Christmas at Leekes

Love Christmas at Leekes

Christmas is truly a unique time of year and whilst we know that 2020 has not been the year we all hoped it would be, maintaining a positive outlook is important in helping us all get through this together. How we celebrate this year may be a little different to usual but it is still a time to share and make memories with loved ones.

Our Christmas range for 2020 has been curated to allow you to fully indulge in a theme and adorn your home with beautiful decor and decorations. Choose from a mixture of modern and traditional colour palettes and introduce some key pieces to your existing Christmas splendor.

Our Christmas buyer, Charlotte is going to talk you through each range, the inspiration behind it and also her “top picks” from each collection.

“I have loved pulling together this years Christmas selection. Some of our ranges had a really successful capsule launch last year and so this year we have expanded those collections in order for customers to add more pieces. It has also been really important to me to introduce some quirky designs that will be sure to add some festive cheer as well as keeping the spirit of traditional styling with lots of berries, Santa Claus’ and deep red tones which are synonymous with Christmas.“

Charlotte Illsley, Assistant Buyer

---

 

Beneath The Stars

Beneath The Stars is a Christmas theme full of imagination and dream-like elements. Turquoise blue tones perfectly compliment rich, warm golds. This year we have introduced a new brand, Gisela Graham and a number of the pieces in the collection are from this beautiful and elegant range. The hanging decorations include striking bejewelled baubles, stars, moons and even astronauts. If you usually have a traditional  Christmas tree with lots of gold, adding a pop of turquoise can really make your tree stand out without needed to fully update all of your decorations. This range is already proving popular with our customers and I will be picking up a few pieces for my own tree at home.

Charlotte’s top picks from this collection

1. Gisela Graham Planet Earth Bauble – £8

2. Gisela Graham Opaque Stars Bauble – £3.50

3. Gisela Graham Raised Stars Bauble – £4

4. Gisela Graham Antique Moon – £8

5. Gisela Graham Mirror Tree Top Star – £20

Shop “Beneath The Stars” Collection | Visit Christmas Shop

 🎄🎄🎄

A Seasonal Safari

You really can go wild with this quirky theme. I realise however that a Christmas tree full of safari animals may not be to everyone’s tastes. What is great about this collection is that it embraces elements from themes we have had over recent years. This means that customers can keep adding to their assortment and evolving their decor. You’ll still find warm golds with rich emerald greens and bronzed tones with this range, so if a safari is not for you – you can still indulge. Some of my favourite pieces are the beautiful animal hanging decorations from Gisela Graham. I also love the clear bauble with a bee, bees have been really popular on homeware pieces this spring / summer so now your Christmas decor can match.

Charlotte’s top picks from this collection

1. Gisela Graham Safari Animal, assorted designs – £3.50

2. Gisela Graham Bumble Bee Bauble – £3.50

3. Festive Zebra Print Bauble – £3.50

4. Festive Metal Leaf Hanging Decoration – £9

5. Gisela Graham Faux Fur Lion Hanging Decoration – £6

Shop “A Seasonal Safari” Collection | Visit Christmas Shop

 🎄🎄🎄

Beside The Sea

Who doesn’t love the seaside? This range was first introduced last year as a small capsule collection and it was so successful we have expanded it for 2020. Along with the very popular octopus, jelly fish and clam shell decorations we have launched a range of striking coral style larger baubles which look great when combined with the other more unique elements. The soft pastel shades mix well with metallic accents like silver, gold and rose gold so the pieces are really diverse. Once again you don’t have to commit fully to the theme, you can pick your favourite decorations to make your tree really stand out.

Charlotte’s top picks from this collection

1. Gisela Graham Beaded Starfish – £7

2. Boltze Perlia Shell Bauble, assorted designs – £4.50

3. Boltze Crabby Bauble – £5.50

4. Gisela Graham Seaweed Bauble – £3.50

5. Gisela Graham Pastel Shell Pearl Hanging Decoration – £7

Shop “Beside The Sea” Collection | Visit Christmas Shop

 🎄🎄🎄

Meet Me Under The Mistletoe

We see so much blush pink in homes these days and this range suits that style perfectly. The mixture of pinks and greens with gold and rose gold make for a delicate and modern take on Christmas which is really diverse. The mistletoe elements pay homage to a more traditional Christmas meaning you can dip your toe in to the more modern colour palette without losing classic seasonal styling.

Charlotte’s top picks from this collection

1. Festive Swirl Ridged Glass Bauble, Copper – £3

2. Kaemingk Unicorn Hanging Decoration, assorted designs – £2.50

3. Kaemingk Champagne Gift Set Hanging Decoration  – £7

4. Gisela Graham Leaf Hanging Decoration – £4

5. Boltze Jilia Bauble, assorted designs – £12

Shop “Meet Me Under The Mistletoe” Collection | Visit Christmas Shop

 🎄🎄🎄

Step In To December

Finally, what would Christmas be without good ol’ Saint Nick? Whilst I personally love modern Christmas, there’s nothing that embodies the holiday season quite like rich reds and snowy winter scenes. It’s important for us at Leekes to ensure that we have something for everyone at Christmas and our more traditional customers are big fans of red and green.

Charlotte’s top picks from this collection

1. Gisela Graham Deer with Tartan Scarf Hanging Decoration – £6

2. Gisela Graham Tinsel Bauble, Red – £2.50

3 Festive Berry Ball Hanging Decoration – £4

4. Wicker Tree Ring Skirt, Large – £24

5. Sitting Alfra Gnome, assorted colours £8.50

Shop “Step In To December” Collection | Visit Christmas Shop

 🎄🎄🎄

A little bit different…..

This year we have also launched a collection of truly unique, fun and eccentric hanging decorations. The range features everything from rubber ducks to robots and doughnuts to dinosaurs.

You can shop our full range of Christmas decorations by visiting us safely in store or from the comfort of your arm chair online. Please check store opening times before visiting.

Take me to the Christmas Shop

---

Meet The Buyer

Name: Charlotte Illsley

Role: Assistant Buyer

Service: 4 Years

Buying Responsibility: Garden Centre, Christmas & Gifts

About: Charlotte graduated from Bath Spa university where she studied textile design for fashion and interiors before working as a stylist and visual merchandiser.

A self confessed shopaholic, Charlotte first joined Leekes as a Buyer’s Assistant and was quickly promoted to Assistant Buyer taking responsibility of a number of our seasonal departments.

What I love about Leekes: “I love that the role is so diverse, one day I can be buying compost and BBQ’s and the next can be selecting baubles and tinsel. The job has allowed me the opportunity to travel to Germany and the Netherlands for the first time – this year I was also hoping to travel to Milan but sadly due to travel restrictions was unable. I have my fingers crossed for more trips next year”

Favourite Leekes product:  “Can I be biased and say Christmas? All of it! It’s been so much fun to create this collection and it’s my favourite so far. Other than Christmas, I have taken a keen interest in upcycling products so can often be found in the DIY and decorating section in store picking up some furniture paint.”

The next big thing: “I recently got to visit a Weber barbecue roadshow and taste some delicious barbecue’d foodie goodness – barbecue food is so diverse and people have started to use them all year round. They make a great gift. I cannot wait for our customers to discover our new range next year, it’s very exciting.”