​Bringing Window Wonderland close to home

As part of the Festive Derby plans for this year, Derby City Council is calling on all residents to get involved in Window Wonderland and create beautiful seasonal displays in the windows of their homes, as well as those of local shops and businesses. 

Many areas of the city already create some fabulous trails, so Window Wonderland is hoping to build on this by encouraging more people to mobilise their local communities and get involved. Christmas is going to be different this year, but it is community spirit that has brought people together over the last few months – and this is a chance to pull together once again and provide a festive display for everyone locally to enjoy. 

You can take part individually, or give your local community a call to action by going online, making the most of local social media groups, or by spreading the word however you can without meeting face to face. You don’t have to have a theme, but we’re asking everyone to include a Christmas rainbow to send a Thank You message to our NHS and key workers, who may be working over the Christmas period, for their care and dedication throughout the pandemic. 

If you’re already creating a window trail where you live, we’d like to inspire you to incorporate a Christmas rainbow to bring communities together across the city. 

Councillor Robin Wood, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism, said: “Our priority at the moment is to do what we can to reduce the impact of the rise in COVID cases. But while we’re urged to stay at home as much as we can, we can make the most of this time by creating a beautiful festive window display and sharing that connection with our friends and neighbours.”  

To join in, go to the Visit Derby website at visitderby.co.uk/communityww to find an online pack for you and your community to download to inspire you to get creative. The pack includes a template stencil for you to use to create a rainbow in your window, as well as a downloadable colouring sheet for children. The stencil can be used with bathtub/window crayons or washable window markers. You could create a rainbow with different coloured tinsel or coloured sweet wrappers, or use Christmas decorations – we’re sure you’ll have plenty of creative thoughts of your own! 
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If you have any bigger plans for your community window trails, please share them with us by emailing sally.greatorex@derby.gov.uk and using #windowwonderland20 to share your displays on social media. We’re suggesting 5 December as the start date, but don’t feel you have to change your plans if you are launching a trail before or after this date. 
 
It is hoped that the Window Wonderland trail planned for shops in the streets of Derby city centre can still go ahead in December, when the new national Government restrictions are due to end. The Visit Derby website will be kept up to date with Festive Derby activities that are going ahead at visitderby.co.uk/festivederby