Christmas decorations 7.5k

[Cleo888]

Hello,

I would like a honest opinion do these pricing look fair or they are taking me for a mug. I thought we would hire a Christmas decorators to decorate our home thinking it would be practical to have a company set it up and take it down.
The final pricing remains the same whether you keep the decorations for 2 weeks or 2 months. The contract will be for 2-4 years the final price is payable every year.

Staircase garlands £1100
Outside doorway garland £550
Kitchen garland for above cupboards £550
Inside lights for glass (both areas) £1700
Living room fireplace garland £275
Inside 8ft tree , fully lit and decorated £950
Drive lights for pathway£180
Icicle lights for roofline and top windows £420
Access equipment to install lights and take them down £500
Total price £6225
Plus vat @£1245

FINISHED PRICE £7470

Ridiculous for just a few weeks. Would you be doing it for you or to show off? Why not have less, do it yourself & give 7 grand to the homeless?

If you live in Chatsworth House sounds fair, a 4 bed detached in Chiswick? I’ll do it for half that and throw in some mince pies😀.

Oh my word, if you have a mansion then sure part and part of the parcel but really? Also, surely it's part of the fun preparing for Christmas to put the decs up, reminisce, have some Glühwein, get into the spirit? Or is that just me? We're always incredibly busy, far too many birthdays to mention at that time, including Christmas eve, Christmas day and boxing day, but find time to do it. Is this a first world Mumsnet problem? Apologies as late to convo, only get chance to come on now and then and don't have time to read through every response but like to try and give honest opinions. Xx

Assuming this is a brag whinge or fake situation.
Because if you have enough money to spend the best part of ten bags on Christmas decs then you’d not be questioning it.
Surely you’d just get another quote or two to sense check then go with the best option.

If I owned a million pound house (3 or 4 million in London) plus a huge income, I would be happy to pay. If you can afford it, do it. If you can’t, don’t. But tbh I’d no idea professional decorations were so expensive.

Ridiculous.

£4,000! And do your nails/lashes/aura cleansing free........

Obviously your money to do as wish..but when so many other posts are re cost of living crisis it seems bonkers. Surely part of fun is decorations from the loft and spending half a day/day putting them up.
You could give a wedge to a food bank and feel amazing :)

I used to love decorating my house for Christmas but after this thread I think it's ruined.

It just won't be as good without Tom Hardy.

Ffs just go without and if you can afford that
donate to charity!!!
what a horrible waste

@Cushion1cover you are undercutting my work, you know full well for 4k your decorations will be rubbish 😂

My cousin charges about £90 per garland I think...

We live on a gated development that consists of many 4-5 bed homes alongside a lot of 6-8 bed homes, footballers, CEO’s etc. The wealth and what they choose to spend their money on always makes me chuckle. They go all out for things like this with many getting professional companies in a month before Christmas but then spend the actual 2 weeks over Christmas on Caribbean cruises or at their second homes. It’s just a status thing and a bit depressing really.

I adore Christmas decorations and it would be amazing to have it done professionally but I’d absolutely be putting 7.5k towards one hell of a winter holiday and sticking with my Asda door garland and Home Bargains (real) Christmas tree!

I must live on a different planet to anyone that even contemplates this. An average sized home? I think probably not. Get yourself down to Wilkos sale 🤣

Who cleans and maintains decs? Whats wrong with stuffing them in a suitcase and shoving it through the loft hatch every January? 😂

That's ludicrous.

I don't understand. Are you disabled? Can't you shop for Christmas decorations and decorate your home yourself?

If you're disabled, then it's your choice, but it does sound a LOT of money to spend.

If you're able bodied, then you're just being ridiculous to even post this on this site. Just get on with it and stop with the boasting about how much your Xmas Dec's are costing, especially during a cost of living crisis! *smh

7.5k for Christmas decorations! I need to start a Christmas decoration company 😂

Mikey87 you beat me to it. I want to start a decorations company now. As an art student with an eye for colour and design, I think I might be quite good at it. Sounds like a far more lucrative 'career' than anything I've done in the past. Trouble is I live in rural Wales where most everyone is scraping by and Christmas decorations consist of tying a red ribbon round the neck of your favourite sheep.

OP I'm starting to see a lot of posts offering decorations on my local FB group, maybe people like @HarrietsweetHarriet . They aren't official 'companies', just people looking to make a bit of extra money and everything you wanted can be done for a few hundred (extrapolating based on what I've seen) depending on you buying the decorations.

People are knocking you but I don't think it's a bad idea, I might get it done this year for our first Christmas as a married couple hosting the IL's. Our Christmas is pretty cheap anyways we don't really do gifts and everyone's contributing to food, so why not?

Despite people's 'holier-than-thou' comments about donating to charity the money I pay someone local will be paying for THEIR Christmas, presents for their kids so I don't see what the issue is really. A lot of people will buy crap that kills the planet, spend loads on gifts etc that isn't necessary so why judge wanting nice decorations? in fact, if re-used annually it's eco-friendly.

I had NO IDEA that 'ordinary people' (eg not the mega-rich, not politicians who have to live semi-public lives and entertain at home for diplomatic reasons, not Insta-mad footballers/and their spouses) even considered contracting out to decorate their houses for Christmas. That it even occurred to you, OP, strikes me as quite sad.

You know it's not compulsory to decorate, right? If it's all such a chore that you feel you have to pay someone else to do it, just don't decorate! Decorating your tree/house is meant to be fun and enjoyable, you're meant to keep favourite decorations and get a warm buzz from bringing them out year after year - and if you can't stomach that, then you pour yourself a glass and ask your teenaged kids to! I don't think I know anyone who would ever pay a professional decorator to sort this out.

And if you live in the same sort of modest house that most of us live in (as you said) rather than a mega-mansion, it's going to look a little pathetic, all that stuff lavished on a 4 bed semi. What are you trying to prove?

You have too much money. You or a member of your family should decorate and then you give a couple hundred pounds to charity.

I saw a post on IG today that reminded me of this thread. A company offering a 7.5ft tree, wreath and garland (pre lit) for £795??????!!!!!! They do a 9ft option too and decorations not included !!!!! Ridiculous

£895 for the 9ft version 😳 pretty sure you could get similar in any garden centre for a lot less 😂