A FESTIVE fantasy land appeared as if from nowhere to transform a York city centre street.

The spellbinding scene was created with the aid of exotic nymphs and snow-laden Christmas trees, to light up a Coney Street shop.

There was no "bath-humbug" at beauty retailer Lush, which found some early seasonal magic by holding a spectacular show of fragrance and colour.

Mulled wine, nibbles and jingle spells transfixed youngsters and lightened the load for weary York Christmas shoppers.

With no Santa's Grotto for city children, Lush said it had stepped in to "bring a little of the magic" and some seasonal cheer to York people.

It was enlightening on the outside, but inside customers were also able to leave their Scrooge frowns behind by taking part in prize draws, product demonstrations, free hand massages, skin and hair consultations. There were also free samples and nibbles.

The clouds may have been grey outside, but at Lush Land thoughts of the North Pole were left far behind.

Mary Linehan, of Lush, said the whole event aimed to encapsulate the spirit of fun and enjoyment that was special at Christmas time.

"It's about having fun with our customers," she said.

"It's the little things. We have some Christmas crackers with little jokes inside them - it's just really nice to put the fun and magic back into Christmas.

"We have held these shows in a couple of other cities and they have gone down a storm. People just don't expect it, and at Lush we always say expect the unexpected."

York's Lush store is one of the company's best performing, and the unusual festive party was continuing at the Coney Street branch throughout today during opening hours.

Updated: 09:22 Saturday, November 27, 2004