We’re down to our last few advent calendar cards, and don’t have many advent calendars left either, so with a three day Christmas market this weekend we may well sell out.
Now is the time to order online if you don’t want to miss out. All our advent calendars are on our website as well as some of the more popular Christmas cards.
I’m really excited about this Christmas event, it’s the first one we have done where we have our own little chalet space to decorate and fill. It’s probably as close as I’ll get to having my own ‘shop’ and I’ve been planning the layout for weeks.
Well, what can I say? These two lovely friends depicted on our Christmas cards have proved very popular with our online customers. I have restocked once and am now thinking we may need more.
Advent calendars are also doing well, both online and at Christmas markets, with my personal favourite leading the way. At our first Christmas Fair advent calendar cards were my bestseller, so I may need to see if I can get more of those too.
I have a list of jobs that need doing, but for now I’m resting after a busy weekend. Of course, if I hear that ‘kerching’ from my iPad I will spring into action, as my customers come first and getting those orders out in a timely fashion is my priority.
Hope you are all well and excited about Christmas.
Sunday brings the first of our Christmas Fayres, which means sorting which stock to take. I’m scaling back this year as we are back to managing with cars rather than hiring a van. Of course Christmas cards, advents and a few packs of bunting will be heading out with us.
It’s always hard to know what will sell at Christmas markets, some years I take lots of advent calendars and only sell a couple, so this year I think a small amount of everything plus a card stand for the new humour birthday cards as they are consistent sellers, and people still have birthdays at Christmas!
The only exception will be Wynyard Hall, which we are trading at for the first time. We have a fairly decent size shed to fill (I know we can fill it easily!) so everything will be coming with us. I will have a good selection of advent calendars, lots of Christmas cards and a bit of everything else to fill gaps.
It’s been quite a varied week with my ongoing health issues and just generally feeling, well, bleurgh!
I know I’m not as young as I like to think I am, but I had expected to make steady, consistent progress in my recovery from a recent hospital stay. After a week of no improvement was followed by a decline in appetite and fluctuating body temperature I thought I should get checked out. I blame my sleep struggles for breaking down in front of my GP, but it has been quite a month! My heart rate was too high, so he recommended a trip back to hospital, with a bag of essentials in case I was admitted.
‘Here we go again’ I thought, crying as I waited for my husband to get in and drive me up there.
After more tests and quite a bit of waiting around, I was given the ok to come back home. My bloods were as normal as can be expected (ie not showing anything too sinister going on) so there was no need to keep me. I was so relieved to be coming back home, even though I still feel a little concerned about my high heart rate. I guess this is as good as I’m going to be until my operation.
We don’t have a market this weekend, which I’m quite relieved about in a way as I found being at Crayke exhausting. Of course the sales were needed but I must learn to prioritise my own well-being.
Our larger Christmas Fayres start soon, and I’m hoping I can be at them all, although I’m not sure how I’ll manage the days at Wynyard. We have a plan to share the workload between us so we both get a day off, but it’s still going to be very tiring. I’m trying to build up my stamina by going on the dog walks again, something I’ve really missed but struggled to do as I get out of breath so easily. I’ve managed one so far this week, not that great really?
All in all it’s been a crazy week. I’ve had to postpone my return to ‘the day job’ because of my high heart rate and breathlessness, and I’m starting to think the sooner they remove this pesky gallbladder the better as I’m just so miserable all the time, desperate for my normal life back. At least I’m getting lots of cuddles from the dog – it’s either he’s forcing me to rest, or he loves my blanket so much. Either way I’ll take the affection!
I’m excited but anxious as I really don’t know how my body is going to deal with attending markets again. I’m grateful it’s a shorter one, but that still means a half 8 start and a 2 pm finish, almost six hours of activity. So far I’ve managed one dog walk of just under a mile, then the cold knocked my for 6. It’s a big change but one I’m desperate to get back to.
This weeks orders have mostly been Christmas related and with pay day approaching now is the time to get your reusable advent calendars. I have loads of designs to choose from although my top two are still reindeer stables and Winter Wonderland.
Are you visiting Crayke Village Market on Saturday? Or maybe you are supporting your own local market. It’s a tough time for small businesses right now as October sales have been lower than expected so please, if you can, buy from small businesses. That one sale could really make a difference.
So, with the weather forcing the organisers to cancel Sheriff Hutton Village Market today, I’m keeping everything crossed that Crayke Village Market goes ahead next week. I feel so ‘rusty’ with the big break from trading, and while I haven’t been well enough to work I plan to be back on Saturday (taking it easy of course).
While I was in hospital with limited internet and no tv, I took to watching the birds in the tree outside of my window. I’ve always been fascinated by nature, I remember going to bird sanctuaries with my family as a kid, my dad being a keen aviculturist with his cages full of canaries, budgerigars and quail. I love watching the squirrel and the pigeons outside work on a morning – they always come to say hello.
I went out in the car (me driving) for the first time yesterday. I didn’t go far and although it was nice to be out the house, it wore me out so I think I need to take a bit more time to rest before I drive again! At least I knew where I was going, because I have the absolute worst sense of direction!
Sunday 20th October is the last day to get free shipping when you spend £10 or more. That equates to just 5 birthday cards, or if there’s a winter wedding or anniversary coming up maybe three birthday cards and two others? The 5 for £10 works on any of the cards priced at £2.40 and once you get to 5 each card after is still only £2. What a deal!
I hope you are staying warm and dry today, it’s not the weather to go out shopping or exploring.
I can’t lie, the last few weeks have been rough. I’m still having bad days where I feel a burden to my family because they are having to do more to compensate for my recuperation.
I’ve been so grateful to each and every one of you who has ordered recently, but with missing two markets and future events to pay for, I’m juggling. I keep getting cross with myself for getting ill in the first place (silly, I know).
Anyway, I wanted to offer free shipping for this weekend, starting tomorrow (if it doesn’t work automatically please let me know). This should work in addition to the 5 for £10 offer on greetings cards, but there’s also advent calendars, craft kits for gifts and much more online.
It seems a lot of you are getting organised as we’ve been selling lots of Christmas cards recently, in particular the Holly and Ivy design pictured below.
Don’t worry, I have lots more packs of Christmas cards so as soon as I’m feeling well enough (or can persuade my daughter to help) we will have some new designs available online.
In the meantime there are loads of advent calendars ready for the 1st December, and if you need something smaller I have advent calendar cards with designs not yet available in our store.
If you’re not ready for Christmas just yet, we have lots of our humorous birthday cards in stock, with me being ill we’ve missed a couple of our regular markets which has hit sales but means the stock is lasting a bit longer too. Maybe now is the time for a stock up?
Sadly postage prices increased at the beginning of October, however I have no plans to increase our postage charge so you can stock up as much as you like for the same low rate of £3.50 for shipping.
Yes, I know there’s still plenty of time before the 1st of December, but don’t you find that the later you leave it to get your advent calendars, the more chance of your favourite being unavailable?
If you’re like me you are also trying to spread the cost out across the last few paydays of the year. So now is the perfect time to buy those advent calendars and advent calendar cards, and we have a few designs to choose from.
Our fun Snowman design advent has pieces to slot in each day (as most of our advents do) to complete a scene for the big day. All the pieces and slots are numbered, and they come in handy pre-punched sheets to push out and insert.
Reindeer Stables is our best seller advent calendar, with Santas reindeer all chilling in their stables ready for the big day.
Christmas Train advent calendar is very low in stock, and features a lovely colourful scene with lots of fun characters. All our advent calendars are £9 plus postage.
If you need something smaller to send overseas, then our advent calendar cards are perfect. Combining an advent calendar with a card, they are small enough to be posted low cost but still provide the fun of an advent.
I hope you find the perfect advent calendar for your special someone, and enjoy counting down the days until Christmas together.
Our latest greetings cards arrived recently, and this time I restocked on birthday cards, mostly male themed. I am always trying to spot the gaps in our range, so if you are looking for a particular style or occasion please let me know.
Alcohol themed cards seem popular for both male and female birthdays, so that’s where I started my search. What do you think?
I’m hoping these transport themed cards will be equally as popular. Would you choose the land rover card or the motorbike card?
Last of all, I chose some lovely countryside cards, as we live in such a picturesque part of North Yorkshire. I’m hoping our customers will love the sheep, stone wall and rose arbor designs on these greetings cards.
Of course I could resist getting a few new humour cards, what do you think?
We will be at Crayke Village Market next weekend with The UK Christmas Store and then it will be October – where has this year gone?
Reindeer Stables is our best seller advent calendar, with Santas reindeer all chilling in their stables ready for the big day.
Christmas Train advent calendar is very low in stock, and features a lovely colourful scene with lots of fun characters. All our advent calendars are £9 plus postage.
