A barn full of Christmas cheer
Any trip to Europe or North America during the festive period means a sensory bombardment of lights, tinsel, santas and possibly snow.
Manawatū ’s Christmas Barn is trying to bring a bit of that to New Zealand’s sweltering festive heat.
On a site near Kairanga, Mel Treweek has created a purposebuilt barn with a treasure trove of trees and decorations in an array of festive colours. The barn had its grand opening in October and will trade through to Christmas Eve.
But Treweek said that for her team of 11, it was planned to be a year-round gig.
‘‘We get our holiday break in January but when we get back, it is straight back into making orders, receiving stock and pricing it up.
‘‘We are also planning to do a mid-winter month when we are back open again and then it is straight into prepping for Christmas. So it doesn’t really stop.’’
Treweek has been in the Christmas decorations game for 16 years now, starting with a pop-up shop in Hawke’s Bay. That changed into a fulltime job and when she relocated to Manawatū six years ago the business moved with her.
‘‘We were in a smaller shed but we had been planning to move into a bigger place for the past two years or so.’’
The barn is anything but agricultural on the inside.
The shelves are intricately and purposefully arranged to showcase an array of themes, and a small cafe allows shoppers to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. And the barn is not even full to capacity, with plans to extend its increasingly popular cafe into its upstairs loft area. ‘‘It is pretty easy Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but the weekends are just hectic.
‘‘And the amazing thing has been that it has pretty much all been spread by word of mouth.
‘‘We get carloads from Wellington, Whanganui, and even old customers from Hawke’s Bay have followed me down here.’’
When it comes to Christmas Day, Treweek said it was a low-key affair. ‘‘By that point, we are so exhausted . . . that we take it easy, rest up and get together with our family.’’
The Christmas Barn is at 1104 Lockwood Rd, Kairanga, open Wednesday-Sunday 10am-4pm.