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Welcome Santa into your home

For children (whether the adult kind or not) the build up to Christmas Day and all the memories you make is what makes it such a special time of year. I always make sure to choose some decorations that children will love, whether it’s our ever popular town scene with moving train or the now out of stock twerking Santa (my husband said they wouldn’t sell!). This light up Santa stop here sign is ideal to pop on your child’s window ledge, giving a nice gentle glow.

Some children adore snowglobes, and these teacup size ones are ideal for smaller hands – please remember they are not toys though so should always be supervised by an adult. Would you choose Santa or Snowman?

Bring the magic of the North Pole to your home with this metal sign, you could even go one step further and create a role play area for your child so they can ‘work for Santa’ in the post office!

Whatever memories you choose to make with your family this year, I hope they are magical and bring the joy of Christmas to your home.

Cari xx

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Adding a touch of glass to your tree

There’s nothing quite like the sparkle of tree lights through glass, and we have plenty of glass baubles to choose from for your Christmas refresh.

Our classic glass star baubles with cute character inside are getting a restock and are available to order today. Choose from snowman, deer, Santa and penguin, or grab one of the last few Christmas tree baubles (but be quick).

These two new baubles are joining our glass range – which would you choose, Robins or Snowman?

If you love Robins these need to be in your Christmas tree decor for 2024.

If you want something a bit different we have this lovely wine glass to add to your tree – why not buy a few and make a feature of them?

Cari xx

P.S. Interesting fact – in writing this blog post I discovered that my website had randomly decided to hide a lot of my lovely Christmas decorations from you. Now is the perfect time to go and have a browse as you will see some lovely ‘new’ decorations to choose from ( no wonder they weren’t selling!)

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More new Christmas decor arriving

We’re almost there with deliveries of the order we placed at the start of 2024, with our next Christmas decor delivery arriving early next week.

We have restocks of our popular glass Christmas tree decorations, plus restocks of the glass tractors arriving.

In addition there are new Christmas treats due, including this lovely box set of wooden dinosaurs.

We even have these quirky greenhouse baubles which are perfect for the gardener in your life!

Lots more baubles are coming, with robins, snowmen and glittery hearts all featuring. I really can’t wait to show you everything at our upcoming markets.

  • 20th October Sheriff Hutton village market
  • 26th October Crayke village market
  • 2nd November Hovingham village market tbc
  • 10th November Gisborough Hall Christmas Fayre
  • 17th November Sheriff Hutton village market
  • 22nd to 24th November Wynyard Hall Christmas Market
  • 30th November Crayke village market

Cari xx

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Pet friendly Christmas decorations

They say we’re a nation of pet lovers, and our household certainly fits that description, with two cats and a crazy Jack Russell. We’ve been lucky in that they don’t seem interested in our Christmas Tree, but we did think carefully about what we added to it since our woofy boy arrived.

We don’t have a Jack Russell on these log slices but they are still cute and relatively break proof. Which would you choose?

You could also choose this cute cat and dog box set of 8 decorations to add in this year. I have a feeling one of these will end up on our Christmas tree.

Something non-animal themed is this cute nesting character set. We still have the nativity and snowman versions available but both are low in stock.

These red and white trains will be great if you have younger visitors over Christmas as they are colourful and chunky enough to withstand some attention. Please note they are not toys!

I will have a list of all the markets we have booked for you soon, as you may know I’m still recovering from a serious illness so it’s taking some time to get caught up.

Cari xx

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The one where I stayed in hospital….

Where do I begin with this one?

All I can say is it’s brought home to me how much I do myself instead of getting my family to help. We are a family business after all. But when one person does the majority of the work, and that person becomes ill, well, it all goes a bit pear shaped.

Anyway, this tale of the life of a small business owner began on 27/9/24, when I started to feel a little unwell just before heading out for my part time job in a local primary. I soldiered on until I couldn’t anymore, got sent home and was at the urgent treatment centre by 8 pm, in pain and being sick. I’ll spare you too many yucky details, but it was the worst pain I’ve had aside from childbirth.

After treatment we were sent back home with instructions to return if things didn’t improve. Over the weekend, although the pain and sickness were under control I wasn’t improving, so on the first of October we got a last minute appointment with my GP.

It didn’t take her long to arrange a transfer to hospital, where I had treatment for sepsis – lots of antibiotics in one arm and bloods taken from the other. It transpires that I have gallstones (joy) and had perforated my gall bladder which had then got infected – I was poorly!

During this time, all you wonderful lot started shopping for Christmas. Our system works where I print all paperwork, find the items and relevant box to send them out, and my hubby packs the order as he’s very good at that. But with me out of action I quickly had to help my daughter learn how to send/find items etc, all via text message while feeling out of it. She’s done an outstanding job but I know not all the paperwork went in with your orders so I apologise for that.

I’m back home now, still on antibiotics but gaining strength every day. I’m now putting robust systems in place so that should I ever get ill again, or need time off for my operation, the business should run smoothly without me. Is your business able to keep trading without you?

Cari xx

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Getting ready to decorate your Christmas tree?

Our latest stock delivery arrived on Friday. I actually think I got a bit carried away, now I’ve seen all the different Christmas decor I ordered.

If you are thinking of refreshing your Christmas Tree decorations this year, then we are sure to have something for every style!

These cute wooden cat and dog faces come as a box set of 8, and will fit nicely with a pet owners tree. Aren’t they adorable?

There’s nothing like the jingle of bells at Christmas, and this box set of bells can decorate your tree or maybe be put to use by a crafter?

These mini mugs are the perfect size to decorate your tree, and come in three different designs. I can’t choose a favourite, so I’d suggest getting a couple of each design to make a feature on your tree this year.

Another one for pet owners or farmers – these animal filled stockings come in four designs. I think my favourite is the dog one, but the cow is quite cute too.

How do you style your tree?

Cari

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Ten more boxes!

My supplier has been in touch while I was at work, saying they have more of my order ready to send.

‘Great’ I thought, ‘but where can I store it?’

In this next delivery will be some stunning Christmas decor items including this lovely train snow scene. It won’t be arriving for a few weeks, so I’m trialing a pre-order system as there are only a few of each decoration and once we start the Christmas markets they won’t hang around!

Do you have young children who still send a letter to Santa? Maybe this post box is just what you need for Christmas 2024. In traditional festive colours it will look lovely hanging either on your tree or from a door handle.

I’m in the process of adding all the pre-order (all ten boxes!) Christmas loveliness to our website so please keep checking back to snap up your favourite tree decorations and ornaments for this festive season.

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What every home should have this Christmas

Every January/February we toddle off to a trade fair and plan what we think you will love for the next festive season. Now we have had the first of our deliveries, I’ve decided to put together a little shopping list to help you choose your festive decor – go on, treat your Christmas tree to something new!

Soft furnishings are new to our range this year, and this soft and squishy cushion is the perfect addition to your cosy chair or guest bed. Featuring a Robin it is understated autumnal decor.

Musical must haves, this range of carousels and spinning ornaments gives you plenty of choice and will amuse young and old alike. Full of festive characters and charm, they will sit nicely on a shelf or window ledge.

Something for the children, these lovely colourful letter to Santa wooden decorations have a small pocket for you to add a note. The wooden red and white trains are amazing value and who wouldn’t love to bring a piece of the North Pole to their home?

With lots more to come, what are your top picks from our new range?

Cari xx

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Christmas has landed – part 1

The first of our Christmas stock deliveries has landed.  It arrived on Wednesday in two big boxes, and my daughter and I unpacked, checked for breakages and priced everything up ready for our first market.

These cute wooden trains are perfect for your Christmas tree – who doesn’t love a train?  They won’t get easily broken either should you have paws or little fingers in your family.

The new range has already launched online, so if you want something snap it up now as we have very limited stock – while I will try to re-order there is no guarantee so please don’t miss out on something you’ve set your heart on.

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My personal favourites are these carousel/spinning musical ornaments.  With a range of designs available from Santas sleigh to a traditional carousel, they are sure to fly out.  I’m hoping we can get more but can’t guarantee it, which will be a shame as I would quite like one myself!

We should have more stock arriving over the coming weeks, which is very exciting.  I can’t wait to show you more!

Cari xx

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Let’s get this party started!

I know it’s August, but I am right in the thick of sorting everything ready for the autumn season. Last year I didn’t have systems in place to cope with the rush of online customers, but this year – well, what is it they say about best laid plans? We will see how it pans out.

Our new Christmas range for 2024 should be arriving in a matter of weeks, and I’m excited. We’ve gone bigger and better this year, although I’m slightly worried we don’t have space for it all. We have bells, carousels and trains a plenty, so there should be something for everyone.

I’m also excited to have a chalet at the lovely Wynyard Hall Christmas Market. We are still working out how we are going to display everything, as we are so used to a table we can sit behind. We want to make the most of this opportunity to grow our customer base which means investing in more display equipment – any words of wisdom very welcome!

We will also be back at Gisborough Hall, as well as the monthly markets nearer to York. It would be lovely to see you at one of the events but if you live further afield the website is ready and will have the new range added as soon as it arrives.

I’ve just got a few more tweaks to do in our new stock room and it is all systems go!

Cari xx