I find myself feeling like Ebenezer Scrooge when I go to a store or watch television. All this talk about Christmas before Halloween is over seems rather ridiculous to me. In the past, I have held fast to my belief that holiday products should not come out until closer to Thanksgiving, even after Thanksgiving, so as not to steal the turkey day’s thunder. However, with everything being so out of whack with shipping, supply chain breakdowns, and the shortage of drivers and workers, I have had to rethink my somewhat stubborn and unpopular approach to marketing.
Believe it or not, The Bibbed Wonder and I have our holiday products finished and almost cured. That is somewhat unprecedented for us. Not only do we have them made and cured, but we are also making moisturizers and boxing and labeling everything. Our Ligonier Holiday Market is in two weeks, and we are working hard to ensure all our Christmas products will be available. We were in a bit of a panic because our labels were unavailable, and we had to wait a few weeks for them to arrive. I cannot tell you how many of our go-to companies show on their websites that products are in stock only to message after ordering that there is an extended wait time. We no longer have the luxury of allowing our inventory to run low and have orders shipped within days to restock.
I also don’t want to be one of those companies that promise my soap family the moon and not be able to keep that promise. We are keeping a close eye on the USPS gift shipping schedule, and we are noticing that the commitment to arrive by date is a bit earlier than usual. As with everything these days, it seems there is an upheaval in standard practices. Although it goes against my grain, we will have or holiday products ready and available the first week of November. Sigh. I apologize to all the turkeys out there that are not getting their moment to shine.
While working on those God-forsaken snowmen, that is how I refer to them now; I tried to make The Bibbed Wonder listen to Christmas music to put us in the mood. It seemed ridiculous when the sun was shining, and it was seventy degrees outside. The Bibbed Wonder is not a fan of Christmas songs during the holiday season, and my futile attempts at creating holiday cheer were met with several black looks and a considerable amount of grunting. Rather than deal with a little black rain cloud, I turned off the Christmas music and played what I refer to as Eric’s angry caveman music. I’m not even sure that what he listens to qualifies as music, but it appeases him, so I just sing Christmas songs in my head. However, not even Burl Ives could create that Christmas cheer mindset this early in the year.
I am excited to tell you about our holiday line-up of products. We will, of course, have a limited supply of those God-forsaken snowmen. They are adorable, and now that they are complete, I am happy we did them. We will also have our fan favorites Comfort and Joy as well as Cozy. Snow Angel is making a return this year, and of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without Elf Fart. Our new edition is Winter Cupcake. Winter Cupcake is a yummy blend of cake batter and peppermint. It just may be my new all-time favorite. Everything will be available online and at The Ligonier Holiday Market the first week of November.
I will try to refrain from humbugging, and perhaps the holiday market will create some holiday cheer. The Ligonier Market is always something to look forward to, and we are excited to see our friends and soap family. As always, dear reader, stay safe, be smart, don’t procrastinate this year, and keep washing your hands.