THE creativity of Malvern's traders has once again been celebrated in this year's XChristmas window competition, organised by Malvern Town Council.

Mayor Julian I'Anson was joined as judge by Cllr John Raine, vice-chairman of Malvern Hills District Council, and both said that they thoroughly enjoyed the chance to visit so many of Malvern’s shops and greatly admired the hard work of their owners and staff.

They also said that the extremely high standard of all the entries made it a particularly tricky task this year.

The judging was carried out by Cllr Julian I’Anson, the Mayor of Malvern Town Council, and Cllr John Raine,

The entries for this year’s competition, with the theme The Twelve Days of Christmas, came from Barnards Green Post Office, Bridal Gallery, Déjà Vu, Dynastic Art, Just So, the Malvern Book Co-operative, Malvern Tourist Information Centre, Shrinking Violet and the St Richard’s Hospice shop.

The Best Window award for Barnards Green went to Just So, for a really eye-catching and impressive display featuring not only the wide range of products available in the shop, but also painstakingly detailed hand-crafted items that fit the theme perfectly.

The judges praised the entry, saying: “The colours of the display are lovely, and such beautiful embroidery really draws the passer-by to stop and admire.”

The Best Window award for Great Malvern was especially hard-fought, with only a single point separating the winner and the runner-up, but the prize went to Shrinking Violet for a charming display described by the judges as: “small but very pretty, an excellent fit to the theme and very festive.”

For anyone who wants to take a look at all of the windows in more detail, a Christmas Window Trail leaflet is available from the TIC in Church Street.