Category: News from UK Christmas Store

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Getting ready to decorate your Christmas tree?

Our latest stock delivery arrived on Friday. I actually think I got a bit carried away, now I’ve seen all the different Christmas decor I ordered.

If you are thinking of refreshing your Christmas Tree decorations this year, then we are sure to have something for every style!

These cute wooden cat and dog faces come as a box set of 8, and will fit nicely with a pet owners tree. Aren’t they adorable?

There’s nothing like the jingle of bells at Christmas, and this box set of bells can decorate your tree or maybe be put to use by a crafter?

These mini mugs are the perfect size to decorate your tree, and come in three different designs. I can’t choose a favourite, so I’d suggest getting a couple of each design to make a feature on your tree this year.

Another one for pet owners or farmers – these animal filled stockings come in four designs. I think my favourite is the dog one, but the cow is quite cute too.

How do you style your tree?

Cari

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Ten more boxes!

My supplier has been in touch while I was at work, saying they have more of my order ready to send.

‘Great’ I thought, ‘but where can I store it?’

In this next delivery will be some stunning Christmas decor items including this lovely train snow scene. It won’t be arriving for a few weeks, so I’m trialing a pre-order system as there are only a few of each decoration and once we start the Christmas markets they won’t hang around!

Do you have young children who still send a letter to Santa? Maybe this post box is just what you need for Christmas 2024. In traditional festive colours it will look lovely hanging either on your tree or from a door handle.

I’m in the process of adding all the pre-order (all ten boxes!) Christmas loveliness to our website so please keep checking back to snap up your favourite tree decorations and ornaments for this festive season.

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What every home should have this Christmas

Every January/February we toddle off to a trade fair and plan what we think you will love for the next festive season. Now we have had the first of our deliveries, I’ve decided to put together a little shopping list to help you choose your festive decor – go on, treat your Christmas tree to something new!

Soft furnishings are new to our range this year, and this soft and squishy cushion is the perfect addition to your cosy chair or guest bed. Featuring a Robin it is understated autumnal decor.

Musical must haves, this range of carousels and spinning ornaments gives you plenty of choice and will amuse young and old alike. Full of festive characters and charm, they will sit nicely on a shelf or window ledge.

Something for the children, these lovely colourful letter to Santa wooden decorations have a small pocket for you to add a note. The wooden red and white trains are amazing value and who wouldn’t love to bring a piece of the North Pole to their home?

With lots more to come, what are your top picks from our new range?

Cari xx

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Christmas has landed – part 1

The first of our Christmas stock deliveries has landed.  It arrived on Wednesday in two big boxes, and my daughter and I unpacked, checked for breakages and priced everything up ready for our first market.

These cute wooden trains are perfect for your Christmas tree – who doesn’t love a train?  They won’t get easily broken either should you have paws or little fingers in your family.

The new range has already launched online, so if you want something snap it up now as we have very limited stock – while I will try to re-order there is no guarantee so please don’t miss out on something you’ve set your heart on.

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My personal favourites are these carousel/spinning musical ornaments.  With a range of designs available from Santas sleigh to a traditional carousel, they are sure to fly out.  I’m hoping we can get more but can’t guarantee it, which will be a shame as I would quite like one myself!

We should have more stock arriving over the coming weeks, which is very exciting.  I can’t wait to show you more!

Cari xx

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Let’s get this party started!

I know it’s August, but I am right in the thick of sorting everything ready for the autumn season. Last year I didn’t have systems in place to cope with the rush of online customers, but this year – well, what is it they say about best laid plans? We will see how it pans out.

Our new Christmas range for 2024 should be arriving in a matter of weeks, and I’m excited. We’ve gone bigger and better this year, although I’m slightly worried we don’t have space for it all. We have bells, carousels and trains a plenty, so there should be something for everyone.

I’m also excited to have a chalet at the lovely Wynyard Hall Christmas Market. We are still working out how we are going to display everything, as we are so used to a table we can sit behind. We want to make the most of this opportunity to grow our customer base which means investing in more display equipment – any words of wisdom very welcome!

We will also be back at Gisborough Hall, as well as the monthly markets nearer to York. It would be lovely to see you at one of the events but if you live further afield the website is ready and will have the new range added as soon as it arrives.

I’ve just got a few more tweaks to do in our new stock room and it is all systems go!

Cari xx

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The cloudy skies make me think of Christmas…

As we don’t seem to be having much of a summer this year, I’ve been starting to prep for Christmas.  Yes, I know it’s still a while off, and I am still hopeful that we will get more days of sunshine, but it seems I’m not the only one.

My website visitors are up 50% so I’m guessing you are also planning ahead.  This is a great idea, because it not only spreads the cost, but also helps on gloomy days like today.  There’s nothing like looking at glittery, sparkly things to lift your mood.

Our new stock order will be arriving in a couple of months, but there are still lots of lovely glass and wooden tree decorations available right now, plus Christmas ornaments for children and adult gift giving.

We also have festive paper tape available, plus more Christmas stationery items over on our sister website (with more to come).

Our new decorations range includes stylish metallic homewares, colourful fun Christmas signs and baubles, and traditional festive decorations like this Christmas train.  I get Polar Express vibes from this lovely red train with carriages, so I’m hoping you love it too!

In the meantime, if we get some sunshine, I will be enjoying the summer in my garden where I’m growing tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes.  Please feel free to share your summer break plans below.

Cari xx

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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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A sense of transition

Life this last week of 2023 has been filled with transitions and transformations.  Those who follow along on social media will already know we have been busy moving the office into the dining room and turning the former office room into a stock room.  We are almost halfway to funding our last major purchase thanks to your post Christmas orders, and although it’s still a bit cluttered, the space is really going to make us more efficient in processing your online orders.

The new office in a corner of our dining room needs a bit more attention, and we are trying to manage with a stack of stock tubs still sitting in the kitchen.  They need to move before tonight!

We have been happy dancing all over the place with every ‘kerching’ from an order landing.  Today (31/12/23) is the last day to shop from our 30% off sale, and we still have quite a lot for you to choose from.  How about some glass baubles or tractors for your Christmas tree next year, or a light up house or church for your mantle?  We also have a lovely deer tea light holder which would make an amazing table centrepiece.

Our next parcel collection is booked for Tuesday morning and I’m sure I will find time over the next 24 hours to pack orders as we celebrate the dawn of a New Year quietly at home.

All that’s left to say is we wish you a very peaceful and joyous New Year, and hope to be happy dancing to your orders in 2024.

Cari and family behind The UK Christmas Store

 

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2024 prep and offering you a better experience

I hope you had a lovely Christmas.  With the amount of orders we got through, even on Boxing Day, there will have been some lovely decorations on display.  If you are still waiting for yours to arrive, we had a couple en route and a big Royal Mail collection this morning, so they will be with you soon.

This time between Christmas and New Year is always when I think about which direction to go in, and thanks to our lovely online customers I know we need to build on what we’ve achieved in 2023.  While we will still be doing Christmas markets, they can be very unreliable financially and involve a high cost not only in stall fees but transportation and time.  We are also getting older, and health concerns mean we need to use our energy in a more efficient way.

Reflecting, as most people do with a new year arriving, I’m a little cross with myself for not being more visible online in previous years.  We’ve doubled our online sales in 2023 thanks to all of you and a little ‘let’s just do it’ self belief.  After approx 14 years of trading where would we be now if I’d thought that sooner?

The focus for 2024 will be on service.  I want to provide you with a lovely experience when buying from us, so I am going to build on the way we package and ‘thank’ our customers when they order online.  It’s exciting and there’s lots on my to do list already.

We will be ordering stock at the end of January and already have a small wish list (including dinosaur decorations).  Now is the time to let me know if there’s something you just haven’t been able to find.

Our 30% off store wide sale continues until the end of 2023 so there’s still t8me to grab a Christmas bargain.  I usually restock the more popular decorations so don’t worry if you miss out this time.

Cari xx

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Time to shift my focus

I love my small business.  I’ve been running small businesses since my children were small, I remember carrying them into markets in their car seats and setting up while my husband unloaded.  Now they are old enough to work for me and it’s my husband and I who are slowing down a little.

This year has been all about getting the website working for us more.  There’s still a very long way to go, but I am happy with how many orders we’ve had from all over the UK and overseas too.  I’m starting to plan for the next few years and online is where I want to really focus.

We will still be attending markets as this is where our core sales (usually) come from, but it’s time to be more selective as we only have so much energy!

The last pre-Christmas delivery has just been collected, and while we are still open for orders and will be posting up until Friday 22 nd, I expect things to slow a little.  The stock is ready to make way for the dining room/office switch which will take place after Christmas (provided I can muster the energy for that) and then it’s straight into planning stock for 2024.

Please keep your orders coming, I know that a lot of us have time off over the festive period so it would be lovely to have a flurry of orders to see us through to January.  The sale continues to the end of December.

A very happy and healthy Christmas and a safe new year to all

Cari