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Time to buy your advent calendars!

How did it get to the middle of October?

I guess it’s a sign of getting older that the years are flying past.  With only a couple of pay days before the festive period, now is the time to start thinking about advent calendars.

I stocked up on our advent calendar range before Flamingo Paperie closed it doors, then bought a bulk stock of them from another partner who was closing their business, but this stock won’t last much past 2024.  If you want a choice and prefer to avoid chocolate one use advent calendars, then have a look at the range of designs from Cari’s Cards.

I have advents with only slot in characters, advents with a combination of slot in and windows to open and smaller ones with only windows (which I currently need to add to the website).

If you prefer to shop in person we will only have them at Gisborough Hall on 12th November at the moment.  If you follow our sister business https://www.theukchristmasstore.co.uk on social media you will see a free entry voucher.

My favourite advent calendar I think will be the first to sell out.  It’s already selling and features a selection of woodland animals in a lovely Christmas scene.

In addition we have a selection of advent calendar cards which will be added to my website soon.  They make an easy gift for sending to a loved one.

Cari

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Prepping for the next three months

I think autumn has to be my favourite season.  The air gets cooler, but not too cold, the trees begin to change colour, there are conkers to find and Christmas is on its way.

We have Christmas fairs booked but this year I’m concentrating on growing my online business.  I’m not getting any younger and attending a Christmas fair usually means a near 12 hour day working, not to mention all the prep the week before to make sure I don’t forget something.  It’s exhausting.  Our children help of course, they’ve grown up with us attending Christmas fairs (right from birth!) but I know this isn’t what they want to be doing.

I have piles of Christmas stock all waiting to be added to the shop.  I really need to push myself to get that done for you all, otherwise they will still be sat here this time next year.

 

Are you starting to prep for Christmas?  Let me know if you are, or if it’s still too early.

Cari

 

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I’m not wishing the year away!

Isn’t it typical that the sun makes an appearance just at the end of the school holidays?

Im not complaining, but I had grand plans to sit in the back garden each morning, sipping my coffee and watching the dog entertain himself with all the various scents from the nighttime visitors.  We rescued an old garden table, bought a parasol for it and collected garden furniture off freecycle in preparation, only for me to have to purchase a cover for it all a lot sooner than I had anticipated!

A final flourish from summer before I return to my day job at school, where thoughts inevitably turn to the next significant holiday.  Christmas in our family means lots of Fayres and markets every weekend, followed by a small family celebration and then New Year.  This heralds the family birthdays, which all fall into the first half of the year.

It’s handy having a card shop, with lots of birthday cards to choose from, when this time of year arrives.  Honestly, it does feel like we just get one out the way then another arrives!  In 2024 I hope to have some lovely new designs to share with you all, but if you need to be organised then the majority of my birthday card stock is available from the shop section now.  One advantage of having a card shop in your dining room is that you don’t stock up then lose all the birthday cards you’ve just bought after putting them ‘somewhere safe’.

Anyway, I’m almost wishing the rest of 2023 away, and the run up to Christmas is my favourite time of year.  All of our Christmas card packs support charities, with the newer designs (which are arriving soon) supporting Trussell Trust.  If you don’t want to shop online with me then I will be sharing a list of events we’re attending soon.

Cari

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A day for home projects

All work and no play – not that I’d say today was a ‘play’ day, but anyway.

Our dining room/stock room has been a dumping ground again, although not as bad as in previous years, and it was well overdue an overhaul.

I finally treated myself to the wall clock I’d had saved in my basket for about six months, and today we decided to put it up.  This involved moving the dining table round to give us more floor space ready for the run up to Christmas.  Our dining table doubles as a packing bench as the website orders come in from The UK Christmas Store and from this business too, so more space made sense.

So, all the chairs and assorted junk went outside, at which point the dog decided to join in and take all his toys into the garden.  The clock was assembled and hung, the table moved and the chairs returned to their places.  Junk sorted, ready for a tip run tomorrow.

Im now shattered, but glad it’s done.  All we need now is a new light fitting (which is the next ‘treat’ project on the list.)

How have you spent today?

Cari xx

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Our gorgeous advent calendars

Please forgive me for turning your thoughts to Christmas already, but as I’m now nearing the end of listing the everyday greetings cards I’ve been sorting through the Christmas stock in preparation for listing.

I was fortunate enough to buy a stock clearance of Flamingo Paperie advent calendars both in the closing down sale and from a former Flamingo partner.  I now have plenty of advents to manage my Christmas event bookings and to add to this shop.  In fact I have quite a few (I need to buy a second basket for them).

We’ve transferred all the packs of Christmas cards into one of the 64 litre tubs I have – yes they filled it!  I think it’s safe to say I have lots of stock available for you all, and the best bit is the card packs all support charity.

So, although adding the stock is still a work in progress (I’m determined to have it all done before September) we are all set to start posting out your orders.  I’m so excited to turn my dining table into a packing room!

Cari xx

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Slowly building bit by bit

I’ve built websites before.  I’m self taught, but with the help of my amazing hosting service and google, I manage the basics.

Adding the stock however is a slow and tedious process.  Very repetitive, but a job that needs to be done.  I’m tackling it one box at a time, but there are a lot of greetings cards!

For the last few days I’ve lost my mojo with it.  I thought I just needed a break, but today I just don’t want to get back into adding them.

Maybe a coffee will help.  Or maybe I will start tomorrow.

Cari xx

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Finding the time

I remember back when my children were old enough to start school, how I wondered what I was going to do with all the ‘free time’ I would now have. It felt like the hours between 9 and 3 would go on forever and I would become something of a domestic goddess getting all the household chores completed with even time to pour into me too.

Of course, in reality the short span of time while they were in the care of school staff allowed me to get breakfast, do the weekly shop or a bit of work, have lunch and then head off to pick them up.

So now my degree is completed (bar the results/graduation) I find myself once again with ‘extra’ time available. However, with a large amount of stock to sort through, put on a spreadsheet and then individually list on my website time, as it did all those years ago, seems in short supply. The house feels full of tubs of stock and organising that around dog mum duties and my school job seems almost impossible.

I am making progress however, so you should start to see stock appearing soon. I know a few customers have already been in touch about how they can purchase from me and I do have events booked for this summer, plus my usual Christmas ones too. In the meantime I will keep working in the small pockets of time to get the shop side of this website built for you.

Cari xx

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Preparing for some big changes

If you follow me on social media, you will know by now that there are some changes happening soon. After ten years with Phoenix Trading and then Flamingo Paperie, the company are ceasing trading at the end of May.

Like many other partners, I’m devastated. I adore not just the cards but the whole company ethos, so I’ve stocked up as much as I can and will carry on selling while I still have stock.

I am looking for alternative suppliers, and will be setting up this website to retail what stock I have once my company provided website shuts down. I hope you will continue to support my small business in the meantime.