It’s Christmas Time at Gillies Broughty Ferry…
We are delighted to announce that our annual Christmas display is now complete in our Broughty Ferry store; not even a pandemic could stop us from fulfilling this festive tradition! This years’ window features a whimsical gingerbread house where resident ‘Gingy’ will be ‘staying safe’ by ‘staying home’ this Christmas! You may have noticed the ‘mosaic of hope’ rainbow over our ‘lockdown lodge’ were we are paying homage to the inspiring efforts of the NHS over the course of 2020.
Since being awarded with a civic commendation in 1992 we have added a ‘festive touch’ to our window displays every year! Our displays are a far cry from what they were in the early 90s; in 1995 we had a revolving platform installed -which was actually produced as a car showroom turntable! Our displays have varied from, Santa’s Grotto, Peter Pans Christmas, Oor Wullies Christmas Carnival, Santa’s Train and even the North Pole featuring Dundee’s famous ship the Discovery (Junior version!). So, after all these fantastic memories we didn’t want to see a single year go by without doing our-bit in putting smiles on children’s faces this Christmas.
The unfortunate circumstances surrounding the current pandemic meant that there was no ‘Light Switch On’ festival for Broughty Ferry this year, instead lights were installed and switched on without fanfare or the usual joyous gathering. Similarly, we adopted the same approach so that we could still produce a magical display for our community and keep everyone safe! Without any grand unveiling we opened the display on Thursday 19th of November, and were pleasantly surprised at the immediate response to our efforts.
Designed and produced by our very own visual merchandiser Amy, the theme this year was developed to encapsulate the year we have all had in a creative and merry approach! After a year of intermittent lock downs, mask wearing, hand washing and sanitising galore! We thought it fitting to add a thoughtful spin of what could otherwise be described as a tough year. We had a hansel and Gretel style house built for our four-foot gingerbread man! ‘Gingy’ was kindly made by Clarks Bakery who made three attempts to make the perfect gingerbread for our display… that’s a lot of sugar! They have also made 10 regular sized gingerbread people who are hidden around the display ready to be found as a ‘can you spot it’ game for passers-by. Joining the display are our trio of singing reindeer, sleeping Santa and polar bears. This Lapland scene can be viewed from both in-store and outside, having the appropriate safety measures in place we are pleased to invite those who can to pop in to admire this year’s display. In doing so we ask that if you would like to show your appreciation, we will be fundraising for the ARCHIE foundation Tayside so any donations are welcome.
We are already thinking about what we can do next year to top this display – perhaps send us a message on Facebook with your suggestions!