Christmas came early at IE this year, with Wednesday 16th December designated our Christmas Jumper day. A bunch of the team popped down to Birmingham Cathedral in their festive knits to join in with ‘Carols for the Business Community’ over lunch time and partake of some mulled wine and mince pies.

Back in the studio, we all gathered around Balthazar Frost, our ‘Seasonal Merriment Manager’ who joins us every December, to hand out Secret Santa gifts to our colleagues. Cue cries of ‘How did they know?’ and ‘What the…?’ as we all ripped open our pressies.

The festivities have continued throughout the week, with an unhealthy quantity of mince pies getting scoffed and a disproportionate amount of sleigh bells on the sound system. And we were delighted to welcome our out-of-towners, Dan and Karl, into the studio for a rare visit. We’ve even hosted evening screenings of Star Wars Episodes IV, V & VI in the office for the substantial contingent of fans in readiness for ‘The Force Awakens’. Maybe not Christmassy, but certainly magical!

Meanwhile of course we’ve been beavering away, sprinkling magic dust on some cracking client projects, kicking off some new ones and responding to an avalanche of pre-Christmas enquiries – all with an extra dollop of jollity.

So, as the numbers in the studio dwindle towards Christmas Eve, all that's left for us to say is a very Merry Christmas to all of our clients, partners, suppliers, friends and family, and to toast what is shaping up to be a rather splendid 2016!