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Something for the children at Christmas

Christmas is all about spending time with those you love, and certainly children help to keep the magic of Christmas alive.  From Elf on the Shelf to the excitement for Father Christmas himself, shops have lots of decorations aimed at those young at heart.


A lot of our younger Christmas shop fans are crazy about tractors (living in a rural area of North Yorkshire).  We have these tractors in a variety of colours ready to hang on your Christmas tree.

We also have lots of Father Christmas decorations, our favourite being this naughty or nice spinning sign.

This year we have also added more novelty Christmas decorations, with a cow tree decoration expanding the rural theme and these cute mini Snowglobe tea cups.

How do you make Christmas special for the children in your family?  Do you have elves visiting, or leave snowy bootprints across the floor?  Our sister website Cari’s Cards has Christmas advents, fake snow and more.  Please share how you build up to the big day.

Cari xx

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The day we were on The Hotel Inspector – sort of…

I’ve always enjoyed watching programmes like The Hotel Inspector, even though I’m not in that industry.  We did at one stage consider opening a B & B and I guess it’s still one of those ideas that lurks in the background, trying to distract you from everything else you are doing.

Anyway, to ‘scratch that itch’ we watch the fabulous Alex share her years of experience and advice with struggling hoteliers.  Some of the changes seem like no brainers as a viewer, but others are inspiring and encourage me to push myself beyond my boundaries.  With the new series starting in Redcar, a place I know very well from my childhood, we sat down to watch with interest.

Claire, a lovely novice to the world of hotels, was struggling to finish the renovations on a former bank that she was converting into a vibrant bar and six bedroom hotel.  As with most projects, the money had run out and her focus had been on less important work rather than getting the rooms finished.  Aren’t we all distracted by shiny things?

Anyway, part way through (in some of the B roll shots) I spotted something familiar.  She had, on a rather ornate stand, one of our ‘Love and a dog’ blocks behind the bar.  Is it wrong that I felt a little star struck?  Later on it was shown again.  I created a little montage this morning which is on our socials, I just couldn’t let this small bit of ‘fame’ go unrecorded.

Ok, I’ll get back down to earth now.  We can’t even be certain she bought it from us, however it’s highly likely she (or someone in her family) visited Gisborough Hall last year and snapped it up.

If you’re not a dog person, we have a cat version too.

Cari xx

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Christmas countdowns and advents

Now it’s October, my thoughts turn to the big countdown.  With only two more pay days for most of us, now is the time to think about which Christmas countdowns your children will love.

New for 2023 are these car themed Christmas countdowns that light up.

Transport themed wooden Christmas countdown.They are fairly substantial, perfect for little fingers, and you countdown to the big day by rotating the numbered cubes.

We also stock some other numbered block countdowns…

…and for a more grown up countdown you can choose from these

How do you countdown to Christmas?

Cari xx

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A few of my favourites for Christmas

I’m so Christmas crazy that I am a proud member of several social media groups of like minded people.  We share decorating tips, latest trends, what’s in the shops etc.  Some have even started to decorate their homes already!

It’s a great source of inspiration and I do use some of what is shared to influence my business purchasing each year.  This stunning standing nutcracker is just one example of this, and I am looking for taller nutcrackers for future years – do you share my love for them?

Standing nutcracker drummer soldier, in red uniform with gold drum and black boots.
Another stock purchase influenced by the lovely group members is our growing collection of Snowglobes.  We now stock three different full size designs as well as three smaller Snowglobes.  I’m still looking for more.

From the rest of our Christmas range, I must admit I’m drawn to anything that lights up, or has tea light candle holders.  The metal forest scene has been on my wishlist for a few years now and I finally have a few in stock.  I can’t wait to put mine on display this year, the candlelight through the trees will be amazing and will add to the cosy atmosphere as I snuggle up with a hot chocolate.

Cari xx

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New stock delivery – we’re ready for you!

Every year, I arrange for our new stock to be delivered, pay for it and then wait.  When it arrives, it takes over our small home until it’s all checked, priced and repacked ready for our events.

This year I’m far more organised (what has got into me?)

Today was the day we had decided to put up a new clock in the dining room, so I took the opportunity to have a rearrange of the furniture.  With the aim of the extra space and the table being used to not only sort the new stock when it arrives, but also as a packing room for online orders.

My next job is to look at how we package up our orders.  I want to show customers how much we appreciate each and every purchase, and right now our packaging doesn’t do that.  So, thinking cap is on.  In the meantime we are all set for the season, at least as much as we can be!

Cari

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This may not have been my best idea…

It’s the long summer holidays here in the UK, meaning I have more time on my hands than usual as I’m not working my ‘day job’ running the out of school club. I, like the rest of the staff, really look forward to this time each year for a much needed recharge. It also gives me time to plan out our busy season, the run up to Christmas.

As my degree is now complete, I have more weekends to fill with event bookings, so I’m busy looking for new Fayres and markets we can book in to, as well as considering other sales avenues. Since 2021 I’ve been working on increasing online orders, but it’s a slow process.
Building a website isn’t the hard part (although it feels like it some days).  Getting it seen amongst all the other small business websites out there is a bit like setting up a stall in an empty field in the middle of the North York Moors or the beautiful Dales, and screaming at the top of your lungs for customers.  That’s how I signed up for selling on Amazon.

It’s a chunk of money to pay each month for the privilege with no guarantee it’s going to lead to sales.  I was ok with giving it a go until I tried to sign into my seller account, and a glitch (I hope) started sending me round in circles.  As a business run on iPads and phones, I’m concerned this may be causing the issue, but it’s given me a headache so I’ve stepped away from it for now (will try again later).

Have I made a big mistake thinking this would help our small business?  Will I ever get access to our seller account?  Does anyone else have any advice having done this themselves?

Please send help (and chocolate – that’s always welcome!)

Cari xx

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2023 stock is chosen…

It’s taken longer than normal to get our stock order placed this year.  I’ve been very indecisive (not like me at all) and with minor health issues I’ve been finding it harder than usual to make time around work and family life.  I finally got my act together last week, and added all the things I’d love to have to my basket.  This week I whittled it down to a manageable order, both financially and logistically!

This year I need to invest in some more space, probably for packing orders as one of our business goals is to make more of this lovely website.  My husband aka the logistics manager has long been complaining that we need a proper packing bench, so my thoughts are for a shed in the garden that we can use for display storage and packing.  As it is the stock is rapidly taking over my dining room, and we are bursting at the seams.  Long term we have our mind set on a warehouse/retail space, but for now we can manage where we are (just about!).

Anyway, here’s a sneaky peek at something we might have arriving after the summer.

Cari xx

Merry go round Snowglobe coming soon

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What will be in store for 2023?

I hope you had a lovely Christmas, however you celebrate.  As we all prepare for a new year to start, I thought it might be nice to talk a little about plans for 2023.

The year starts with a visit to a local trade fair which I’m really excited about as we haven’t been for a couple of years I think?  Certainly we didn’t go this year, so it will be nice to search out some new potential suppliers and to see what our current suppliers have planned.  I’m hoping to stock a variation of the nesting snowmen as they proved popular, and maybe some more mini snow globes too?

Bigger plans for this year are to find more markets for our stall, perhaps attend Beverley this year and maybe even Lincoln (if we can get offered a space that is).  I’m going to be working hard to improve the website too, as those sales really keep us ticking over between markets.  I know I need better descriptions and images so that’s the focus.

I’m also changing up our system at our ‘base’ (aka the dining room) so that we can manage orders more efficiently.  If my aim is for ten orders a day to come through online, I need a way to get them processed and out next day as usual.

We have a 20% off sale running right now so that I can implement the new system, so if you had money put aside for January sales hop over to the shop to take a look.

Here’s to a happy and healthy new year for you all.

Cari

 

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It’s a wrap (no pun intended)

With Bowes Museum Christmas Market coming to a close, so does our festive trading season.  We’ve had an amazing year – thank you to everyone who has shopped with us or just stopped to look at our stall.  I still get a buzz from the children’s faces as they spy Santa or a snowman (or this year, tractor baubles) on our stall.

The website will remain open but we won’t be despatching as quickly as we have been – rushing everything through gets harder the older we get!  I’ve also got a stocktake to do – my new system didn’t quite work this year so I’m retraining and making sure we don’t have problems in 2023.  Luckily the majority of orders were unaffected but our aim is to have all of you lovely lot happy when you shop with us.

We are considering bringing our stall to events earlier in the year and would love to hear your thoughts on this – will it be worth our while booking into spring and summer markets – would you buy Christmas decorations all year round?  Pop over to Instagram or Facebook to let us know.

Have a very lovely Christmas and a safe and healthy start to 2023, from all the team.

Cari xx

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Prepping for Christmas 2023 order – what should we stock?

I know, we haven’t even had Christmas 2022 yet, but as the last market of the season approaches I can’t help but think ahead to next year.  I start choosing my stock in January, linking in the best sellers from previous years to anything new on a similar theme.

So what might I be looking for next year?

Our box sets of decorations have been popular again this year, in particular the hedgehogs which sold out quite quickly.  It seems we are still very much a nation of animal lovers, especially wildlife.

New Christmas stock

Which could explain why these woodland cut out decorations have been so popular too.  Other animal themed Christmas decorations include the dog and cat blocks and these, which have almost sold out.

Snowmen have been popular this year with both the mini snow globes and the nesting snowmen set selling well, so perhaps they should be in my basket for 2023?

I can’t wait to show you what I choose for 2023, but in the meantime don’t forget about our massive sale weekend with 20% off all decorations both online and at Bowes Museum Christmas Market.  I’m even secretly hoping for a little snow (which is forecast to fall)!

Cari