Crackers for Garden Centres at Christmas? Get paid to visit the best in the UK

For many of us here in the UK, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a trip to our favourite garden centre and with the festive season just around the corner, we’re looking for 10 people to become designated ‘Christmas Centre Critics’, to help us put together an ultimate map of the best garden centres to visit this festive season.

Our chosen ‘Christmas Centre Critics’ will be paid £50/hr to visit garden centres in their local area, and rank them out of 10 across three festive metrics; the quality of their Christmas displays/decorations, the selection of festive food and drink on offer and the accessibility of the centre.

We’ve launched this public appeal after a survey of 2,000 Brits revealed that visiting a garden centre was one of the nation’s most popular Christmas traditions. Two thirds (66%) of households admitted to visiting one every year during the festive season, three in ten (31%) revealed they buy their Christmas tree from their local garden centre, and almost half (48%) head to one to buy their decorations. 

As a company dedicated to helping people make more of their gardens with our sheds, greenhouses and outdoor storage set-ups, our goal is to create a definitive list of the most Christmassy garden centres for gardeners across the UK, and help holiday-lovers around the country get into the Christmas spirit – not only this Christmas, but future Christmases too.

There are only a few requirements to become one of our critics: you need to be over 18 years old, have a full UK driving licence, and, most importantly, a passion for gardening and a love of everything festive!

The selected ‘Christmas Centre Critics’ will be asked to visit up to 10 garden centres between the 13th December and the 24th of December to complete the reviews. Travel expenses will be covered and each critic will be paid to spend two hours in each garden centre, however accommodation will not be covered should they decide to spend a little extra time in some locations.

If you think this could be the role for you, or know someone who you think has what it takes to become a Christmas Centre Critic, please apply here:

If you think your favourite garden centre should be a contender as one of the most Christmassy garden centres in the UK, you can also nominate it here:

Applications close on the 12th of December, and we will be contacting successful candidates before the 12th, in order to begin their research.

Kate Fromings from Whatshed.co.uk, said,

“Garden Centres are growing in popularity, especially after being one of the only retailers allowed to  open throughout the COVID-19 lockdowns. With Christmas just around the corner and our research revealing that visiting a garden centre is a much-loved household tradition in the UK, we wanted to put together our very own list of the top garden centres to visit not just this Christmas, but following Christmasses too.

“We know this will be an exciting opportunity for many people and can’t wait to review all the applications. If you have a passion for gardening and love all things festive we urge you to apply – Good luck!”