Top tips for bringing Christmas ambience to your own home

Feeling your Christmas decorations could do with a zhuzh-up this year? Want to go above and behind the 6ft tree and fairy lights festooned outside your home? Well, you live in just the right county, because Ongar-founded events company Christmas Essence is here to make your festive fantasies come true. There might be just one snag, however, prices start at £5,000 for the magical make-over of your dreams. ‘You’d be surprised how many people in the county are willing to pay that sort of money, though’, says Harry Bradshaw. ‘We’re expecting to be working on around 60 to 70 homes this year.’

Fabulously kitsch: At Last Event's Christmas design for the Pretty Little Thing London showroom. (Image: At Last Events/Christmas Essence) Harry is Creative Director not only at Christmas Essence but at its larger sister company, At Last Events, too. At Last Events offers professional festive and event decoration for all sorts of commercial organisations from household brands and retailers, to bars, restaurants and hotels.‘One of my favourite commercial-client jobs was for fashion company Pretty Little Thing’s London showroom,’ recalls Harry. ‘Everything we created for their Christmas look was overloaded with shades of bright pink, purple and mint. There were lollipops, candy canes, sweets, doughnuts, ice creams and giant reindeer everywhere – all incredibly, OTT and kitsch.'

Big enough for you?! A spectacular bow garlanding the Pan Pacific London Hotel, courtesy of At Last Events. (Image: At Last Events/Christmas Essence) Elsewhere in the capital, At Last also won plaudits for the jaw-dropping pillars of light and massive bow it installed outside the Pan Pacific London hotel, and then there was the 15 x 15 metre-high snowflake that the team created for the iconic Gherkin. Not all its work is UK based – one year, the team was asked at very late notice to pitch for dressing a Swiss ski-chalet for Christmas at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds. There’s set dressing for videos, too: ‘We worked with the production designer to install sets for Black Doves, a soon-to-be-released Netflix drama starring Keira Knightley; and we designed and dressed a music video for singer Gregory Porter’s Christmas single last year – he was a lovely guy to work with: really friendly and down-to-earth.’

A giant snowflake adorns the iconic Gherkin. (Image: At Last Events/Christmas Essence) Such is At Last’s reputation that, this year, it has bagged arguably the ultimate retail client: uber-elegant London department store, Fortnum & Mason. Though when we spoke, the details were still top secret. ‘We’re incredibly honoured and excited to be assisting in the store’s interior Christmas decorations this year,’ says Harry, though as far as details are concerned, ‘My lips are sealed, I’m afraid. All I can say is that what we’re creating will be a truly wonderful, Christmassy reflection of Fortnum’s reputation for quality and style.’

But back to us mere mortals and our homes. Says Harry of Christmas Essence clients, ‘They’re willing to hand over the hassle to someone else, and the process will start, probably around October, but the earlier the better - I can’t stress this enough! We will happily take clients’ Christmas orders in the spring or summer. We arrange to visit them at home to see what designs will work best with their decor, take photos of the areas they want decorating and will then come up with a bespoke look, based on their choice of colour and style’ – everything from traditional red and gold to neons, and with vintage vibes to space-age themes a possibility. ‘Sometimes our clients will have a clear idea of what they want, sometimes it’s up to us,’ says Harry. Obviously, though, the centre-piece of it all will be the Christmas tree. ‘When people tell me sustainability’s important to them, I’ll point out that an artificial tree is much better from that point of view – we offer everything on a hire-only basis, so it means things can be used again and again.’

Christmas Essence's work on this home reflects the owner's stylish elegance. (Image: At Last Events/Christmas Essence) And that’s just as well, given that Harry and the team make all their props in-house – both for Christmas and non-Christmas related projects that take place throughout the year: ‘For At Last Event’s clients, we’ve produced giant nutcrackers, creative displays for new product launches, enormous satin bows so that entire buildings can be wrapped as “presents” – you name it, we’ve done it,’ he says. ‘Any of those props can be hired by our domestic customers if they want them.’

The company’s success means it’s recently moved from its Ongar base to much larger premises in Brentford. ‘Because we make everything ourselves, workshop and storage space is essential and we’d out-grown where we were before. We need space for staff too: most of our planning for corporate clients starts in January, and our core team of 14 expands to an extra 20, who we’ll take on and train to At Last Events’ high levels of standards, to then help with the busiest Christmas period.’

Does Harry predict any particular trends that we should be looking out for this year? ‘Colourwise, we’re seeing minimalist, elegant designs with neutral colour palates and metallic accents. For artificial trees, the ombre effect really makes an impact, with off-beat colour schemes such as teal and orange proving popular. People really do want something different in their homes and we have heard of neighbours competing with one another for the best decorations, often with a sense of ‘the bigger, the better’ - requests for super-sized Christmas wreaths and bows are not unknown! Most of our clients are very easy going, though occasionally you have people who don’t realise all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into our designs – they think it’s only about the few hours it takes us to install everything at their homes. Someone did once look at a tree we’d installed and said,“take it away – it’s not what I want” – so we did!’ Harry is far too discreet to name celebrity names, but says that Christmas Essence’s clients include, ‘…millionaires with some very impressive homes, as well as Essex sports personalities and Reality TV stars.’

This garland makes a real impact in a client's home. (Image: At Last Events/Christmas Essence) I ask if Harry thinks Christmas Essence’s domestic clients might miss the experience that many of us cherish at this time of year: rediscovering much-loved decorations that have been carefully packed away since Twelfth Night, joining with family to hang those baubles on our tree and standing back to admire the end results? ‘Well, the wow factor is definitely there when we do the work,’ says Harry, ‘And of course we never know what happens after we’ve left. I like to believe our clients and their families will always add a little bauble or two for themselves, just to personalise things.’

Perhaps unsurprisingly given his work load, for Harry, Christmas tends to be primarily about relaxing: ‘I’m thinking perhaps of going abroad to see friends in Australia after the mad rush. At home, though, I’ll put a lot of thought into the food, as I love cooking. My spiced roast goose with homemade Port gravy is always a real hit with family and friends, so I might cook that again.’ Decoratively, too, things tend to be low-key: ‘I keep my own tree simply dressed, as I do my table: perhaps a white, partially laced tablecloth, and with lots of natural decoration - berries and greenery from outside. I really do tend to make it up as I go along. Whatever I do, though, I give myself the same advice I give everyone else: do it with feeling.’

atlastevents.co.uk; christmasessence.co.uk

Creative Director Harry Bradshaw is always in a festive frame of mind - his role demands it! (Image: At Last Events/Christmas Essence)

Harry’s top tips for bringing Christmas ambience to your own home

It’s all about the five senses…

Sound Make sure you’ve got a great Christmas soundtrack playing in the background – in my home, we always play Christmas albums by Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra.

Smell I go for a real tree, simply because its scent just says, ‘Christmas’ to me. And mulled wine doesn’t just taste good - all those natural spices billowing from the hot saucepan will fill your home with festive fragrance.

Touch Get yourself a cosy Christmas throw – the soft fabric will instantly make you and your guests feel warm and relaxed.

Taste Your food needs to be on point! To make things easy, I prep everything down to a T on Christmas Eve, so that most of my sides are ready to go in the oven come Christmas Day. I’ll even pre-chop ingredients and place them in in tiny bowls ready for use - the French call it ‘mise en place’. All this prep gives me ample drinking time while cooking Christmas lunch.

Sight If you’re doing it yourself, just adorn your home with Christmas decorations that you like and that mean something to you. You do You: keep it personal and do what brings you joy!

All that's needed now is the guests and the turkey... (Image: At Last Events/Christmas Essence)