Christmas 2014 collection by Biscuiteers

Biscuiteers' Christmas collection this year includes biscuit-filled advent calendars, edible cards and tree decorations, and personalised cakes.

HagenPur decorations: live from Christmasworld 2014

HagenPur is showcasing a range of beautiful tree decorations, made using an ancient Nepalese technique called ChadiKo, at Christmasworld 2014.

Live from Christmasworld 2014

Christmasworld 2014 opened today at Messe Frankfurt, the key trade show of the year for seasonal decoration, visual merchandising and gifting.

Christmas 2013: shop window trends in Milan

De Padova 

At Christmas, Milan’s window displays are even more stunning than usually. This year, three trends emerged from the decked-out windows of the city's most stylish streets, such as Via Montenapoleone and Corso Venezia.

Happy Holidays from Homebuildlife

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all our readers!

Homebuildlife subscribers can see all our Christmas and Holiday reports, including our photo file of London's best festive lights - by clicking here. For more festive inspiration, you can also browse all of our Christmas-related blog posts.

Scented Christmas lamp by Artemide

Vico Magistretti's classic 1960s Dalù lamp has been relaunched in hundreds of versions over the last ten years. This Christmas, it comes glittered and scented. It is available in four fragrances: cinnamon to boost energy levels, jasmine to stimulate creativity, lavender to help relaxation and eucalyptus to encourage harmony.

Homebuildlife subscribers can read more on innovations in scented projects here.

Chocolate Christmas tree by Alain Ducasse

Alain Ducasse has collaborated with graphic designer Pierre Tachon on a chocolate Christmas tree made up of discs studded with nuts and candied fruit.

Christmas pop-up shop: Clippings x Designjunction

Until the 5th of January, Londoners can pop into Clippings' first brick-and-mortar Christmas Shop, situated in Covent Garden and curated by leading design trade show designjunction.

Holiday packaging by Willoughby Design for Panera Bread

Designed by  Willoughby Design, this year's holiday packaging for US bakery brand Panera Bread uses a combination of traditional Christmas colours, playful contemporary characters and Letterpress typography.

Santa Paws Grotto at Lily's Kitchen

Holistic pet food company Lily's Kitchen is hosting a pop-up Christmas grotto for pets in London. Open at 67 Pimlico Road, Monday to Saturday until 21st December, the grotto offers a feast of food, drink and activities - including homemade Christmas dinners for dogs, a festive fancy dress box, massage station, photos with Santa Paws himself, mince pies and mulled wine.

Homebuildlife subscribers can find out more about Christmas for pets in our trend report, Holiday Pet Gifts.

Lord & Taylor: Christmas 2013 windows

Inspired by vintage style in New York City, Lord & Taylor's windows depict a traditional Holiday scene, created with 2D drawings and small figurines. The story starts with city residents preparing for the Holidays with festive décor and moves into a scene from Lord & Taylor, where customers are shopping for gifts from overflowing shelves.

Joined + Jointed x Compass Box Whisky: design & drinks for Christmas

New furniture brand Joined + Jointed has teamed up with Compass Box Whisky to offer a special Christmas combination of design and drinks to its customers.

Galeries Lafayette's Christmas windows

Galeries Lafayette's scheme celebrates the forthcoming release of Beauty and the Beast, starring Vincent Cassel and Léa Seydoux. Five window displays replicate sets from the film, featuring the Beast's mysterious mansion and majestic hallway, the grandiose dining room in his castle and Beauty's bed chamber.

An interactive digital screen encourages customers to move petals around with their hands in order to discover the images behind.

WinterWonder: La Rinascente's Christmas lights in Milan

It has become a tradition for La Rinascente to celebrate Christmas by giving the city an artistic installation; and this year, the Milan department store has entrusted its windows to designer Moritz Waldemeyer.

WinterWonder is his interpretation of the classic iconography of Christmas: a vortex of 1,300 laser-cut plastic snowflakes that soar beyond the confines of the windows into the entire portico.

Tree of Light by Droog

Dutch design studio Droog has installed a holographic projection of a Christmas tree in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. The tree's shape and colours shift continuously, ranging from blue to green and adding in star ornaments and rippling branches.

Smoon Christmas tree at the Royal Monceau

Lighting sculptor Sylvie Maréchal of Beau & Bien was commissioned by prestigious Parisian hotel Royal Monceau to "decorate" their traditional Christmas tree. In place of it, she created a light and airy, 3 metre high lighting installation. Hundreds of pieces of porcelain in the shape of birds and stars are suspended in mid-air to form the silhouette of a tree, a poetic and lyrical take on this inescapable Christmas symbol.

Christmas Market at Republic of Fritz Hansen in Milan

It’s already Christmas time in Milan. The Republic of Fritz Hansen store at Corso Garibaldi 77 is presenting its special Christmas Market, an international selection of new brands and young designers with products ready to be this season's must-have gifts.

Festive Collection by Pierre Hermé

This year's Festive Season Collection by French patissier Pierre Hermé includes chocolate ganache, candied chestnut, foie gras, passion fruit ganache macarons and ginger and orange marmalade pound cake.

London landmarks made from LEGO

Duncan Titmarsh, founding director of British design studio Bright Bricks, has built a giant snow globe in Covent Garden, filled with 14 London landmarks made of LEGO. The installation took 75 days to build and uses 120,000 bricks.

Inside the inflatable globe, snowflakes fall onto Big Ben and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and LED lights illuminate the London Eye.

Chocolate Box of Treats by Heston from Waitrose

Heston Blumenthal has expanded his Waitrose range to include confectionery: a new chocolate box created by the chef with the supermarket brand launches in-store next week.