IT'S that time of the year again! Families all over the UK are turning into little Christmas elves and starting to decorate their trees with everything sparkly, quirky or bold.

Here in south Cumbria we have some hugely imaginative Christmas tree displays and one place known for decorating in spectacular style is Vickerstown Upholstery and Interiors on Walney.

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The shop's proprietor, Nicola Holt, is like a real life Christmas fairy, with her imaginative and magical trees inspiring families all over the Furness area. She said: "The traditional Christmas colours are always popular so I always stock up on the deep greens and reds as well as plenty of sparkly gold tone.

"However, I think what has been our most spectacular tree is our Owl and Reindeer Tree. That has been my favourite this year and the owls in particular have been incredibly popular with the local customers."

This 12ft artificial Christmas tree might not be traditional but, with its multitude of feathery, flying snowy owls, it could almost be something taken from Harry Potter in an ode to the faithful Hedwig.

Nicola said: "This tree is also decorated with a more contemporary colour scheme. There is a lot of white and silver with the large owls and reindeer but then the smaller baubles are some unusual blue tones.

"A denim-blue tone is the accent that has really been coming through for winter 2016 and I used them to decorate the Owl Tree because it really is something a little more daring and different."

Nicola stresses that not all ornaments for your tree have to be baubles, she uses the large owls, reindeer, peacocks, robins and, new for 2016, teddies! She said: "I am trying something very new this year, it is a newborn baby theme.

"The little trees are decorated in pastel colours of pinks and blues, with bells, rattles and fluffy teddy bears. They have proved really popular with local people this year, there was a definite demand for baby gifts and novelty items for new parents."

When it comes to the debate on real or artificial trees, Nicola is a firm believer in the less-messy approach of an artificial fir that can be stored in the attic for years.

However, this year she has taken note of people's preference for that "Christmassy" smell created by real trees.

She said: "I found these amazing products from America called Scentsicles, which you hide in the branches of your artificial tree and they give off this incredible smell of rustic pine trees or Christmas wreath. They even come in cinnamon and chocolate orange scents and they have all just flown off the shelves."

When it comes to a more eclectic approach to decorating the tree, Nicola is also a fan of the old fashioned trees she knew as a little girl.

She said: "When I was younger, people used the same decorations every year and kept adding to them as time went on. This usually creates a beautiful eclectic mix of decorations that always look fantastic.

"I am still a big fan of trees like that, my mum has a gorgeous tree like that with stunning multi colours. We always get local people in every year adding to their collections and I am always excited to see what they will choose.

"A great twist on the traditional colours is to go for more rustic tones of green and red. We have some beautiful autumn leaves to wind through the branches and little pheasants to perch among them."

How to create Christmas place settings from your garden!

You will need:

- Stem of bay, stem of holly and a couple of sprigs of rosemary

- Floristry wire

- Gardening twine

- Scissors

1. Select a stem of bay, a stem of holly and a couple of sprigs of rosemary.

2. Cut them to size.

3. Arrange them how you want them to look when bunched together. Keep the foliage facing forwards.

4. With floristry wire, bind the bunch of foliage together.

5. Go over this wire by wrapping the twine over the top and forming a pretty bow at the front. You can completely cover the stems with the twine or leave some showing, it's up to you.

Attach a personalised tag to each one and use them as place settings for your Christmas dinner table.

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