I was in Liverpool at the weekend. Like Bath, where I live, it’s all decked out for Christmas but where Bath sets out a Christmas Market and projects pretty colours and patterns on the Abbey and its Georgian buildings, Liverpool commissions light displays around Liverpool One, the main shopping area and the Albert Dock, a set of Grade I listed buildings that were originally dockside warehouses and are now a major tourist attraction.

I admire the creativity and the exuberance of the light displays. I know that they’re there to encourage commerce and tourism but they’re also a way of beating back the dark of cold, wet winter nights, of drawing people out of their homes and into communal spaces, of exciting the children and cheering up the adults.

I also like that the lights aren’t explicitly about Christmas. They’re about winter and the sea and Liverpool itself. They’re a celebration of another year that we’ve made it through and they’re both an acknowledgement of the season and a determination not to let the winter grind us down.

Liverpool One is an incredibly vibrant space that has been created in what used to be a run-down area next to the docks and which now attracts 22 million visitors per year.

Liverpool ONE is one of Europe’s leading retail and entertainment destinations, set in the heart of Liverpool City Centre. 
Built around the existing streets of Liverpool, the 1.65 million sq ft contemporary open-air complex is a must-visit for those who love to shop, eat, drink and relax.
Liverpool ONE has over 170 stores, bars, restaurants and leisure experiences, including a 14-screen cinema, a five-acre park, as well as the largest Gravity MAX, providing 12 immersive and experiential activities. It is home to retail firsts, creative pop-ups, international flagship stores, as well as independent and local brands.

I love that it’s a multi-level open-air space with a bold modern design that incorporated the existing shopping streets without destroying their character.

So how do you light a place like Liverpool One for Christmas? Well, you go big and you go bright and you greet people with this guy.

It stands at the entrance from the Strand like a Harry Potter Patronus for Liverpool One. It’s huge, large enough for adults to walk under and for little kids to just stare in wonder. Behind it and beside it are trees made of light that could be Christian or Pagan symbols.

When you get further into Liverpool One, you meet more Patronus deer and find a small grove of light trees.

The Albert Dock sits on the other side of the Strand from Liverpool One. As well as being an iconic part of the waterfront, it’s home to restaurants, bars and museums.

These are the sea spirits that guard the entrance to the Albert Dock each year.

The lights that made me smile the most this year were new additions to the Albert Dock: Jellyfish outside the Maritime Museum and a walk-through Yellow Submarine outside the Beatles Museum. They’re both very Liverpool – creative, playful and just a little bit unexpected.