Christmas chameleon Be a
The first day of Christmas falls around the beginning of April for Debbie Spencer. That’s when her painstaking and almost military planning for layer upon layer of festive fun at her seafront hotel and its outdoor bar begins
Hotel Manager Debbie Spencer has been with the fourth-generation family Inn on the Prom in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire for 18 years, and is a dab hand at ensuring the tills ring as loudly as the sleigh bells. She says: “This year people are ready to party longer and harder than ever as long as things go to plan, so it’s important to make sure you’re ready.” Here’s how…
Plan now
We start preparations after Easter but this year it’s been July because of the uncertainty. For smaller venues it’s still not too late to get ready for Christmas. We buy the decorations, staff uniforms
and trinkets for tables early and never skimp on them. Because we have lots of pre-bookings, we order the alcohol in October. It’s more of a risk for pubs but if you get the proposition right, people will come. And if you spend on creating the right atmosphere, you always get it back.
Get the party started early As soon as Halloween is over, we swing into Christmas mode overnight as we launch our Turkey and Tinsel packages which run until the start of December. Within 24 hours we decorate the ballroom, corridors, reception, bar area and restaurant ready for guests to experience Christmas Eve, Christmas
Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve, all in a four-day party! Turkey and Tinsel begins with mince pies and sherry on arrival. It includes Christmas dinner, a visit from Santa, quizzes, happy hours and cocktails, as well as nightly live entertainment. The staff dress in festive outfits so even though we’re weeks away from Christmas, everyone gets in the spirit. It means our guests can celebrate twice, and they absolutely love it. During planning we order 1,500 small boxes of chocs for the finishing touch. It looks like we’re gliding swan-like on the surface, but beneath we’re paddling like crazy to get everything done!
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