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The Ultimate Christmas Experience

For a show that’s lauded as the friendliest trade event of the year, Harrogate Christmas & Gift is also famed for attracting visitors serious about festive buying. Sarah Welsh spoke to show organiser Simon Anslow…

This year good retail tidings are back in Harrogate, and the truly unique trade show that is Christmas & Gift promises to be “Christmas & Gift is the only show of its kind specialising in festive products,” Simon says “Year on year our exhibitors have built on this, and we now have multiple halls with beautiful better than ever for 2022. stands, packed with product.

From 16 to 19 January, Harrogate Convention “The show takes place just after Christmas Centre will transform into a place of festive and Harrogate keeps all the decorations up. The wonder and magic, with Christmas, celebration, trees are lit up, there’s festive music, stunning gift and home décor product decorations, an amazing aplenty, show stands that will atmosphere and you can smell inspire and colour, trend and Christmas as soon as you walk merchandising ideas that take through the doors. the guesswork out of buying “Festive buyers want to buy for Christmas. for next year in January when

The last two years in the last Christmas is still fresh in festive and gift retail sectors are their minds and they have a something that could never very clear idea of what’s sold have been predicted. Christmas well for them. & Gift – which originally started “Big manufacturers at life as Harrogate International Christmas & Gift often Toy Fair – celebrated its 70th manufacture to order, anniversary in 2020, but ended and buyers like to see and up being one of the only major experience their product trade shows held in the UK that samples in person. Ordering year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Christmas can be a long process.

Last year of course Christmas & Gift couldn’t “And what’s brilliant about our location at take place, but in 2022 the 71st edition of the the convention centre, is that you can park show is back with a yuletide bang! your car and then don’t need it for the rest of

The historic show has evolved many times the week. Socially Harrogate is a wonderful during its long history and is now renowned location too, with great bars and restaurants.” for its sheer breadth of product combined Christmas & Gift now features many with an intimate ambience that exhibitors other complementary product categories and buyers alike love. Show organiser Simon alongside Christmas, that feed into the Anslow has himself been at the helm since overall festive theme. These include gifts, 2010, building on his experience of being heavily involved with the running of sister event Harrogate International Nursery Fair.

floral products and home accessories. Evolving lifestyles, the way people shop and the needs of buyers – which include many tourist attractions and heritage sites at the show, to name just one small retail sector – all mean that these days Harrogate Christmas & Gift manages very successfully to be many things to many people. “One of our biggest visitor categories “We are delighted is garden centre buyers and they want to confirm that we breadth,” Simon explains. “They come to buy for Christmas but also want to buy gifts. This have now secured can range from books to ornaments and even pet products. new dates for the “We also have home décor companies show from Sunday who exhibit because people want to dress their homes at Christmas. You’ll see cushions, 9th May to Tuesday throws, lamps, soft furnishings, tableware, 11th May 2021 cutlery and china here. “Over the years product at the show has at the Harrogate diversified, and now I’d say it’s about 75 per cent Christmas. We also have celebration-centred Convention Centre” product – for example, Halloween ranges, and ideas for baby showers. Premier Decorations has a specialist Halloween range and on the Gisela Graham stand buyers will find products for Easter and baby showers and christenings. “More generally across the board we have a broad range of buyers. They come from big department stores including Fenwicks, from independent shops, from cathedral and museum shops and from visitor attractions like Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures. Visit the website at www.harrogatefair.com for the latest information and updates.

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