The eye-catching window displays created by the retail team at the Isabel Hospice shop at The Galleria in Hatfield have been shortlisted for a top award.

The Galleria store is one of three finalists in the Best Shop Window category of the WOW! Factor Awards run by the Charity Retail Association.

The Galleria team have been praised for priding themselves on producing “clean, inspirational and sophisticated shop windows” with a focus on ladieswear and high value bric-a-brac such as crystal and home furnishings.

“They have fun with the windows and they always have a distinctive style that is on brand for their shop.”

The Isabel Hospice shop in Buntingford also made the shortlist but missed out on being named as a finalist following a public vote, which closed on December 5 after attracting nearly 800 votes.

The overall winner will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Birmingham on Tuesday, January 24.

Robin Osterley, chief executive of the Charity Retail Association, said: “The WOW! Factor Awards provide a fantastic opportunity for our members to show off their creativity and flare that both staff and volunteers display every day within their shops.

“The three shortlisted nominees in each category have clearly struck a chord with the voters and I can’t wait to announce the winners at our awards ceremony in January.”

All of Isabel’s 15 shops have been bringing some festive sparkle to the high street, with inspiring and innovative displays this Christmas.

The charity runs its own internal shop window competition annually, judged earlier this month by Isabel’s chief executive Helen Glenster, director of income generation Nick Gilbert, and head of retail Charlotte Greenwood.

The trio visited all 15 shops across Isabel’s catchment area, with The Galleria’s festive theme and Cuffley’s winter forest display declared the joint winners.

Charlotte said: “We really enjoyed the opportunity to visit all of our shops and it was clear all had made an incredible effort to utilise the talents of their teams of staff and volunteers to create original and creative windows.

“Not only did each shop show off our fantastic range of both donated and bought-in goods,but we were delighted to see our Isabel Hospice values promoted and the theme of sustainability through upcycled goods and preloved messaging.

"We were very proud to see our windows stand out on the high street.”

This year, Isabel’s shops have been promoting its #GreenChristmas campaign to encourage sustainable shopping.

Every shop stocks a unique range of preloved items that make the perfect stocking fillers and gifts and the Hospice has also produced its own Christmas gift guide, which can be downloaded at isabelhospice.org.uk/shops.