Whatever it may be, we are frankly loving this Christmas spirit of decadence and exhuberence! In times of economic harship and with online sales sky rocketing, this may look a tad extravagant. However if ever there was a time to create theatre in store to drive footfall back onto the highstreet -- then this is it.

Check out our selection of the best from this year and Christmas’s past:

Swarovski Window, Harrods, London

A spectacular window display portraying an enchanted forest. Featuring thousands of sparkling Swarovski crystal elements of different shapes and sizes.

Karl Lagerfeld’s Windows at Printemp, Paris

An incredible display of imagination and fantasy featuring the Maestro himself and fabulous moving characters.

Watch the amazing video too:

Selfridges White Christmas, London

Epitomising this year’s White Christmas theme, the Oxford Street windows create a true winter wonderland in the heart of the capital.

Each pane of window has been transformed into an enchanting, oversized music box, some playing re-engineered carols whilst others provide eerie, magical sounds to evoke the feeling of a ‘crystal clear Christmas’. Admirers are encouraged to play around with the windows to their heart’s content as each pane is equipped with a state-of-the-art touch-screen wind-up system to control the track.

Get down to Selfridges to be immersed in your favourite festive tunes and guarantee yourself a White Christmas.

Agent Provocateur, London

I wouldn’t normally associate a robot with Christmas, but this is a clever play on ‘boys toys’ for saucy lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur and perfectly targeted at their shoppers at this time of year.

Lego Christmas Tree at St Pancras, London

Made from 600,000 Lego bricks, this HUGE Christmas tree is 40′ tall and is adorned with 1200 Lego baubles. Given 70% of toy sales  are made in the critical last two months pre-Christmas, this is a great vehicle for raising awareness of the brand in a high profile, high footfall area. However, one might question why this was sited so far away from the nearest Lego retailer. A pop up Augmented Reality Lego store could have enhanced this offer. Or  Lego could have created different baubles that represent different products, so that when you scan them with your mobile, it automatically opens up a Lego page for instant wins or online purchasing?

Harrods Christmas 2010, London

This one made it in for sheer wow factor. It literally stopped me in my tracks as I came out the Knightsbridge tube in Christmas 2010.

Harrods theme was the Wizard of Oz -- that old Christmas classic we all know and love!  The whole of the store was lit up in Emerald green and the Wicked Witch of the East’s ruby slippers could be seen, seemingly trapped underneath Harrods. At night the ruby slippers were lite up and glowed red. Fabulous interpretation of Christmas! 

Swarovski’s have just launched a new TV/Cinema Ad and we at Vivid Brand are divided. On the one side, it is seen as lacking credibility and relevance for the Swarovski brand and on the other as a breathtakingly ethereal masterpiece, both beautiful and forward thinking. We were particularly impressed by the scale of the production and the art direction that is reminiscent of the acclaimed photographer Tim Walker.

If you haven’t already see this, click here to watch it now.

The ad was integrated with a Treasure Hunt in London, to promote the featured ring used in the TV and press campaign. Those competing could win a holiday to Florence and a visit to the Austrian Swarovski factory. Vivid Brand registered, but were unable to take part as we did not have the right phone and operating system and so could not download the app. A great shame, as I imagine plenty of their target customers also have a Blackberry, so this was a surprising error.  If you took part -- we’d be interested to hear your views on this experience!

Watch a video of the treasure hunt here:

The brand has been evolving since it’s inception in 1895 in Austria, when Daniel Swarovski established the brand as the most premium, precision cut crystal available. Skip to the 90′s when the brand had a major makeover, spearheaded by Swarovski’s great, great grand daughter. The brand mark of the swan remained intact, but this era saw the introduction of high profile designer collaborations, such as with Designers Tom Dixon and Tord Boontje in lighting and the development of aspirational catwalk led jewellery collections and designer crystal fashion.

Swarovski Corset, from V&A's Runway Rocks Exhibition

Swarovski Slipper created for Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Watch a calaboration between Philips Consumer electronics and Swarovski:

These endorsements have helped to put Swarovski on the fashion radar and make the brand stylish and premium again.  Clearer segmentation of their target markets -- bridal, spiritual, volume, etc.  has helped to focus the business.  2006 saw the introduction of the Crystalized stores -- a concept that allows consumers to mix and match crystal jewellery or buy off the peg creations from fashion designers such as Jean Paul Gualtier and Azzaro.

Today, the company, still based in Wattens is family-owned and run by 4th and 5th generation family members. It has a global reach, with some 26,000 employees, a presence in over 120 countries and a turnover in 2008 of 2.52 billion Euros.