Ding Dong! It’s November 2025

The festive season is not even upon us and yet here at the Front Door Communications team we have been up to our eyeballs in Christmas cheer this November.

Never before has there been so much turkey-tasting, choir-carolling action this early in the office calendar. And while some members of the team are rolling with the festive merriment more than others (Kath), it’s certainly been keeping us busy.

Much of our November has been spent celebrating the launch of Christmas at Bute Park, which has opened its gates for the fifth consecutive year here in the heart of Cardiff.

We’ve been fortunate to have worked with From the Fields, the organisers behind Christmas at Bute Park, since its very first year and we have to say this feels like the best trail yet. But don’t just take our word for it – the event has had some lovely reviews in its opening week, and we loved this mention in Radio Times:

“I attended the Bute Park lights on its first year and now on its fifth year, and the transformation was incredible. This year, the park was split up into different installations like Crystal Avenue and Dancing Dandelions, all with their own theme and light display. By far the most beautiful was the Water Willows, where lights seemed to drizzle off the trees like a gentle waterfall. Throughout the whole walk the music was a beautiful companion and there were plenty of interactive picture-perfect moments for families to enjoy.”

The Front Door team have been doing a spot of modelling this year also, with our very own Rachel and Lynsey making their debut in various PR campaigns:

There are still some tickets left so head over to Christmas at Bute Park to grab some of the last spots!

In yet more festive news, we’ve been working with money-saving afficionados MyVoucherCodes on a Christmas campaign sharing expert insight into how much people are set to spend on presents this year.

According to the latest research, shoppers are set to spend around £32 on average more on gifts than they did in 2024 – with people expecting to shell out £377.98 overall in the weeks ahead.

We were chuffed that the campaign earned 75 pieces of coverage, including Mail Online and The Independent, while MVC’s Sarah-Jane Outten spoke to ITV Wales lunchtime news to discuss consumer spending trends and offer practical and timely money-saving tips to help people navigate the festive season.

Elsewhere in financial news, it’s been the UK Budget this month and we’ve had not one but two clients sharing their professional insight on what this could all mean for businesses.

CEO of FinTech Wales Sarah Jones spoke to ITV Wales about what businesses were hoping to see in The Budget this autumn, which was to be included in the morning bulletins ahead of Rachel Reeves’ announcement that afternoon.

Alongside this, CEO and founder of Mrs Bucket Cleaning Services, Rachel Flanagan, appeared on BBC Wales Today discussing how the Chancellor’s new budget will affect SMEs. She spoke to Nick Servini about minimum wage increases, labour costs and how the last few years have impacted service-led businesses.

But it’s not all Christmas crackers and budget breakdowns. This month we’ve also been working with the team at Lottoland on a campaign to celebrate a truly massive lottery rollover – the £520 million US Powerball draw.

In honour of our friends across the pond, Lottoland carried out research into how many of us know more about the Americans than we do our own culture. And it turns out, quite a lot of us! Three in ten Brits read more about Donald Trump than we do King Charles (no surprise there), while 34% of British young people know more about the Kardashians than they do EastEnders. You can read more at The Sun Online, The Mirror and the US Express among others.

And speaking of Lottoland, Front Door Francesca has been busy this month filming something very exciting for its December campaign. We can’t say too much yet, but it’s going to be a big one…

Finally, November wouldn’t be complete without a Beaujolais Day celebration or two, and this year’s victims were Lynsey (Le Monde), Kath and Lisa (The Botanist) who all took on the town and represented Front Door on the Bojo Day stage.

It was a busy month for our Kath, who you might also have seen at the South Wales Chamber of Commerce Christmas soiree chatting all things business and generally avoiding the festive singalong session happening near the bar…

And that’s it for another month! Will the next ding dong be even merrier and brighter than the last? Only time will tell. Tune in soon for more from the Front Door Communications team – until then!