Period Features

Christmas Opening Hours

Christmas Eve       Closed

Boxing Day            Closed

27th December      Closed

28th December      10.00 - 5.00

29th December      10.00 - 5.00

31st December      10.00 - 3.00

News Years Day     Closed

Normal opening hours from the 2^nd January onwards.

From all of us here we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you for your custom in 2007 and we look forward to hearing from you in 2008.

Paint Stripping

If you are faced with trying to remove some paint - whatever the surface from cast iron fireplaces to beams or from lincrusta to quarry tiles and whatever the type of paint - Strippers Paint Removers will have some suggestions for you. There is a helpful 'I want to remove...' guide to different surfaces and types of paint with a specific advice sheet for each one. When you have removed the objectionable paint you might like to consider your new scheme with the help of a great colour matching tool at the Farrow & Ball website Farrow & Ball Period Features stocks a full range of Farrow & Ball paint and wallpaper and we'd be only too happy to advise you on your new scheme.

The Geffrye Museum

For ideas on decorating your home in true period style you might like to check out the Geffrye Museum's annual Christmas Past exhibition. The Geffrye Museum, London, shows the changing style of the English domestic interior in a series of period rooms from 1600 to the present day.

The annual Christmas Past exhibition depicts 400 years of seasonal traditions in English homes. Conjure up the true spirit of Christmas Past with a visit to the Geffrye's intriguing annual exhibition. Every year, the museum's period rooms are decorated in authentic festive style, giving visitors a vivid and evocative impression of Christmas celebrations in English homes over the past four centuries.

This year's accompanying programme of events will focus on 20th century festivities, highlighting the main developments and changes in the domestic celebration of Christmas. The switch from home-crafted to shop-bought decorations, the increasing popularity of Santa Claus and the growing prominence of children during the season will all be explored in talks, events and through the displays. The exhibition runs from Tuesday 27 November 2007 - Sunday 6 January 2008. If you are not able to visit the exhibition the museum has published an illustrated book telling the history of Christmas in English homes which is available in the museum's shop.
www.geffrye-museum.org.uk

Christmas Tree Websites

We have no connection with these websites and do not benefit in any way from listing them. We include them because we hope you will find them interesting or useful too.

If, having read the article above, you are thinking of having a 'real' tree this year you might be interested in these websites. For a truly guilt-free option, The Living Christmas Tree offers a hire service so that after Christmas your tree can be returned to them and they will continue to take care of it throughout the year. For environmental reasons they only deliver in the Lancashire area.
www.livingchristmastree.co.uk

Scottish Christmas Trees offer a recycling service for their Christmas trees. You simply keep the bag in which the tree is delivered and call the courier in January to take the tree back to them for chipping. They also sell container grown trees as well as cut trees and can deliver nationwide.
www.scottishchristmastrees.co.uk

Christmas Trees

Whether you have a family heirloom that you get down from the attic or choose a new tree from your local nursery every year, decorating the Christmas tree is something that signals the start of the Christmas season in many homes. Our newsletter's article is from the gardening section of the BBC's website and discusses the history of the Christmas tree as well as giving advice on how to select a tree and its aftercare.

The use of evergreens to decorate homes dates back to pagan times, when they were considered to be a symbol of eternal life. They were used as decoration during the winter solstice, a celebration of light and rebirth. Today, about seven million Christmas trees are grown in the UK each year.

The history of the Christmas tree

It's generally believed that the first real Christian Christmas tree dates back to 8th century Germany. Boniface, an English missionary, introduced a decorated fir tree in homage to the Christ Child, as a replacement for the customary pagan sacrifices to Odin's sacred oak.

Later, evergreen, decorated trees were used to symbolize the garden of Eden in medieval German plays telling the stories of Christ's life. After the suppression of these plays, trees were taken into people's homes at Christmas time.
Read more »

Win A £25 Shopping Voucher

Win A £25 Voucher!

This month we are giving away another £25 Voucher to spend on any of our lovely products, redeemable in store or online. Just answer one simple question and after the closing date of 31st January 2008, we will pick the winner at random from all the entries received.

To enter please take a look at our Scented Drawer Liners which can be found in our Miscellaneous / Sundries section, then just answer the following question: What scent is used for the Tresoirs Des Mers Drawer Liners? Email the answer to us at competition@periodfeatures.net. Good luck!

The lucky winner of our August/September competition, receiving a £25.00 voucher, was Karen Mottrum. Many thanks to all of you who entered.