Reimagine Your Décor: Planning for Your Décor Review

Want to know how the most wonderful time of the year can be even better next year?

The key is starting this year, by reviewing your decorations while they’re still up.

Décor reviews allow our team and yours to look at which decorations are working, which aren’t, and put together a plan for next season. Yes, I know, you just put up your decorations. But that’s why there’s no time like the present to start reviewing them. Here’s everything you need to know to review your commercial Christmas decorations and start planning for next year.

The first step is deciding who needs to be involved. We recommend including decision makers like your marketing manager, lead designer, or holiday décor project managers. It’s also helpful to include someone who interacts with your guests and would have insight into their experiences and perspectives. Your Dekra-Lite sales rep will provide another perspective, keeping an eye out for high-traffic areas and places you can highlight in future designs.

Ultimately, your décor review is a walk-through of your property. We’ll evaluate the location of your decorations as well as the state of each item. It allows us to look more deeply at which decorations your guests and customers engaged with, and which ones fell flat. This is also a good time to plan for your off-season refurbishments and determine which products can be repurposed for next year.

The whole point of décor reviews is to look at your commercial Christmas decorations while they’re up. So you’ll need to plan your review before your décor removal date. We recommend planning this in the thick of the season if your team has the bandwidth. It’s best to see how people are interacting with the decorations and how they move through your space during the season. If you can schedule your review between Dec. 1 and Dec. 23 that will give you the best glimpse into customer behavior and attitudes toward your display.

Now you’re wondering, ‘Why in the world would I take time out of my busiest season to plan something that won’t even happen for another year? I’ll just wait for next June and plan then.’ You have a point. But we’ve seen customers scramble to plan their décor program in July because they can’t remember which props need new paint and which ones they meant to throw out. Taking a few hours to walk through your existing program means you won’t miss out on opportunities for next year. It also means you can establish your budget needs for next season now so when your accounting team asks what the holiday budget is for you can actually tell them. All in all, evaluating your decorations now will help you set a clear goal for your future programs based on this year’s success (or lack thereof).

When you schedule a décor review with our team, we’ll help with everything from evaluating your current decorations to identifying new spaces to leverage to budgeting for next year.

We’ll help you evaluate:

• Engagement is typically pretty clear to see. Sometimes it’s people physically posing with decorations, taking pictures in front of the tree, or congregating around high-density décor areas. But some props might get more attention than you can see on site. Decorations like garland and bow accent kits rarely get a lot of in-person love, but checking social media can give you insight into what’s drawing people to your property in the first place. And if people aren’t interacting with a decoration in person and it didn’t make it into the Instagram reel, chances are you can cut it out of next year’s plans.

• Holiday decorations drive foot traffic, so where the garlands go, customers flow. Look at where your guests are congregating and which spaces they’re avoiding to see where to place your decorations next year. If customers aren’t getting to certain areas of your property that are heavily decorated, consider moving those decorations to high-traffic areas to capitalize on your investment. We also love to pay attention to your space’s natural focal points. Décor reviews are a perfect time to determine whether you’re leveraging your stand-out architectural features. 

• Even when you put out brand new ornaments, foliage, or props, by the end of the season they can be scratched, dented, or even stolen. Sometimes you put out your tried and true decorations and realize they’ve enjoyed their last Christmas season. Either way, now’s the time to determine which of your decorations are in perfect shape for next year, which need a little bit of love during the off-season, and which are ready for retirement.

• Once you know what you have, what’s working, and what needs to be replaced, you can finally decide what you’d like to add next year. Your additions might be pieces you’ve had on your wishlist for years but haven’t had the space, or new lights and ornaments for your tree. During your décor review, keep an eye out for areas that need little enhancements like gift boxes and snow blankets under your tree. We can help you find the perfect additions to your existing program, or get started on an entire redesign for next year.

The season is in full swing, so call our team at (800)474-5179 to set up your décor review today. We can meet in person or virtually to help you reimagine your commercial holiday décor program. But call soon! Christmas will be over before you know it.