Restaurant Christmas decorations can do more than make a venue look festive. The right design can complement an existing interior, create a memorable atmosphere and encourage passers-by to stop, look inside and discover what lies beyond the door.
For Liverpool restaurant Barnacle, we wanted to achieve exactly that. Barnacle celebrated its first birthday in October 2026, but another milestone came first: its very first Christmas, in 2025. With a beautifully renovated interior, rich materials and a distinctive identity, it was the perfect opportunity for Ivy Events to create a Christmas scheme that felt entirely at home in the space.
Designing Around Barnacle’s Interior
When we first met with Harry Askew, Barnacle’s owner, the restaurant had recently completed its renovation. With the day-to-day running of a new restaurant still taking priority, Christmas had understandably not yet made it onto the agenda.
With the festive season only a few months away, we worked together to develop a scheme that would complement the restaurant’s existing coastal design while giving the space a distinctive seasonal character.
Barnacle’s interior already had a strong identity. Dark timber, emerald-green tile accents, copper tones, a striking bar and nautical blues created a rich, atmospheric setting. Rather than introduce a completely different Christmas colour palette, we wanted to build on these existing elements.
Our approach was to use complementary colours, natural textures, lush evergreen foliage and warm, twinkling lights to create a festive atmosphere that felt luxurious without overwhelming the space.
The result needed to feel like Barnacle at Christmas, rather than a restaurant dressed for Christmas.
What We Installed at Barnacle for Christmas 2025
We designed a coordinated scheme that flowed throughout the restaurant, connecting the different areas while drawing attention to its architectural features and distinctive interior. The installation included:
- Two eight-foot decorated Christmas trees, bringing height, colour and festive impact into the space.
- 60m of bespoke evergreen garlands, installed along the picture rails, around the bar and fireplace, and across the railings to create continuity throughout the interior.
- Thousands of baubles, including oversized statement baubles suspended around the driftwood entrance trees to introduce a playful festive feature.
- Christmas wreaths, positioned in the windows to bring the scheme together and create an inviting view from outside.
- Warm, twinkling lights and rich foliage, adding depth, texture and a welcoming glow throughout the restaurant.
Every element was selected to complement Barnacle’s existing palette. The aim was to create visual interest through the combination of colour, texture and scale, without competing with the restaurant’s own design.
When Barnacle shared the finished decorations on Instagram, the caption read: “The decorations are up, and the season has well and truly begun.”
Followers responded warmly, and comments on our own social posts included “Looks stunning, I love the colour mix”, which we were particularly pleased to see after the focus on blending the scheme with Barnacle’s own palette.
Christmas Entrance Decorations That Work from the Street
Barnacle occupies a beautiful listed stone-fronted building, set back from Hardman Street in Liverpool. In an area with plenty of restaurants and bars competing for attention, we wanted the Christmas installation to help the venue stand out.
The entrance and windows were particularly important. Lush pine garlands, coordinated baubles, wreaths and warm lighting created a welcoming first impression, encouraging passers-by to look through the windows and take a closer look at the restaurant.
Rather than treating the exterior and interior as separate spaces, we designed the decorations to work together. The festive details visible from the street offered a glimpse of the atmosphere inside, creating a natural visual connection between the entrance, bar and restaurant.
For hospitality businesses, this is an important consideration when planning Christmas decorations. A scheme should look beautiful from within the venue, but it should also work from the outside, where it can help capture attention and communicate the experience customers can expect.
From Design to Removal: How the Project Ran
We sourced and designed Barnacle’s decorations over the preceding months, then installed them on a Monday in November 2025. We chose a Monday on purpose: it’s the day restaurants are typically closed, so we could work through the whole space, from the trees to the garlands to the lighting, without disturbing guests or the team. The scheme then stayed in place throughout the festive season and was removed in early January 2026.
For a busy restaurant, this made the process straightforward. Harry and the team could concentrate on creating their seasonal food and cocktail menus and delivering the experience their customers came for, while we took care of the Christmas styling.
From the initial design through to installation and removal, our role was to manage the decorative elements around the restaurant’s existing operations.
“This is the benefit of working with a specialist. Rather than sourcing individual decorations, coordinating different suppliers and finding time to install everything, venues can have a cohesive scheme designed, delivered and packed away for them.”
– Amy, Ivy Events’ Creative Director
At Ivy Events, we create bespoke Christmas decorations for restaurants, bars, hotels and other hospitality venues, tailoring each scheme to the character of the space and the experience the business wants to create.
Barnacle Christmas 2026: Building on the Original Design
We’re delighted to be building on our work with Barnacle for Christmas 2026.
For 2026, we’re developing the original scheme further, extending the festive styling beyond the interior to create a more impactful external display.
The plans include a full Christmas doorway installation and a decorated balcony display, designed to give the building an even stronger presence from the street and complement the character of the restaurant.
By developing the scheme year on year, we can retain the elements that work beautifully with Barnacle’s identity while introducing new features that make the overall display feel fresh and distinctive.
Planning Christmas Decorations for Your Restaurant or Bar?
Whether you’re preparing a restaurant for the festive season, styling a hotel entrance or creating a Christmas installation for a hospitality group, Ivy Events can help bring your vision to life.
We work with venues across Liverpool, the Wirral, Cheshire, Manchester and the wider North West to create bespoke Christmas decorations, from elegant interior styling and festive floristry to statement entrances and larger-scale installations.
Our service can include design, sourcing, installation and seasonal removal, giving your team more time to focus on your customers while we take care of the festive details.
Get in touch with Ivy Events to discuss your ideas and arrange your Christmas decoration consultation. We recommend enquiring early to discuss availability.
