EXCLUSIVE: From 30ft tree requests to chic nutcrackers, candy cane sleighs and £35k budgets, decorating celebrity homes like Helen Flanagan’s is a magical job, says Adele Gregson

When it comes to decorating your home for Christmas you’d be hard pushed to find anyone more talented and enthusiastic than Adele Gregson, 39, who says that amidst the magic it’s ‘crazy and competitive.’

The Luxury Christmas Decorator & Managing Director of The Christmas Company from Liverpool has had her fair share of gigantic nutcrackers, life-sized polar bears and sky-high Christmas trees to contend with over the years, but admits that her famous clients are lovely.

Adele often decorates Helen Flanagan’s home for Halloween and Christmas. “Some celebs take themselves so seriously but most are just lovely, like Helen Flanagan. She’s so down-to-earth and loves getting the kids involved.”

Adele Gregson, 39, from Liverpool started The Christmas Company 12 years ago and thrives on creating festive magic for her clients (Image: Adele Gregson)

Tensions can run high in households though with Adele witness to many marital disagreements including hilarious ones between former Top Gear presenter Freddie Flintoff, 45, and his former model wife Rachael Wools, 43.

The pair, who have been married since 2005, had differing ideas on what a festive display should like like in their home, according to Adele.

“Rachael wanted it done in a way we had done Phil Neville’s house before. They’re friends and she had seen his contemporary style, you know, grey and silver nutcrackers – very modern. But Freddie really wanted candy canes.

“You know, ‘we’ve spent all this money and it doesn’t look like Christmas because it’s done like a show’ type vibe?”

Freddie Flintoff has very specific ideas on what Christmas should look like at home, leading to rows with his wife Rachael

Adele reveals that Christmas decor is usually rooted with nostalgia and bringing back memories for famous faces.

“It’s the emotion of it all. “The build up to it all and the people coming into your home. We had one client who called me early on a Sunday in a panic saying, ‘Darling, darling, you need to come to my house immediately!’

“I panicked and thought ‘what have we done wrong?’ but he took me on a tour and said that it was beautiful but too much like a New York hotel. He didn’t want that, he wanted snowmen, reindeers, post boxes… so we started from scratch and went back with snow machines!

“His hands were shaking in the end though – he said, ‘This is the magic!'”

Adele, who has been running her company for the last 12 years, has decorated some of the largest shopping centres across Europe, a country restaurant and of course celebrity mansions in the UK, and sometimes abroad. She has even decorated the iconic tree at Manger Square in Bethlehem.

Her team work 364 days a year to achieve perfection from design and installation through to maintenance and takedown, and it’s hardwork.

“It’s not all glitter, gloss and glam. Although it looks magical, it’s hard graft and can involve brutal 18 hours days!” she points out.

Bubbly and chatty, Adele is exactly the type of person you’d want in your home during seasonal festivities and clearly Cristiano Ronaldo’s children thought so too when they went to his home in Cheshire.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his family were welcoming and even offered Adele and her team mince pies (Image: The Christmas Company)

“Cristiano’s wife Georgina wanted something we’ve never done before – she wanted a specific type of lighting on the window – and we were told it all via her interpreter because she speaks Spanish so it was tricky. She wanted something we wouldn’t normally do but we went with it.

“They had live in chefs and nannies running around – it was surreal! We even got a mince pie there but the best part was the boxes we made for the children. We had toffee apples in them and they simply didn’t know what they were, they had never had them before – I had to explain there was an apple inside. They loved them.”

From 30ft tree requests that belong in shopping centres for the owner of Beauty Works – they managed with specialist equipment – to bespoke baubles and even one client who wanted their whole house decorated within 60 minutes to appear as if they had done it themselves, The Christmas Company has it covered – even borrowing from owner Adele if need-be.

“My kids think I’m The Grinch taking down our tree but if someone calls last minute – and it’s usually footballers – then sometimes my tree will be just what we need! I think I’ve traumatised them,” she laughs.

“By the end of December we look broken – I think the stars feel sorry for us and that’s why they offer us a mince pie and a cuppa.

Adele loves working with ‘down-to-earth’ Helen Flanagan on her Christmas displays (Image: The Christmas Company)Amidst the Christmas chaos of Tanya Beardsley’s lovely boys playful fighting, festive magic happens (Image: The Christmas Company)

And there’s always a wild time guaranteed when children are around.

“I’ve done decor for Tanya Beardsley a couple of times too and she’s also lovely. She’s gone for giant angels this year and it’s always crazy when you go in because she has the boys who are always play fighting on the floor, but we fit around it all.”

According to Adele, monochrome and black and gold is all the rage this year and candy colours are making a comeback, too.

“And LED gingerbread everything – people, dogs, mum, dad, little boy, grandparents!”

After preparing since summer, it’s nearly time for Adele to hang up her own stockings and finally relax.

“I can sit with a glass of champagne and look at my lovely decorations and just enjoy it thinking that I’ve actually got through another Christmas.”

The Christmas Company now offer bespoke Christmas Boxes so that you can create the magic yourself using their high quality decorations and accessories. Furthermore, their Christmas products and services are available on a sale or rental agreement, which can include installation, removal and storage of all of your Christmas Trees, decorations and lighting. christmascompanyuk.com