I was lucky enough to be invited along to a John Lewis Christmas preview evening recently. A lovely seasonal buyer, Jane, was there talking to us about the themes for this year and some of the gorgeous products that they have ready for us. There were also staff there from our local stores, and I did really enjoy having the chance to chat to them, asking questions and sharing my views. We got to have a look at plenty of Christmas decorations and also toys and gift-ware – I was like a kid in a sweet shop!
There are 5 key themes this year, Woodland Wonder, Forest Festival, Rural Life, Vintage Market and Odyssey, which are all showcased on the Christmas homepage. We don’t tend to have a theme here, as we’ve gathered various things over the years but I was loving the Forest Festival range as it’s so brightly-coloured and fun-looking. Hopefully these pictures will give you a flavour of what they’re up to…
I loved the range of stockings for adults, and that owl one had me grabbing it all evening! The children’s crackers have games in them which I think is a brilliant idea as all too often cracker contents disappoint. That cute little Panda you see is the charity product for this year, with 10% of each sale going to Rainbow Trust. I was drawn to the holographic star as it is just so funky, and there’s a bigger one in the shape of a tree, too.
As well as Christmas decorations aplenty, there were some fabulous gift ideas…
And not forgetting Harry, of course…
And after my evening out there, guess where I went the very next day…
When we were at the event, lovely bloggers Redpeffer and MuddyNoSugar mentioned that their children each choose a new decoration every year, which I thought a lovely tradition, so we’ve started it here this year, along with the husband and I choosing one each, too, of course. We popped back again to John Lewis a few days ago and this is what we went for…
The full range is all available to buy now. I don’t know how aware you are about the freeย Click-and-Collectย service? Order anything up until 7pm and it’ll be available for you to collect from your chosen John Lewis, or in some cases, Waitrose branch by midday the following day – I was quite impressed with that!
I have to be honest and say, as regular readers know, we are a thrifty family, and though I enjoyed trips to John Lewis back in my wealthier days!, they have dwindled since having the kids. Having returned there and browsed, I can quite honestly say that though they clearly have a fantastic high-end range, they equally have stacks of great value products and they’ve their Never Knowingly Undersold policy. I’m very pleased I’ve been lured back there again ๐
And my final question to you is, can you guess what this is?
I’ve had a fair few guesses now, both here and via Twitter, though no-one’s got it yet! I’ll let you know what it is..it’s a tea strainer
So lovely looking at all those christmassy photo’s… not long now and it will go so fast. Love John Lewis too it’s probably my favourite store at Christmas time. Hmm Not sure what the item is – a tea light holder? x
It’ll be here soon! It was great to see everything, and though that’s a good guess, nope!
It all looks fab – I want soooo much of it!!! Now it’s mid-October, it’s perfectly acceptable to start thinking about the C word ๐
Absolutely it is! I’ve been selling Christmas cards since Aug (customers want them then!) so it’s been lurking in my mind since then!
We have that tradition too! My sisters and I were always allowed to pick one decoration each year which made for a wonderfully eclectic tree.
We do the same with our boys now ๐
It’s a really nice idea, I love it! I bet you do, too ๐
A fancy nut cracker? I love John Lewis, great quality but like you more treats for us these days than when I normally bought lots of items there before I became a SAHM. Love the idea of the tree decorations – might just have to borrow that idea too.
Nope! I hadn’t a clue – had to ask! It’s far more reasonable that I’d thought, to be honest, so worth a look ๐ And yes, it’s a tradition worth starting, isn’t it? X
I know what it is because I was on their website earlier but I couldn’t have guessed! Some of the new tree decorations are stunning aren’t they? ๐
Ah, well yes, the website would help! The decorations are just gorgeous ๐