29/11/2025
😮OMG!!!!!!!!
Last night, I single-handedly delivered Harleston’s Christmas Lights Switch-On… and honestly, waking up today, I can’t believe I did it!
From organising all of the food vendors, to creating and coordinating the Elf Trail (including hand-delivering all the elves to local shops during the day!), to designing every piece of promotional artwork, organising the radio station and stage and building a brand-new running order from scratch, the event was a huge task.
Because Harleston Council hasn’t had an “official” switch-on before (it’s always been run by a volunteer group), the responsibility of putting on a brand-new event for the town sat entirely with me. So I definitely felt the pressure to make sure it was good.
We had two local choirs, performance from Diss Panto, Children from the community taking part, A petting area with sheep from a local farm, Face painting, Mulled wine, Marshmallow toasting
…plus a full evening programme on stage.
And then behind the scenes, I was also:
First aider
Lost child point
Liaising with security
Managing crowd flow
Ensuring performers arrived on time
Checking the site constantly
Filming every performance live on social media
Taking photos
Coordinating the exact timing of the Elf Trail winner
Quietly crossing my fingers that the big countdown would align with the person secretly hiding away ready to switch on the lights!
AND driving the van last-minute with the branded gazebo, tables and chairs loaded inside 😅
This is usually the work of an entire events team. And yet somehow, I managed to deliver every part of it on my own.....And what a turnout we had— around 2,000 people!
And whatvwas really cool is the crowd stayed long after the lights came on, which is almost unheard of for a switch-on event.
I’m really proud of myself this morning as I have a well earned lay-in!
And so grateful to everyone who came out to support the switch-on.🎄
🎄
