We visited the Chatsworth Christmas market today. A long day and not one of our usual haunts, but we enjoyed it. It was a freebie which always adds a certain something. The house was certainly decked out at what must have been enormous expense. Impressive too, even from the perspective of this Christmas cynic.
I don't know if this is a local perspective, but from what I see Christmas is being pushed particularly hard this year. Our local garden centre is more of a Christmas grotto than a garden centre. So much so that we won't be going back until after Christmas. It certainly doesn't have the Chatsworth look.
It's interesting to look at the different styles or aesthetics for Christmas design and decoration. The NT did up Petworth House in a very dark and gloomy style a few years ago; both impressive and strangely oppressive.
ReplyDeleteNone of them do much for me, but the worst I know is Tesco. I saw the first pile of Christmas-themed pies and sweets a couple of days ago, and the tackiness just jumped right off the cardboard and slapped you in the face.
Sam - we haven't been inside Tesco lately, but I can easily imagine the tackiness. All the supermarkets we visit manage to be particularly tacky at Christmas. M&S light-up gin bottles are the ultimate for me though.
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