Christmas Goes Green At The Friary Guildford

Published on: 13 Nov, 2015
Updated on: 16 Nov, 2015

The Friary Shopping Centre is launching its Christmas season on Thursday, November 19 with the theme “Giving The Earth”.

The centre will also be planting their very own Friary forest in the National Trust’s Winkworth Arboretum. With every 10 trees given away over Christmas, one tree will be donated to the arboretum. By planting just one tree, an individual can help to reduce their carbon footprint by 15%.

When shoppers spend more than £75 in the centre, they can receive their very own Christmas tree sapling to grow at home or to give to friends or family an eco-friendly gift that can be nurtured and remembered.

And this year, The Friary is taking Christmas back in time to the late 1700s where Father Christmas was slightly different to the man we know today. Dating back to 16th century England, ‘Santa Claus’ was pictured as a large man in green robes lined with fur, a far cry from the luxurious red suit he wears today.

Santa dressed in his traditional green attire will be appearing as the climax of an exciting Christmas trail around the centre. Children can hunt for mini-Christmas trees hidden in store windows to discover a mystery word which, when put together correctly, forms a Christmas song.