Santa’s shed a hive of activity

Santa’s little helpers . . . John Foster (left) and Michael Lindsay hard at work building a Christmas grotto

A SHED in Hollinwood dubbed Santa’s Little Workshop is bursting at the seams with 2009 displays as the countdown to Christmas kicks off . . . in July!

Maintenance and construction staff at Housing Units, one of the UK’s top independent furnishing retailers, are already well underway with preparation for what is expected to be the Wickentree Lane store’s biggest ever Christmas.

Nick Fox, a director at Housing Units, said: “We’re barely half way through the year, but the Christmas countdown has started — because we open our Christmas department in less than 60 days, on September 10, 2009.

“It’s a win-win situation for all concerned when we start Christmas in September.

The customers like the idea of being able to spread the cost of purchase of decorations and there’s no doubt that UK families are very much following the North American trend of making Christmas bigger and more decorative.

“But this also means that as a retailer we are seeing people actually spending more on Christmas because they can spread the cost. The Christmas department saw 2008 turnover up 15 per cent on 2008.”

The Housing Units maintenance team is building a new Santa’s grotto plus a variety of displays to showcase this year’s Christmas decoration theme packages.