Flowers filled Liverpool ONE this morning to help put a smile on visitors’ faces on Blue Monday.
Dubbed as the ‘most depressing day of the year’ following the festivities of Christmas, together with failed New Year’s resolutions and financial struggles, Blue Monday has become known for prompting ‘January blues’.
But, in a bid to inject a spot of cheer today, fresh flowers were placed across Liverpool ONE, encouraging visitors to pick one up and take it home or give it to a loved one.
The brightly coloured blooms were up for grabs on the Sugar House Steps; Peter’s Lane; and Paradise Street, kick-starting Liverpool ONE’s Share the Love campaign. The newly launched campaign which encompasses different activities including the Blue Monday flower giveaway, Time to Talk Day and Children’s Mental Health Week among others, runs until the end of February putting the spotlight on positive wellbeing and mental health.
The Blue Monday initiative includes random acts of kindness from stores and restaurants for visitors, including free beauty samples and in-store freebies, while the popular Happy to Chat tables will be brought back across Liverpool ONE.
The tables, which were first introduced last year to promote good mental health, will be situated across venues at Liverpool ONE, including Barburrito, John Lewis & Partners, Bierkeller and Cass Art, with the aim of encouraging people to sit down with someone they have never met before.
Donna Howitt, place strategy director at Liverpool ONE, said: “We’ve been doing our flower drop on Blue Monday for a few years and, each time, it proves to be extremely popular on what can be an otherwise quite depressing day.
“Today is known for being the time of year when many of us feel a little low after the busy festive season and our everyday routine is back in full swing.
“This year, we wanted to go a step further and kick off our newly launched Share the Love campaign which encourages people to do just that. Over the next couple of weeks visitors can expect different initiatives encouraging positive wellbeing and mental health.
The Happy to Chat tables will be in place permanently, with more venues expected to sign up and become part of the initiative.
Donna added: “We all know the importance of taking the time to talk and these tables have proven a great way to encourage this and get people to think about how we can support someone who needs a helping hand.
“We’re looking forward to more venues coming onboard and we’re confident that we’ll welcome lots of faces to our Happy to Chat tables.”
