Contact Lymington.com

Event Promotion is coming soon, please check back.

 

Raise awareness of your business in the Lymington and New Forest area with Membership of Lymington.com

 Local advertising, PR and promotion via a range of Membership options.  

Membership: a glorious fusion of local advertising, PR and promotion

Membership of Lymington.com is like a glorious fusion of the best of local advertising, PR and promotion, crafted to promote both your special offers and your core business messages with the added stamp of third party endorsement. According to the package chosen, you'll benefit from positive promotion on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, recommendation in our Weekly What's On email, endorsements on our LinkedIn and championing in our website news and home pages.To discuss the best Membership option for your needs, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01590 612902 or 07782 167862. 

What’s included with Membership: at a glance

With set up: 

• Pre launch marketing review to clarify main marketing messages
• Support and assistance as required with setting up your bespoke editable Featured Business Page
• Set up of your business in preparation for promotion across all our digital media channels - Weekly What's On and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
• First bespoke promotion across all channels

With annual subscription:

• Minimum of one bespoke promotion of your business, news or event across all our digital media channels
• Promotion of the eventsyou add to the Lymington.com Events Calendar - you add the events, we promote them in the Diary section of Weekly What's On
• Tag and retweet: extend the reach of your own social media
• Inclusion of your business on relevant Member Noticeboards on Lymington.com
• Recommendation in relevant feature news articles 
• Promotion of your job vacancies on Lymington.com Jobs page - simply send us an email with details

 

Pre launch marketing review - a brief review of your marketing priorities

We’ll start with a brief discussion about your current marketing objectives and target markets. This will help us to encapsulate your most important marketing messages and then to create compelling captions for your promotion across our combined media channels - including blowing your trumpet with our wide reaching communications!

If you would like to we can expand this discussion into a review of your marketing plan. This may then lead on to a wider discussion about ways to grow your business. As highly experienced marketing professionals with the support of a fantastic local team of specialist experts in all fields of marketing, we can help with all your digital and traditional marketing needs: ranging from marketing direction and planning including brand identity and positioning; to providing creativity and expertise in specific areas ranging from websites to copywriting and design to social media; to giving you peace of mind by taking care of the planning and implementation of relationship and content marketing; right through to saving you time by managing specific elements of your marketing including social media, email marketing, digital marketing, PR and advertising. 

Working with us and investing in considered, wise, “smart” marketing and strong, cost effective exposure via online and offline media on a flexible basis to suit your needs and budget, can in the long run save you money too.

Bespoke editable webpage on Lymington.com

(Help with setting up your page is part of set up)

The first tangible business benefit of Lymington.com membership your Featured Business Page on the Lymington.com website. We can set this up for you or you may wish to do it yourself; in any case you will be able to log in and update it yourself at any time. The key thing is to make your headline messages as compelling as possible to your target markets – which we will help you to do. We can tailor your webpage to showcase the exact elements of your business that you would like to promote to the local market. In other words, we can help 'tell your story' and explain exactly why people should come to you!

Google likes our Directory a lot and simply having a webpage on Lymington.com has value in itself. Google regularly features our pages and events in Google Alerts and Google Search.

Find out more about your Featured Business Page here.

 

Compelling bespoke endorsement of your message across all our digital media channels 

Once your business webpage is set up we’ll then promote it across all our online channels. 

The first promotion is included as part of set up.

Multi channel promotion includes a compelling endorsement of your message, with promotion across all our digital media channels: Lymington.com website and our Weekly What’s On e-newsletter together with our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram platforms.

To create the promotion, content and images and links supplied by you are honed by us to create a compelling message which is then individually tailored to each of our online media channels including our Lymington.com website, our acclaimed Weekly What’s On newsletter plus our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

The caption link can be to a specific page on your own website or to an article, event or Featured Business Page on Lymington.com. 

Please note – copywriting/publication of new content is not included but can be added at additional cost - see below. 

Tag and retweet: extend the reach of your own social media

When applicable we tag your business in posts across our social media platforms, and retweet your tweets, thus augmenting your own social media marketing. You need to provide us with the relevant Facebook, Twitter and Instagram handles in order to take advantage of this element of membership.

Recommendation in our popular feature articles 

Your business will be included as relevant in our own hugely popular local feature articles, ranging from general to subject specific and seasonal articles such as “what’s on during the school holidays”, “where to stay”, “places to eat and drink”, “get set for the year”, “Great Christmas gifts available locally” and so on.

These articles which feature on our Home and News pages are then publicised via Google and promoted in Weekly What’s On and across all our social media platforms.

Promotion of your job vacancies on Lymington.com Jobs page

We are more than happy to promote your job vacancies on our Jobs Page and we have a good track record of attracting quality recruits. Just send us the details in a word document or an email, there’s no extra charge. We then promote new vacancies in the “Jobs” section of Weekly What’s On and where relevant across our social media platforms too.

Promotion of your events from Lymington.com Events Calendar

Make sure to take advantage of this benefit which is included with membership. It’s easy to add events to our Events Calendar, which has grown into the most comprehensive guide to “what’s on” across the New Forest. Each week we pick a selection of event links from the Events Calendar, and promote them in the Diary section of Weekly What’s On. 

Members quickly get into the habit of adding their events for this additional benefit!

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Types of Lymington.com Membership for Businesses and Organisations

Annual Membership

Annual Business Membership is our most popular membership option and suits many local businesses. It's especially good value if you run or host events, occasionally need to recruit new staff, and would appreciate being included in our local feature articles where relevant – there are so many benefits to membership!

Annual membership includes one bespoke cross-channel promotion annually

Regular Membership

Membership can be tailored for more frequent, regular, multi-channel promotion of your business news, product features and events, on a monthly, twice monthly or weekly basis.  It's great for businesses that have a lot to say and advertise, on a regular basis, for example:

• New and existing businesses wishing to reach out further with their messages and to spread word of their offering
• Local places to stay and places to eat, for example advertising and promoting  different aspects of the business either monthly or more frequently
• Local places to visit and seasonal events to promote their events and offers
• Larger businesses which have several different areas of their business, which can use our channels to deliver specific, targeted, local messages to the local marketplace

To get the best from Regular Promotion Membership we ask members to complete a Communications Plan in a spreadsheet we provide.  This details the planned messages, content, images and other elements and provides the initial framework for regular promotion - it can of course be subsequently varied and/or updated.

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Additional Marketing Services

Content creation: copywriting/editing

For an additional charge new articles and blogs about your business can be created and published on Lymington.com, which can in turn be the subject for cross-channel promotion.

This is great for: 

• Businesses which want to grow awareness of their products and services and to build their Google presence – all new content on Lymington.com is picked up very quickly by Google
• Businesses which would like to take advantage of our copywriting skills to craft articles combining fact with recommendation and endorsement of their product and services
• Professional services and similar, possibly not themselves using social media, which can take advantage of our communications channels to reach out with “soft PR” style communication

“Content” which we publish on Lymington.com on behalf of your business can be anything from a short announcement or news item based on content you supply to a full length feature article which we will originate and copywrite for you from scratch.

Full length review or feature article

A full length review or feature article on Lymington.com provides additional detail and publicity, and can be promoted by members via their own websites and social media as third party endorsement. We take considerable time to research the article usually via a visit/meeting and discussion which if required can include on the spot photography, then to copywrite 800-1,000 words and publish with 3-4 images included in the text.

The article will be published in the relevant category of the Lymington Life magazine section, plus also on the News page and for a period of time will also feature as one of the news article links on our Home page. We use our expertise and trustworthy website to ensure our feature articles and promotional reviews perform well on search engines and are picked up by Google Alerts.

This kind of article can be combined with an Advertorial or Press Release, professionally designed and copywritten by Bartley Marketing, in one or more local offline media. More information here.

Ad-hoc Promotion

Ad Hoc Promotion is particularly useful for Annual Members who do not want the regular commitment of Regular Promotion Membership but occasionally have something special to announce and promote. 

The promotion can be based on content supplied by the Member or on a full length article as outlined above. Often it will be based on a short news article which we will publish on Lymington.com, or it may be based on an event in our Events Calendar or on your business webpage - it's all very flexible!

Whatever the nature of the content it is normally get picked up by search engines and Google Alerts and is then then promoted with a compelling caption together with relevant images across all our channels.  

To get the most benefit from all our social media platforms you should provide us with a number of additional hi resolution images over and above those needed for the article itself.

A paid “boost” on Facebook is an optional extra, this is charged at cost.

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Lymington.com Membership Prices

• All Membership options: £150 one off set up cost includes brief marketing review, help with set up of Featured Business Page, and launch cross-channel promotion 
• Annual membership £150 includes one cross-channel promotion: payable annually in advance
• Regular membership: bespoke from £100 monthly for event promotion or £200 including content publication and promotion; 6 months minimum period 
• Ad hoc member promotion: from £125 for events
• New content copywriting and editing: from £350 for a feature or review article

All prices current at June 2022, all plus VAT

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Advertising and promotion for non members 

We can offer a limited amount of promotion for non members whether local businesses or individual event organisers, as below.

• Display job vacancy £25
• Promote charity event in Diary listing of Weekly What’s On: £25
• Cross-channel promotion of one off event or event series: from £150 with reduced price for repeat promotion

Sign up today!

Sign up for membership today on Annual or Regular Promotion basis, and start benefitting immediately from the vast local online promotional reach of the Lymington.com media channels - email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01590 612902 or 07782 167862 

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About Bartley Marketing 

New Forest based Bartley Marketing is a marketing consultancy and agency which also provides the full range of marketing services to local business, from consultancy and planning to branding, advertising and PR, websites, online advertising and SEO to direct communications and social media management.

According to your needs Bartley Marketing can:

• Clarify and define your marketing objectives, strategies, messages and branding

• Plan your marketing and communications

• Check your website and social media are working for you - and help put them right

• Design and build your new or replacement website

• Train you to make the most out of social media - or manage it on your behalf

• 'Ghostwrite' your blogs, as well as write copy for editorials, advertorials and articles

• Implement your direct email communications with clients and prospects

• Provide graphic design and photography, including 360 degree Google 'See Inside'

• Produce online and offline advertising and manage your printed promotional and point of sale materials

Check us out now at www.bartleymarketing.co.uk and call 01590 612902 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lymington.com Member Promotion

Summary of Member benefits

Make the most of your membership of Lymington.com! 

Below is a summary of ongoing Membership Benefits - remember to take advantage of them and make the most of your Membership. 

Promotion across all channels when you renew

When you renew your Annual  Membership we will give you a complimentary bespoke promotion across all the Lymington.com channels (Weekly What's On newsletter plus social media Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). You can either leave the choice of promotion message and timing to us or if there's something you would particularly like to push, let us know when you renew. 

Edit your webpage whenever you wish

Remember you can edit your bespoke webpage on Lymington.com whenever you wish – just log in and “edit listing”.  Let us know if you’d like a reminder of your log in details, or if you prefer just send the information and we’ll do it for you.  For upload, gallery images need to be sized exactly 800 x 600 pixels, your header (top) image must be 1260 x 500 pixels and your logo should be 300 x 300 pixels. We can resize as long as you send larger!

Promotion of the Events you add 

Remember to add your events to the Lymington.com events calendar - it's becoming "the" weblink which people click to check what's on and upcoming in Lymington and the New Forest!

Here is a reminder of how to add your events.

We keep an eye out for events added by members and promote them in the diary (words) section of Weekly What’s On.  

Regular Members can also include their events as part of their regular promotion - with an image, link and caption post in the newsletter and on our social media.

If Annual Members would like bespoke promotion of a particular event or news item, this is normally chargeable as an Ad Hoc Promotion... see details below.

Promotion in our General Articles

We are constantly creating and publishing general articles on Lymington.com which promote our Members, these articles are then picked up by Google Alerts.

These are articles which provide useful information for the local community and visitors to the area such as "Afternoon tea in the New Forest" and our ongoing eating out guides, events guides, half term, Easter, Summer and Christmas holiday guides etc.

Member Businesses relevant to the subject are included in these articles which are then also promoted on a regular basis on our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram as above) and in our Weekly What's On newsletter.

If you wish your business to be included in upcoming articles please do the following:

• If it's about an event, please add the event details and we will pick up from there.
• If it's not event related, please email one short paragraph and one image (1500 px wide please) to Tanya This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Please note we cannot guarantee to include your image, we will make the best selection of images to illustrate the article.)

Tell us your news!

Remember to send both Jane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Tanya (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) any press releases or other news, to keep us up to date - and remember that you can edit your webpage at any time - adding in details of any good news!

Regular Members can include their news as part of their regular planning and promotion. Annual Members can add on Ad Hoc Promotion to share any exciting news!

Ad Hoc Promotion for Annual Members 

An Ad-hoc Promotion is particularly useful for Annual Members who do not want the regular commitment of Regular Membership but occasionally have something special to announce and promote. 

A bigger 'splash' can be made, based on a short news article on our home page which is picked up by search engines and Google Alerts.  Alternatively the promotion can be based on an event in our Events Calendar or on your updated webpage.

Promotion then includes bespoke image and text box in our Weekly What's On newsletter with captivating caption and link to your event, plus image, caption and link promotion on Facebook and Twitter and image with caption promotion on Instagram.

And if relevant we can also boost on Facebook to reach even further (charged at cost).

We will need you to provide us with a number of hi resolution images for the article and promotion.

You might also like to consider upgrading to Regular Membership, which includes monthly/fortnightly/weekly Bespoke Promotion. Regular Membership is better value for businesses which regularly have a lot going on. Get in touch with Tanya and Jane to find out more.

Let us know about job vacancies

All Members  with job vacancies are encouraged to email us with details so that we can include on our Local Jobs page and advertise your vacancies free of charge in our Weekly What's On newsletter.

Encourage your customers to subscribe to Weekly What's On and to add Business Reviews

Subscribing to Weekly What's On is easy: it's just:lymington.com/subscribe. No logging in required, and we get fantastic feedback from subscribers about the usefulness of Weekly What's On.

Please encourage your customers and prospects also to register and log in to add events and reviews - all they have to do is click the "Register" button top right and follow the instructions.

Every time a review is posted we have to approve it before it's published, and we will not publish rude comments. When a review is published you will be notified, and if you see an opportunity to respond for whatever reason you are welcome to do so. (If we see anything we think could do with a response we will send you an extra email to alert you!)

It's really easy to add reviews once people get used to it!

Add links from your website to Lymington.com

Link to the Newsletter and Events pages on Lymington.com: http://lymington.com/events/lymington-newsletter and http://lymington.com/events/lymington-events

Let's create ever more of a local 'win win'. The more people sign up for Weekly What's On and refer to Lymington.com for other information, the more Members will all benefit.  So please help by adding links on your website if possible to the links above.

 

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For businesses which are not yet Members of Lymington.com, please click here: http://lymington.com/business/business-membership

Updated January 2020

Terms and Conditions for New Forest Dog Friendly Award Entries

Terms and Conditions 

Please ensure that you have read the following Terms and Conditions prior to submitting your nomination for the awards.

 

1.  The New Forest Dog Friendly Awards is a new awards programme which is organised by Bartley Marketing and administered via the Lymington.com website.

2.  All entries shall be made on the Lymington.com website, which is linked to from the domain www.newforestdogfriendly.co.uk

3.  All entrants shall supply such information as is requested on the Awards Page http://lymington.com/lymington/133-locally/1274-nf-dog-friendly-awards

4.  The awards are open to everybody.

5.  Any media rights, e.g. press, television and radio, arising from this competition are reserved by the organisers.

6.  Any questions relating to the interpretation of the awards shall be a matter within the sole opinion of the organisers who shall not be obliged to answer any queries or enter into correspondence whatsoever, in connection with the same.

7.  Winning entries will be publicised. Winners may be requested to participate in post event publicity.

8.  The judges will be appointed by the organisers.

9.  The organisers will not accept costs, however incurred, by the entrant.

10. Awards shall be made to the businesses most nominated, and to entrants who in the opinion of the panel of judges, submit applications that best meet the judging criteria.

11. Awards are made in kind as indicated in competition promotional/entry materials. A cash alternative is not available.

12. The organisers reserve the right not to make any or all the category awards if, in their opinion, there are insufficient nominations.

13. The closing date for nominations is 12 noon on 31st October 2018.

14. Judging will take place during early November 2018. 

15. The winners will be announced when the judging has been completed and details of award presentations will be published on the New Forest Dog Friendly Awards website www.newforestdogfriendly.co.uk

16. By completing a nomination for the awards you agree to these terms and conditions.

 

 

 

 

 

once they have been agreed with the businesses concerned.
Registering and completing a nomination for the awards indicates agreement to these terms and conditions.

20 fascinating facts about New Year.

The New Year is tradition celebrated around the world.

New Year brings hope for a more prosperous and happy 365 days. It is the time when many people traditionally make resolutions to break bad habits or start good ones. It’s tradition to ring in New Year’s with family and friends because the first people you see will either give you good luck or bad luck. 

Here are 20 other interesting facts about New Year...

1. The earliest known New Year celebrations were in Mesopotamia and date back to 2000 B.C.
2. The early Romans used 1 March as New Year's Day. Other cultures used the autumn equinox or the winter solstice to mark the new year.
3. In 1582, the Gregorian calendar, which marks 1 January as the new year, was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church.
4. January is named after Janus, the god with two faces, one looking forward and one looking backward.
5. England didn't adopt 1 January as New Year's Day until 1752, more than 150 years after Scotland. Before that the year began on 25 March, the feast of the Annunciation.
6. The first French Republic changed its calendar in 1793, fixing New Year at the autumnal equinox. Thirteen years later, Napoleon reinstated the Gregorian calendar now in general use.
7. Over a quarter of the globe's population celebrate the Chinese or lunar new year. The Year of the Rabbit will begin on 16 February. This is a time to repay debts, make sacrifices to gods, and distribute 'lucky money'. Chinese New Year is celebrated the second full moon after the winter solstice.
8. The ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Romans all celebrated New Year on different days. Even within western Christianity, the day has drifted, with Christmas Day, Easter Day and 1 and 25 March all popular. Because the festival was linked to the pagan event of Saturnalia, early Christians called for the New Year to be marked by prayer, fasting and 'humiliation'.
9. In Papua New Guinea, villagers mark the New Year by banging drums and burning bamboo sticks.
10. In Islamic countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, partying will be subdued during Ramadan.
11. Israel observes the western New Year, but there is a Jewish New Year in September. Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. Apples and honey are traditionally eaten.
12. India, which is 82 per cent Hindu, opts for the international New Year on 1 January. Tamil, Sikh and Punjabi New Years are independent celebrations on different dates. And Nepal will celebrate between April 17 and 18.
13. Thailand will hold unofficial celebrations on 1 January. The 'formal' celebrations in April feature a national water fight.
14. Ethiopia won't celebrate New Year until 11 September. The country has stuck to the old Julian calendar, which fails to reflect the true length of the year.
15. Ancient Persians gave New Year's gifts of eggs, which symbolized productiveness.
16. "Auld Lang Syne" is traditionally sung at midnight on New Year's Eve. It was written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788. He may have based it on a folk song.
    The words auld lang syne mean "times gone by".
17. In Italy, people wear red underwear on New Year’s Day to bring good luck all year long.
18. In the USA, the first rooftop celebration atop One Times Square, a fireworks display, took place in 1904 and was produced by The New York Times to inaugurate their new headquarters in Times Square and celebrate the renaming of Longacre Square to Times Square.
19. In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico, some families stuff a large doll, which is called Mr. Old Year, with memories from the past year. They also dress him in clothes from the outgoing year. At midnight, he is set ablaze, thus burning away the bad memories.
20. In the USA, it is believed good luck to eat foods like black eyed peas, ham and cabbage because it is thought they bring prosperity. But if you want to have a happy new year, don’t eat lobster or chicken. Lobsters can move backward and chickens can scratch in reverse, so it is thought these foods could bring a reversal of fortune.

50 things yule never know about Christmas...

A few facts that will impress your friends and family on Christmas Day!!

1. Speedy Santa

US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world's presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.

2. Robins

ROBINS on cards were a joke 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them.

3. Mince Pies

ALTHOUGH now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.

4. Tangerines

THE tradition of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor.

5. Three Wise Men?

DESPITE the tale of three wise men paying homage to baby Jesus, the Bible never gives a number. Matthew's Gospel refers to merely "wise men".

6. Wassailing

CAROLS began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.

7. Carols

CAROLS weren't sung in churches until they were introduced by St Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.

8. Stockings

HANGING stockings out comes from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas's donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return.

9. Angels Singing?

THERE is no reference to angels singing anywhere in the Bible.

10. Christmas Trees

NEARLY 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.

11. Noel

THE word Noel derives from the French expression "les bonnes nouvelles" or "the good news".

12. Baby Jesus

JESUS was probably born in a cave and not a wooden stable, say Biblical scholars.

13. Xmas

THE abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.

14. Tallest Tree

THE world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.

15. White Christmas

THE chances of a white Christmas are just 1 in 10 for England and Wales, and 1 in 6 for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

16. The Birth of Jesus

MANY theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.

17. Jingle Bells

JAMES Pierpont's 1857 song Jingle Bells was first called One Horse Open Sleigh and was written for Thanksgiving.

18. Turkey

BEFORE turkey, the traditional Christmas meal in England was a pig's head and mustard.

19. Banning Christmas

IN 1647, after the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell banned festivities. The law wasn't lifted until 1660.

20. World's Biggest Snowman

In 1999, residents of the state of Maine in America built the world's biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall.

21. A Merry Greek Christmas

THE Greeks celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the old Julian calendar, while Xmas presents are opened on New Year's Day.

22. Eating a Christmas Tree

MANY parts of the Christmas tree can actually be eaten, with the needles being a good source of Vitamin C.

23. Holly

THE holly in a wreath symbolises Christ's crown of thorns while the red berries are drops of his blood.

24. Christmas Cards

THE first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned by civil servant Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. Featuring a family drinking wine, one sold for #8,469 last year.

25. Hanging Presents

HANGING presents on trees may come from the Druids who believed the tree was the giver of all good things.

26. Christmas Crackers

THE largest Christmas cracker - 45.72m long and 3.04m in diameter - was pulled in Australia in 1991.

27. Shopping Spree

THE long shopping spree before Christmas began in America when relatives of soldiers posted overseas in the Second World War were encouraged to mail gifts early.

28. Christmas Songs

JINGLE Bells was the first song broadcast from space when Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra sang it on December 16, 1965.

29. Christmas Comets

ASTRONOMERS believe the Star Of Bethlehem, which guided the wisemen to Jesus, may have been a comet or the planet Uranus.

30. The Many Names of Santa

SANTA has different names around the world - Kriss Kringle in Germany, Le Befana in Italy, Pere Noel in France and Deushka Moroz (Grandfather Frost) in Russia.

31. Christ's Mass

THE word Christmas comes from the Old English "Cristes maesse" meaning "Christ's Mass".

32. Bing Cosby

THE bestselling Xmas single ever is Bing Crosby's White Christmas, shifting over 50million copies worldwide since 1942.

33. Band Aid

IN Britain, the best-selling festive single is Band Aid's 1984 track, Do They Know It's Christmas?, which sold 3.5million copies. Wham! is next in the same year with Last Christmas, selling 1.4million.

34. Artificial Trees

UPSIDE-down artificial Xmas trees are sold to allow more gifts to be piled under.

35. Oslo

SINCE 1947 Oslo has sent a Xmas tree to London to thank us for our help in the Second World War.

36. Christmas Pudding

CHRISTMAS pudding was originally a soup made with raisins and wine.

37. Cracker Design

LONDON sweetmaker Tom Smith created the first Christmas crackers in 1847, based on the sweet wrapper design.

38. Dutch Santa

SANTA Claus comes from a Dutch folk tale based on Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, who gave gifts on December 6.

39. Boxing Day

BOXING Day gets its name from all the money collected in church alms-boxes for the poor.

39. Mistletoe Kisses

KISSING under the mistletoe is thought to spring from Frigga, the Norse goddess of love, who was associated with the plant.

41. The Beatles

THE Beatles hold the record for most Xmas number 1 singles, topping the charts in 1963, 65 and 67.

42. Electric Trees

ELECTRIC tree lights were invented by Edward Johnson in the US in 1882.

43. Early Christmas Trees

THEY may date back to pagan traditions, but the earliest known reference to a Christmas tree is in a German pamphlet from 1570.

44. Christmas Movies

THE highest-grossing Christmas movie is 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which has raked in #175m so far.

45. Santa in Iceland

THERE are 13 Santas in Iceland, each leaving a gift for children. They come down from the mountain one by one, starting on December 12 and have names like Spoon Licker, Door Sniffer and Meat Hook.

46. Rudolph the Reindeer

RUDOLPH the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.

47. Chocolate Coins

GOLD-wrapped chocolate coins commemorate St Nicholas who gave bags of gold coins to the poor.

48. The First Christmas

THE first Christmas celebrated in Britain is thought to have been in York in 521AD.

49. Christmas Bonus Law

IN Greece, Italy, Spain and Germany, workers get a Christmas bonus of one month's salary by law.

50. Czech Christmas

IN the Czech Republic they enjoy dinners of fish soup, eggs and carp. The number of people at the table must be even, or the one without a partner will die next year.

 

How much did you know? Have a lovely Christmas and see you on the other side.

Best wishes,

Jane, Tanya and the team at Bartley Marketing

Merry Christmas to everybody from the Lymington.com team 

This lovely carol from Ballard School's carol service in Christchurch Priory seems an appropriate note on which to wish everybody a very merry Christmas. What beautiful voices!

We hope you all enjoy a well deserved break from the daily toil and some special time to enjoy the company of family and friends.  

  

We will be sending out a shorter than usual "What's On in Lymington" newsletter this Friday 23rd December and next Friday 30th.  If you don't currently receive our newsletter and would like to be kept in touch with events and other news please sign up (top right of page) and we'll add you with pleasure to the list.