{"id":422,"date":"2015-12-16T10:19:57","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T10:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ambius.co.uk\/blog\/?p=422"},"modified":"2025-07-18T14:16:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T13:16:55","slug":"how-to-avoid-a-christmas-disaster-on-your-grounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ambius.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-avoid-a-christmas-disaster-on-your-grounds\/","title":{"rendered":"How to: avoid a Christmas disaster on your grounds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

T\u2019is the season to get festive \u2013 but let\u2019s spare a thought for those with rubbish gardens to contend with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year there seems to be a Christmas-themed attraction that attracts the wrath of the media, and last year interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen was caught in the firing line.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former Changing Rooms star was roundly mocked by the media after his Christmas attraction, called The Magical Journey, was shut down following a slew of customer complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rumours of a drunk and swearing Santa Clause circulated the web, while many claimed to have seen elves smoking cigarettes directly outside the venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gardens themselves were half-finished on opening day, with tarpaulins and wooden pallets instead of cheerful snowmen and reindeer flanking muddy paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the attraction reopened a week later, it soon collapsed after being abandoned by an important backer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complete disappointment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, Llewelyn-Bowen told the Guardian, \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely shocking. We found out by Twitter. Everybody was in bed feeling Christmassy and now we are not feeling very Christmassy at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was really impressed with the way they addressed all the issues the first time around and the energy and resources that went into it so I\u2019m extremely surprised the towel\u2019s been thrown in at this stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel appalling it is not the happy experience I really want it to be. I feel extremely sorry for everybody let down in the next nine days and also for the staff who worked on the frontline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The misfortune of Llewelyn-Bowen\u2019s attraction should come as a lesson for anyone hoping to wow visitors to their Christmassy garden \u2013 don\u2019t rush, and be sure to hire professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve spent years honing the quality of our Christmas decorations and displays<\/a> to ensure that your garden or workplace screams \u201cT\u2019is the season to be jolly!\u201d rather than \u201cBah, humbug!\u201d Give them a look and enjoy a treat that will give everyone a dose of Christmas cheer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

T\u2019is the season to get festive \u2013 but let\u2019s spare a thought for those with rubbish gardens to contend with. Every year there seems to be a Christmas-themed attraction that attracts the wrath of the media, and last year interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen was caught in the firing line. The former Changing Rooms star was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas-decorations"],"yoast_head":"\nLaurence Llewelyn-Bowen Christmas Attraction - Ambius UK Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Relive the buzz! 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