Wellingborough sweet shop wins Christmas window competition

The Sweet Jar in Market Street took first place for staging a bespoke wooden fireplace with Santa’s legs hanging from it in the shop front.

The rest of the display was adorned with festive decorations and a snowman fashioned together with three large goldfish bowls.

Shop owner Jayne Bedford said: “It was a proud moment when we found out we had won the competition.

“We invested quite a lot of time and effort into the display and we’ve certainly had a lot of admirers.

“Having a talking point has definitely helped promote us as a business and got more people through the door.”

The competition was run by the Wellingborough Business Improvement District (BID) to encourage shops to appeal to visitors in the run-up to Christmas.

John Cable, manager of the Wellingborough BID and head judge, said: “The Sweet Jar was a worthy winner as a lot of thought had clearly gone into the shop window display.

“We launched the competition to encourage all the shops in the town centre to inject a bit of festivity into their windows, which we thought would make the whole area look really Christmassy.

“Not only have we achieved this, but I think we’ve helped get everyone working and shopping in Wellingborough into the Christmas spirit.

“We are always looking to find new and creative ways to promote Wellingborough which we firmly believe has so much to offer, so if you’ve still got Christmas presents to buy, pop into the town centre to check out the rest of the festive windows.”

Captain Neil’s Toy Chest took second place in the competition, which was one of a series of events which have been staged to mark the holiday season.

Father Christmas himself made an appearance earlier this month and visitors have had the opportunity to be pictured in a giant snow globe.

The BID is paid for by businesses, through its Discover Wellingborough campaign, which stages events and activities aimed at encouraging people into the town centre.