Food and lifestyle with a dusting of magic
Wondering what surprise Fenwick’s Christmas windows 2018 have in store? The windows are now on view and the secret is out. Read on to find out more.
You know Christmas is on the way when Fenwick unveils their Christmas windows. The big reveal was last Friday and we went along on the Saturday to discover the latest theme.
Visiting Fenwick’s Christmas windows is a Tyneside Christmas tradition. No Christmas is complete without a visit. There are always long queues and excitement hangs in the air. What will it be this year?
Fenwick first Christmas window was in 1971 when the popular TV series Camberwick Green was shown. Since then the windows have shown off different characters including Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Santa Claus. Every year the display is different.
The 38 foot display of moving animated figures is enchanting as well as being one of the biggest display of its kind in Europe. Boards cover the windows the week before while a dedicated team of window dressers and technicians put the window in place. The big reveal always has plenty of visitors waiting in suspense.
Visiting Fenwick Newcastle Christmas windows is very much a family tradition. People who saw the windows thirty years ago now bring their children and grandchildren to experience the magic.
This year the theme of Fenwick’s windows is The Snowman. Everyone is familiar with the story of The Snowman written by Raymond Briggs. A young boy, James, wakes at midnight to find the snowman he built that morning has magically come alive.
They set off on a magical adventure, on a motorcycle, flying in the air to the North Pole, joining a snowman party and meeting Father Christmas. The next morning James wakes to find his magical friend has melted, leaving only a scarf as a memory. The windows show this adventure with their beautiful animation.
It is a lovely choice of a theme for the windows, The Snowman is a story that young and old all love. It is also very much part of Christmas.
If you look carefully at the reflections you can see the Gregg’s the bakers have cleverly turned their sign round so that the reflection reads the name the right way round.
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Every year I go to see Fenwick’s Christmas windows it brings back memories. The first time I saw them I was new to the city as a student. I have memories of taking my son in his push chair to see them and now he comes with me as a teen. My parents would come with us to see them when they came over to visit for my son’s birthday. Viewing the windows will bring back memories for many families.
Strangely my son mentioned that he had seen the snowman in the windows before. Looking back through my photos I found that they had last been featured in 2005. My son would have been five! It just shows that the windows do make a lasting impression.
Here are some of the themes from previous years. Did you see any of these? Let me know below.
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Aww they look great. I love The Snowman. OK, I’m starting to feel a smidgen Christmassy now ! 🙂
They do really make you feel Christmas is on the way
What a wonderful Christmas window. Snowman is, as you said, a wonderful idea as a theme, especially as is the anniversary too.
They are brilliant aren’t they, so unique.
I love the look of this years window, we haven’t been yet but we are hoping to go with the kids one night after school next week. xx
hopefully it will not be too busy when you go, the queues were massive on Saturday
Such fantastic Christmas windows! We love Snowman, both animation and music.
We love the windows, always worth looking out for.