Christmas comes once a year - but Sarah Spooner's job makes her feel festive all year round.

As senior designer with Skipton-based LDJ Design and Display Ltd, Sarah and her team design the displays and grottos in some of the country's busiest shopping centres.

So hands-on is she with her job, she even gets involved in the installation of the decorations which means working into the small hours once the shoppers have gone home.

She joined LDJ, one of the UK's first professional Christmas display companies, in 1998, two years after graduating from Bretton Hall College near Wakefield with a degree in fine art and sculptural ceramics.

Sarah recalls one of her first jobs was working with the team in animation, putting her imagination into painting Christmas grottos.

"We were doing scenic painting. I did that for the first six months then went into the design office and started illustrating the visuals. I did that for quite a few years, going into the animation department mid-year and making things as well," she says.

"It's really funny because when I tell anybody what I do as a job they ask what I do for the rest of the year. People don't realise how long the process is.

"I go out and see clients, get to know the shopping centre, then take a brief back to the office, design concepts and work with the client. I also get sketches sent through so they have involvement in the scheme. It's a partnership at the end of the day - we get the scheme they want for their centre, which fits the centre and their shoppers.

"We also do the final presentation to the client and see everything through the production stage, making sure everything has been made exactly to the specifications."

Decorations tend to be bespoke. A lot are manufactured in-house and are put together by hand by the workforce in the workshop.

Sarah also gets involved in the installation, guiding the project through the entire process from drawing board to hanging the decoration in place - "making sure it looks how it should".

LDJ's first customer, The Ridings shopping centre in Wakefield, is among the well-known names on the company's order books. Their creative talents have also been weaved into the traditional displays in the Victoria Quarter and Plaza in Leeds. They've also trimmed up high class store Asprey, and provided a 45ft high outdoor Santa's castle for The Mall at Cribbs Causeway near Bristol.

The highlight of Sarah's career so far - and one which proved eye-catching to other potential customers - was the festive dressing of the Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow.

"Their scheme was based around holly and berries, a traditional theme done in a modern and fresh way," says Sarah.

While the majority of their work tends to relate to Christmas, they do get a break from the festivities.

"We do Easter and summer settings too. It's a case of achieving what the clients want and it's nice to have a change," she says.

And they always have to be one step ahead. Over the last few months they've been working on next year's schemes.

"We're always working a year, even a few years ahead," says Sarah.

"The biggest buzz for me is when you see your designs in the shopping centre and you know your client is happy with it. That's the best bit."

Anyone wanting to follow in Sarah's career footsteps needs drawing and design skills, as well as good communication and computer skills. Those who do succeed can look forward to a fulfilling and rewarding role.

"It's so varied," says Sarah. "There's always something new."

For more information about design courses, contact Leeds University on (0113) 2431751.