Although Christmas is still five months away, businesses in the region are already preparing for the festive season. BETHANY WALES found out what goes into getting ready for the most profitable holiday of the year.
In December, we spend an average of £740 more than we do the rest of the year, according to figures from the Bank of England.
And with the average business taking around 25pc of their profits in the run-up to Christmas Day, it's no surprise that preparations start early.
Mel Cook, marketing manager for Visit Norwich, said her team has been working on its Christmas campaign since May.
Following a disastrous retail year in 2021 - where some sectors saw sales fall 14pc from 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics - its been an uphill battle for businesses trying to recover their festive trade.
She said: "Strong trading at Christmas - especially across retail and hospitality - is essential to set businesses up for the year ahead.
"One of the things that we consider each year is the importance of local support, and of repeat visits to the city by residents of Norwich and Norfolk.
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"Each week during Christmas trading there are different things to do - different Christmas markets, different offers, or different festive events, so there's always a reason to visit."
Cultural changes
George Agnew owns the Rougham Estate in Bury St Edmunds, which hosts an annual Christmas market featuring more than 50 independent makers, as well as a packed programme of workshops and special events.
He said the holiday period is so crucial to their bottom line that preparations begin the first week of January.
“The Christmas period is now probably the single biggest turnover in a restricted time frame.
“By the end of February, we’ve already ordered most of the stock for our Christmas shop, with the final orders going in this week.”
“Farming used to be our biggest earner, but with Brexit and the fact we’ve lost our grants, we’ve had to branch out.”
Mr Agnew added that shifting cultural trends have helped boost their festive success.
READ MORE: Norwich named in England's most festive places
He said: “People used to wait until a couple of days before the 25th to start celebrating, but now they want to do Christmas from the beginning of December.
“That’s fabulous for us. It means they’re willing to spend more on decorations because they’ve got them up for longer."
'Full steam ahead'
According to Christmas tree growers Josie Smyth and Jamie Mack, from Manor Farm near Beighton, Covid has also transformed our Christmas habits.
Ms Smyth said: “Real trees are making a comeback because during the lockdown people were determined to do Christmas ‘properly’.
“They wanted real trees, and that trend has continued after Covid too.”
The brother and sister team said that much of the preparation for November’s harvest is already underway.
Mr Mack said: “At the moment it’s full steam ahead with pruning, which takes a lot of manpower because we’ve got around 500 trees.
“They take around 10 years to fully mature, so it’s really a full-time job keeping them on track.”
Summer is also crucial to the success of the harvest for years to come, with last year’s drought likely to impact their yield well into the 2030s.
What’s more, Ms Smyth said pricing had been made more difficult this year because of the rising cost of living.
She said: “In an ideal world we’d like to keep our prices the same because we know people are struggling, and you don’t want them to miss out, especially from families that come back year after year.
“But at the same time, our ongoing costs in the rest of the business have changed massively. It’s very tricky.”
'Still a priority'
Over at the Thursford Collection, whose Christmas Spectacular show is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe, the team is preparing to welcome more than 130 cast members to the site ahead of rehearsals next month.
Any day now the wardrobe department will reveal the first costumes, with associate producer George Cushing teasing that this year’s will be the most spectacular yet.
“We’ve got a stunning new showgirl scene and the costumes are incredible. Each one costs around £2,500, and there are 23 of them.
“This show accounts for 95pc of our income, it’s really why we’re still able to operate, so we don’t rest on our laurels.”
With four months to go until opening night, Mr Cushing said they’ve already sold around 90,000 tickets.
He said: “It was amazing, on the hottest day of the year back in June we suddenly sold 100 tickets.
“I don’t know whether it’s because people are too hot so they’re trying to think of winter-y times to cool themselves down.”
But, he added, the rising cost of living had pushed more people to book last minute compared to other years.
“We know it’s hard for people, so we’re keeping ticket prices below inflation.
“It’s difficult because everything is going up – the cost of dance shoes has doubled in price since last year, and our electricity bills are incredible.
“But we know people are still going to come because it is that once a year treat. Making those magical memories with their families is still a priority.”
What do we spend our money on in December?
According to the Bank of England we spend an average 29pc more in December compared to the typical month, which equates to an extra £740 for an average household.
The biggest extra spending is on clothing, footwear and textiles – 10.26pc more compared to the average month.
Our next largest splurge is on furniture, which is up by 3.48pc in the run-up to Christmas.
During December we spend an average 2.05pc more at specialist food stores and an extra 1.1pc on computers and phones.
The lowest increase in spending is on music and video recording equipment – up by just 0.23pc in December.
This is followed by alcoholic drinks, other beverages and tobacco, which sees an average increase of 0.68pc.
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