Hello folks

I thought I should share my REAL pre-christmas life, what I have been up to and why I have done hardly ANY Christmas shopping yet!

It is now the 12th of December. I am at my desk reading customer emails (things that have not gone quite to plan that need attention) and it has made me realise that all of our customers are really organised, and I am woefully behind on my own shopping. How ironic!

I have been so focused on getting everything right for the business, I have neglected to do the same for my family. At this time of year, I get a list of links from my son, have to nag my daughter a few times for some ideas for her, take my Mum shopping and follow her around secretly trying to buy for her, and then collapse in a heap feeling terribly behind and also not very Christmassy! It's hardly surprising, as I have to get the decorations out in July to do the first of the Christmas photoshoots, and then this continues into November. So I am frankly usually pretty sick of the sight of them by now!

I am writing this in France, where I have travelled to our French house, to guess what??? Yes, put up decorations and get it looking all lovely for someone else to enjoy! And all whilst still editing ads for Christmas decorations etc, and writing festive copy ideas for social media, and trying to find images from last year to use to try and show me having a nice time at Christmas. To be honest, I could happily skip to late January now, and not really feel the loss! 

So what to do to get into a more festive mood? I did watch The Holiday last night, but now I know the cottage isn't real, and all of the internal shots are filmed in LA, it has lost it's sheen a tiny bit ( I did still enjoy it though). We printed some lino cut Christmas cards yesterday too, and my first attempt at a Partridge wasn't tooo bad, but it still needs its pear tree. So I guess I need to be kind to myself, and get some rest where I can which is what I feel I need, and maybe the Christmas spirit will return. 

I hope you do the same too, but if not, don't beat yourself up over it, it's just a day! Just eat and try to be merry.

It's a fine balance at Christmas when you do retail, even if it is all online! you want to make the most of the gift-giving period ( this is usually the time that allows us to continue as a business throughout the rest of the year), but it does mean that there's not a whole lot of rest for us, and usually our Christmas is not as smooth as a result of our attention on business. But, to be fair, we're pretty sure most people feel like this no matter what your job is!

It is certainly an ideal world where we get a nice long Christmas holiday where we can shop leisurely and plan all the food and visits well in advance. I think my one piece of advice (especially for women) is to make sure you're not defaulting to doing way more than your fair share of Christmas planning and gift-giving. It shouldn't be all on you! Make sure that your friends and family are taking their share of responsibilities so that you can have more time to breathe.

Your rest matters too!

Now where's the sherry....?

Hannah x