterden Christmas lights coming along, are we the first town in the country?"

The lights have been timed to come on at 9.15pm and go off at 11.30pm.
But the early display has attracted its critics.
Simon Abbott, 43, said: "It's still more than 100 days until Christmas and the sun is still blazing away.
"Nobody wants to think about the cold winter coming up - we want to enjoy the sun while it lasts not start thinking about presents, turkey and snow."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10276767/Kent-town-is-first-in-country-to-put-up-Christmas-lights-121-days-early.html

Posted: 31-08-2013 13:07 Post subject:

I can understand them being installed this early, but did they really need to switch them on now? Laughing

Posted: 31-08-2013 13:19 Post subject:

It would be even less publicity-worthy to do it in the proper season. snore

Posted: 31-08-2013 21:07 Post subject:

Posted: 31-08-2013 21:42 Post subject:

The Christmas marzipan will be available in supermarkets in Norway within four - five weeks.
I look forward to the marzipan, but it is a little bit early.

Nom Nom Nom!

http://www.minskole.no/MinBarnehage/kjolvikstolen/pilot.nsf/nt/7A308CA6EBD68FBEC1257801004C42C3/$File/julemarsipanF3A.jpg

Posted: 01-09-2013 10:58 Post subject:

Send us some over mate!

Posted: 02-09-2013 13:10 Post subject:

I'm a big Xmas fan - but even I (who has done almost all her xmas gift shopping already) think thats going too far Wink