Holly Jolly Mouse House – a carefully curated characterful home near Cumnock – has been crowned the winning ho-ho-home of BBC Scotland’s popular show, Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year winning the coveted title ahead of four other festive homes in Burntisland, Edinburgh, Millport and one near Peterhead. An IWC Media production (a Banijay UK company) for BBC Scotland, Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year is available now on BBC iPlayer.
Home to Ellenor and Gary and their two cats Mia and Kimba, Holly Jolly Mouse House has Christmas at its heart with plans for the decorating themes hatched months in advance. Every year, the family try to think out of the box. This year, the theme is ‘Mouseland’ with a miniature mouse ski slope in the hall featuring colourful mouse skiers as well as their ‘Night Before Christmas’ display with fun festive mice
Ever since childhood, Ellenor has loved Christmas and the build up to this special time of the year. The home also has a Grinch themed bedroom; a Nostalgic room featuring memories of Christmas past from their blended family including a rocking horse and ornaments; and the garden even has a Snowman piñata. This family never take themselves too seriously when it comes to Christmas – for them, it’s all about making sure the Holly Jolly Mouse House is full of festive fun and family banter.
The Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year judges – interior designers Anna Campbell-Jones and Banjo Beale and architect Danny Campbell – awarded Holly Jolly Mouse House full marks with a winter wonderful 30 points, beating off competition from homes across Scotland in Burntisland (Sugar Plum Loft), Edinburgh (Townhouse of Treasures), Millport (Pink Island Palace) and one near Peterhead (North Star Steading).
Homeowner Ellenor is delighted Holly Jolly Mouse House won the coveted Christmas title: “We’re absolutely over-the-moon and, for all our family, this is a memory that we will all treasure. Holly Jolly Mouse House winning Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year will be a topic of conversation at our Christmas table this year and no doubt the coming years!
“It was my stepdaughter Linda [Shaw] who applied for our Christmas home to be on the show as she thought it was worthy. I never thought that we would get on the show never mind being chosen to be in the final and ultimately winning. This is such an achievement as all participants are worthy winners.”
For Ellenor, it takes around a week to fully decorate their home for Christmas, inside and out. This year, the Holly Jolly Mouse House will have an extra decoration on display, with the colourful winner’s trophy taking pride of place in the lounge.
Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year judge and interior designer, Anna Campbell-Jones says: “I was absolutely blown away by the passion for Christmas shown in every corner of this welcoming festive home. The attention to detail was outstanding and I particularly loved the animal themed vignettes that are sure to delight any children visiting. A home truly imbued with the magic and generosity of a family Christmas “
Interior designer and SCHOTY judge Banjo Beale agrees: “Holly Jolly Mouse House is pure Christmas joy. The owners have squeezed in so many vintage treasures that I kept expecting an elf to pop out and offer me a mince pie. It is wonderfully nostalgic, slightly bonkers in the best way, and full of the kind of charm that makes you smile before you even take your coat off.”
Fellow SCHOTY judge and architect Danny Campbell, adds: “We had an astounding winner this year and it was clear from the get-go that this home wasn’t decorating for Christmas – it was world-building. It tackled Christmas challenges with a logic that was equal parts creative and irreverent. We saw a three-dimensional fireplace garland sculpture, a staircase reimagined as a ski resort for mice, a snowman piñata built to survive the apocalypse, even individual gingerbread portraits of us! And if you hate Christmas, there’s a room for that too. It’s bold, funny, crafted, curated and gloriously committed.”
Hiding their Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year win from friends and family wasn’t easy for Ellenor: “It was very difficult so as not to waste the surprise – I felt like Alan Carr in The Traitors being deceitful and trying to keep a poker face! When asked anything about the show I would distract by changing the subject and saying I have heard nothing as yet!”
However, meeting the SCHOTY judges was a real Christmas treat: “It was great to see the judges all face to face, quite surreal. They made you feel so relaxed and comfortable and had great banter and very complimentary of our home which was a great honour.”
The four other festive houses featured in Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year 2025 were:
North Star Steading near Peterhead
Homeowners: Pamela & Gordon, their daughter, Eve and dogs Honey, Heidi and Harvey.
Christmas means so much to this family, homeowners Pamela and Gordon even named their daughter after their love of Christmas. Every room in this home has a Christmas feel to it which mixes together traditional and modern and takes Pamela weeks to perfect – so much so, she starts decorating in October. Decorations have been collected over the years including some from Lapland and Finland and enjoyed by friends, family and neighbours as the North Star Steading is the place to be every year.
Townhouse of Treasures Edinburgh
Homeowner: Miranda and her teenage children Violet and Zachary along with Dylan the dog.
Creativity is at the heart of this festive home in Edinburgh’s New Town which has a theatrical feel to the festive staging on show. Homeowner Miranda loves to entertain and embraces Christmas to make sure the Townhouse of Treasures is the most magical place for her children to enjoy. A maximalist at heart, over-the-years, Miranda has collated various decorations – some of which are vintage and she makes a point of adding to her collection every year. So much so that she has twenty boxes of decorations in her attic. For Miranda, her objective is to bring Christmas cheer to everyone.
Pink Party Palace Millport
Homeowners: Kady & Steven, their daughters Lyla and Florence and Marilyn the dog.
Known across the island for their bright and bold design, Kady and Steven’s new build home on Millport is a colourful kaleidoscope of Christmas fun. There are some sentimental decorations including advent calendars made out of the girls’ baby clothes and decorations given to them on their wedding day. The home boasts an 80s disco themed dining room as well as a nautical lounge. Throughout the Pink Party Palace there are giant nutcrackers, lots of lights, disco candy canes and sequinned reindeers -all of which reflect the personality of this Christmas crazy family.
Sugar Plum Loft Burntisland
Homeowner: Emily
It’s all about being over-the-top at Christmastime in this festive home. A maximalist at heart, homeowner Emily has carried on her decorating style from her parents who have a similar style. Art teacher Emily’s flat might be small but, when it comes to Christmas, the Sugar Plum Loft is big and bold, embodying a retro and quirky style. Throughout Emily’s home there are homemade decorations which add a personal touch as well as copious quantities of fairy lights. Always thinking about creative ways to decorate, Emily wants to prove that living alone doesn’t mean you can’t go big at Christmastime.
Scotland’s Home of the Year will return to BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer for an eighth series in 2026.
JM2
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