Ho ho ho: How to create Christmas window magic

Christmas is coming, and across the country agencies have been transformed into winter wonderlands.

Decorating commenced in early November at Thorne Travel, Kilwinning.

Managing director Shona Thorne explains: “I absolutely love Christmas, it’s my favourite time of year!”

The shop’s windows twinkle with fake snow, glitter and fairy lights, and small trains weave around multiple Christmas trees.

While many decorations are reused, Thorne spends £500 a year on additional pieces. The 2019 headline addition is a huge sweet cart filled with goodies.

Thorne helps run Promoting Kilwinning, a local body that raises the profile of the agency’s town, and organised the annual Christmas lights switch-on in November.

Alongside a fun fair and stage shows, families were encouraged to find the 30 elves hidden in shop windows.

Children then delivered their entries to Thorne Travel to try to win a prize.

The agency also hosted a Santa’s Grotto, with the team dressed as elves.

“We normally get around 500 people in the shop over three hours,” Thorne explains.

“It’s a massive event for us, as Christmas can be a time when people aren’t going to small towns and are online shopping or going to out-of-town centres instead. This event draws them into the town – the amount of customers we pick up who have never heard of us is amazing.”