Introducing Mrs Christmas, the Edinburgh mum offering bespoke decorating services to businesses and homes

Charlotte Garvie works all year round to help Edinburgh get into the spirit of Christmas.

Charlotte Garvie works all year round on her business, The Christmas Decorators Edinburgh, part of a UK-wide franchise.

She has sprinkled her festive glitter on the air traffic control tower at Edinburgh Airport, the Sheraton Hotel and the Festival Theatre and demand for her services is spiking.

She said: “We started in July 2017 and had an amazing year. In Edinburgh as soon as the festival finishes and it gets a bit colder we’re out of the door. I spend most days in meetings with potential clients. It’s super, everyone is realising that Christmas is just around the corner.”

When she had her daughter, now three, Charlotte decided took some time out from her role as managing director of a busy events company to find out what she really wanted to do. She said: “The reason I got into this business is I used to put five trees up at home so I thought it’s be a great idea to make it a business. I did some research and found The Christmas Decorators and I loved what they did, and they had good clients like Harrods.”

Her family doesn’t miss out on their own decorations though, as Charlotte makes sure her home is spruced up in time for the big day. She said: “Last year I did do my own Christmas tree, it was late but I did it but I couldn’t face taking it down until about February – I just couldn’t do any more.”

She and her team are preparing themselves for a busy few months as commercial and residential clients call on their services. Charlotte comes up with creative ideas and brings together samples before sourcing decorations and installing them. She will do everything from hanging simple string lights in someone’s home to embellishing a ten-bedroom house from head to toe.

As a fan of the festive season, Charlotte is sure that her fond memories of childhood Christmases is behind her new career. She said: “My family never went over the top, it was just a really nice time. The memories I have are of roaring fires and family being around.”

Attaching lights to the air traffic control tower was a highlight of last year. Cherry pickers were used to suspend the lights from the top of the tower via a steel ring. She said: “it was not an easy task. The wind and weather didn’t help us much, but they looked fantastic.”

Nowhere does Christmas better than Edinburgh, she says, and she would love the honour of decorating the Dome one day. She said: “Edinburgh is hard to beat and the Dome is the epitome of Christmas. It’s a really magical time – it makes me so happy. It’s never too early to get decorating.”