A store with a touch of magic and enjoyed by all ages was the dream Lisa McNabb had when she first opened Santa’s Magical Workshop. Caitlyn Morgan discovered how Lisa’s dream became a reality. Pictures: Louise Barker
FROM the moment you step inside Santa’s Magical Workshop you are in another world.
Adults remember a time when nothing compared to the magical feeling on Christmas Eve and children lighting up when they see the many decorations.
When Lisa McNabb dreamed of opening a Christmas shop, she wanted it to be a place that all of your worries would be left at the door.
A place that you can “come, sit, relax and get away from life for a while”.
“A place where adults can become kids again with many unique and wonderful distractions,” she says.
“There wasn’t so much a need for it but it was an opportunity to give people a chance to see what you can have at Christmas time and if they couldn’t afford it they could still come and explore the shop.”
In 2013 Santa’s Magical Workshop became a reality, opening in Ilex Street, Red Cliffs. The store soon outgrew the shopfront and was moved to Indi Avenue.
“We have a lot of people coming up from Melbourne and Adelaide just to visit the store. It’s great for tourism,” Lisa says.
“I love hearing everyone’s reactions when they first walk into the store and when they continue through, you hear many gasps and oh my gods.
“Many commenting that we have such different decorations compared to other Christmas shops in Australia.”
This shouldn’t be a surprise, with Lisa spending a lot of her time overseas sourcing the very best decorations she can find.
“So far I have been to Germany and China but as I build the business I will go further,” she says.
Lisa says she isn’t alone when it comes to loving Christmas with the store kept busy from when it opens in May to Christmas Eve each year.
“It’s not just the women who come in either, I see many husbands and men come in buying lots of decorations,” she says.
“It’s just such a special and magical time of year.”
While opening Santa’s Magical Workshop has mostly been a positive experience, Lisa and her family have dealt with some hard times, including when more than half the stock was ruined during a storm in November 2016.
“In 2016 we were closed for our biggest three weeks of the year and only opened with half a shop,” she says.
“The storm did put us back, however 2017 was a great year despite not being open until August.”
Over the years Lisa has seen many Christmas trends come and go.
“Trains have always been popular and in the past two years elves have become really popular,” she says.
“One thing that did surprise me was grey and black trees, even I have a grey tree now.”
This year Lisa noticed decorations were going up earlier than usual.
“More and more people are putting their tree up on Melbourne Cup weekend, which I think is a great idea,” she says.
“Everyone is home from work and school so it’s a great chance to do it all at once and have the time to do it.”
Santa’s Magical Workshop is open from 9.30am to 4.30am Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday.
