MY SPARKLY STAIRWAY HAS GOT ME THROUGH

JENNY BENNETT, 37, owns a beauty salon and lives near morpeth, Northumberland, with her partner, Kevin, 44, a landlord and property owner. She says:

COME late afternoon, when darkness begins to fall, I switch on the thousands of fairy lights on the garland either side of the grand, sweeping staircase.

As festive sparkle fills the hallway of our six-bedroom home, my mood lightens and I often sit on the stairs to take it all in, delighted that I put the decorations up three weeks earlier than usual.

But it’s not just the finished garlands and 8 ft tree at the bottom of the staircase that have lifted my spirits. Lockdown restrictions mean my business has been closed for five of the past eight months, so the process of putting up the decorations over two days gave me a much-needed creative outlet.

Each garland consists of four, 9 ft pieces that I found on eBay and wound together. I added artificial berries, faux flowers and over 2,000 fairy lights.

I’ve spent more than £500 creating it. After such a miserable year, I’ve also put up the tree super-early. We need some magic in our lives now!

This year may have been far from sparkling — but our home definitely is.