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.

I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

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.

Cari xx

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.

Are you visiting any Christmas fairs this year?

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.

Cari xx