At Sleigh’s, we can make your ‘Holiday Season’ wishes come true! For this family, over the course of 11 days, we planned the perfect mix of festive fun, Celtic capers, and magical moments.
The client wanted a celebration where their invited friends could blend seamlessly into the family dynamic, an important nod to how they live their life sharing the rewards of their hard work and good fortune, but with plenty of treats and surprises that would appeal across the generations and backgrounds of those they had chosen to surround themselves with.
From the moment the family and friends were met at the jet door, with not only champagne but nostalgic treats from the lead client’s Scottish childhood, the holiday began. Arriving at their festively adorned private castle retreat, whilst rooms were being chosen and the house explored, the first of surprises were snuck into place: two of Santa’s reindeer.
From learning about their family traditions and taking inspiration from both sides of their cultural heritage we created a programme that really did offer something to everyone. There was a scavenger hunt imaginatively created around the castle itself, an afternoon of baking with a Great British Bake Off winner, ghostly tales and a banquet in a desolate clan seat, carols by candlelight, kilted yoga, hiking, an ad hoc chef-prepared ‘Fakeaway’ fish and chips around a firepit evening, and a tartan design art workshop. Activities and experiences to feed the mind, body, and soul.
The trip really ramped up on New Year’s Eve when we were privileged to be entrusted with not only planning an epic Hogmanay celebration of bespoke choreographed fireworks, a ceilidh, and celebrity bagpipe performance, but also a secret last-minute vow renewal. The hushed whispers, the stage setting, flower arranging, and orchestrating of getting the hair and make-up artists and photographer on site were all rewarded when the bride walked down her winter-wonderland aisle past the glowing faces of her closest family and friends to her waiting husband.
Our clients have travelled widely and spent winter holidays at some of the world’s top hotels but, what made this trip different was how it marched to the beat of their drum. ‘Off-the-shelf’ Festive programmes are wonderful but cannot cater for individual family traditions, are inflexible to lie-ins and those games of Monopoly that run on and lack the privacy and intimacy of spending time with those who mean the most to you. To have the Castle as their base, and our team to design and deliver the programme, just for them, was why the hugs and tears on their final morning were heartfelt. A new chapter of their family story has been written and it is bound within the walls of Turin Castle.
On this trip, the focus was togetherness and making memories. By spending time getting to know the clients, listening as they talked about their friends and family, and asking the right questions we were able to design a trip that delivered ‘wow’ moments, not just during the big celebrations but by the weaving in of the personal into every detail. If you’re ready to make your own memories let’s talk and we can start to write your story.
