The unexpected consequences of being a Christmas decoration installer.

Imagine the scene……. it is dark, freezing cold, horizontal rain lashing down and wind so chilly that it blows right through you. On the contrary, couple that with working indoors on the empty shopping centres which the public had vacated many hours previous. Generally warm, bright, devoid of people, with the odd security guard or cleaner as your only sign of life. – the scene could remind you of the opening scenes of a B movie horror.

Well, that is the working environment that we at Fizzco are usually exposed to whilst we decorate internally and externally our clients shopping centres, offices and buildings. Our peak period between October and December had come to an end, all installations had been completed and we were enjoying a slight lull in the last two weeks running up to Christmas. I was tasked with visiting several of our client’s sites across the country to photograph our decorations, products and craftsmanship in situ for posterity.

I remember vividly walking into the first centre and was struck by the hustle and bustle of thousands of shoppers, a sight we rarely see on nights, all going about their business within their own little bubbles. All with shopping lists in their heads of what presents they need to buy for sons, daughters, partners, relatives etc and all with an excited expectation of Christmas. The noise of footfall, people’s voices, laughing, happiness and Christmas music being played was delightful to hear. A far cry from that empty mall a few weeks earlier when we were installing the decorations at night. I took a seat for a moment (in a time when we were allowed seats on malls) and watched the world go by. I remember a young mother with a toddler in a pushchair, she bent down to the child’s level and both pointed into the roof at the decorations.

The child giggled and had a beaming smile, they both looked so content and happy. Next, an elderly couple walked past, him with a stick and her with a frame, I overheard a portion of their conversation, “isn’t it beautiful, aren’t they lovely this year darling?” Finally, a teenage couple, very much in love, walking arm in arm past me, the boy, uses his head to point in the direction of a large centrepiece decoration. “That’s well sick!, he said to her. She turned to him and agreed how awesome it was. There were so many other examples that were replicated in the two days I spent visiting the sites, but I think by now you get my point. It was such a pleasant and unexpected joy to see so many people of such varying ages and background enjoying the results of our team’s hard work, a site we rarely get to see and to have the knowledge that we at FIZZCO help make peoples Christmas special.

From the perspective of Paul, one of our fantastic Fizzco project managers.