Tag: Christmas decorations online

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April update – Christmas market bookings and 5 year planning

The first quarter of 2024 has been a blur, with losing dad and trying to help sort everything (not that I’m able to help that much).  April has been playing catch up, by looking for potential markets for the end of the year and getting our accounts up to date.

I have managed to spend some time in the garden, when the weather has been nice, and I now have several pots of compost waiting for various seeds to germinate and push through.  I can’t help feeling like we’re going to be unsuccessful this year, but that’s the joy of gardening, just giving it a go.

We *may* be exhibiting at the Living North Christmas Fairs this year, I’m just trying to sort out logistics and costs etc.  Have you visited them before?  It would be lovely to have an idea of how busy they are as it’s a step up from what we have done to date.  I feel like if I’m ever going to achieve what I want with this business I need to push out of my comfort zone though, so I’m hoping I won’t regret going.  Just need to sort out what the minimum space we need is and get the display plan agreed.  It’s exciting and scary at the same time!

Our new Christmas range will need to be with us before then, so we also need to raise the funds to pay for that.  You can help us get there by shopping from our current Christmas decoration stock or sharing our website with someone who loves the Christmas magic too.  Every purchase helps fund our dream!

Cari xx

 

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New delivery option and our last event for 2023

I must say, so far I’m really impressed with how Royal Mail are handling the seasonal increase in workload.  I know they work their socks off at this time of year, and there has been no obvious delays in orders being received.  Despite that, I have added a new 24 hour delivery option.  This means that all orders received before 8pm Sunday to Friday will be collected next day, and should arrive 24 hours later (Friday orders should arrive Monday).  If you need to guarantee your order will arrive this 24 hour delivery option might be for you.

I’ve also been busy with our stationery website, adding the craft kits we have available.  I did consider adding these festive ones to this business but with limited stock available it didn’t make sense.  If you would like to know more visit https://www.cariscards.co.uk to shop the range.

We are almost at our last Christmas fair of 2023.  Back at the fabulous Bowes Museum, you will find us outside as usual with our 20% off sale on all our Christmas decorations.  If you can’t visit Bowes, then we will have the 20% off sale online over the weekend – but why wait?  You can shop today and save 20% on all our Christmas decor today!

The forecast is looking good for the weekend, here’s hoping we can finish 2023 in style!  Say hello if you decide to visit.

Cari

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Time to make some space!

If you didn’t know, we don’t have actual retail premises – it’s on the business plan.  This means we need to move the stock every year so we can have our dining room back for Christmas Day.  As the business grows, so does our stock area which is great news for our customers – SALE TIME!

From today until the 18th December we have 20% off everything online.  This means you can get our nativity or snowman nesting dolls for £20 plus postage, or a couple of sets of wooden decorations for £11.20 plus postage.

We’ve also noticed that our elves have decided to make the cut out tree decorations buy one get one free, giving you an even bigger saving on them!

Stock is very limited so don’t delay!

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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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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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Can’t quite believe it

My weeks seem to consist of work, study, family, dog and Christmas fairs at the moment.    Amidst the dashing from one thing to the next, I am always reminding myself to be grateful for being busy, however challenging that can be at times!

As I’m planning  my Friday, with a van to collect for the weekend and cars to load with stock etc around my work commitments and dog mum duties, I realise that I’ve only got one more weekend of events before Christmas.  The season that I spend most of the year planning and prepping for is almost over.  It always flies past, but this year it seems quicker.  Maybe because I’m getting older….

The main reason I created this business was to indulge my love of all things Christmas.  It’s been running for many years now, and each and every sale still brings joy to my heart.  I agonise over what stock to select, hoping that you love it as much as I do, not always getting it right (yes we still have some stock from the early days!) and in the early years I even made some of the decorations myself.  I hope to be able to go back to that, possibly once the business is making enough to allow me to partially retire?

The company has grown as my kids have grown, albeit not as quickly, and I still love running it so much.  There’s something magical about Christmas and I hope the decorations we stock help spread that magic a little more.  Perhaps we will get to meet you over our last few events for 2022 and help bring the magic to your home?

Cari xx

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It always surprises me…

…how different Christmas decorations are popular depending on where we are.  One day I might write a book on the subject, but for now here are my observations.

Animal decorations are popular everywhere

Fewer children than you think want gifts in exchange for their siblings

Tractors are very popular in North Yorkshire in 2022

Beer signs sell better further North

Someone somewhere DOES want a glass burger on their tree

 

Its nice to see our stock tubs running down.  When the delivery arrived I had to invest in more storage as we don’t yet have a proper stock room (goal for next year) and running a growing business from home means space is at a premium.  With Christmas less than 4 weeks away we kind of need our dining room back!

Im thrilled how much busier our website has been, so a huge thank you if you’ve ordered through it this year.  As always, we are doing our best to keep a quick turnaround so you have a good chance of getting your order quickly.  I send most parcels first class signed for but occasionally have to use second class signed for.  We have an integrated system that updates stock levels on the website as we sell at Christmas Markets, but occasionally this lets us down, so if there’s something you want please don’t leave it too late to order.  Postage and packing is a flat rate £5 no matter how much you purchase.

More Christmas markets this weekend with a 2 day event at The Dorman Museum and a local school Christmas Fair on Saturday.  It’s scary how close we are to the end of the season, I’ll be prepping for 2023 before I know it!

Cari

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A much needed rest weekend

New Christmas stock

Wow, well our first two events of the season have got us off to a flying start!  If you were one of the many lovely people we met at Shotton Hall or Gisborough Hall Hotel then a huge thank you for supporting our family business.  It really means the world, especially in the current climate.  You may not know that we juggle this with two full time jobs and I’m also doing a degree part time – it’s a lot to keep on top of!

We don’t have any Christmas fairs this weekend and our next events are supporting local schools, so the next public event is at Dorman Museum on 3rd and 4th December.  It would be lovely to see you there!

If you can’t manage to get to Christmas markets, then our website is the place to see our full range and ask about anything specific you are looking for.  We have a small stock order due soon and will happily try to source special requests.  I pass the post office every day and we endeavour to pack and post within 1 working day of receiving your order.

My weekend off will be spent stock taking and organising ready for our school fairs as we try not to take everything with us (a challenge for me as I always think ‘what if’).

Cari xx

 

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