This year has been our busiest and best Christmas ever and we’ve not finished yet!

And I couldn’t have done this without my wonderful team and (if I must admit it) my husband John, oh and the other man in my life, the one I couldn’t get through the week without, the one who’s there at my side with the perfect tonic whenever I’m in need…Colin, my fairy Ginfather!

Christmas in the shop started way back in October, when I first started taking orders for Christmas wreaths, wreath making days and event flowers (carol concerts, end of term festivities, banquets) all those places people go to have fun and enjoy themselves while I’m slaving away like Cinderella, in the back of my little flower shop, until all hours while others have a social life.

To tell the truth, the Flower Shop IS my social life!

People come in, all the time. They bring me chocolates, alcohol, cake..gossip (no I mean, interesting information about what’s going on in the community, but please note that this information only goes one way, in..unless of course it’s worth sharing ;-D of course). To be honest I would forget what John looked like if he didn’t come into the shop for his instructions.

I never complain about being busy, well I do quite a lot, but I don’t really mean it, even when I’m slaving away until 9pm and up again at 5am. I want to make the Flower Shop a success and there are a few months/dates in the in the year where flowers are absolutely essential and Christmas is one of them.

And we don’t only do flowers, I spend at least 3 weeks in June, choosing and ordering the fanciest, most christmassy , sparkly, classy shabby chic (yes chic, not sheet, although Annemarie would beg to differ). One of our top Christmas sellers is an army of decorative toy soldiers made of china. Well we did have an army of them before I reached over to turn the lights out one evening and took out a whole battalion with my left boob.

There were broken soldiers all over the place! Just when I thought I’d found all the pieces a head would roll from the display cabinet and across the the shop floor at the most inopportune moment.

Today, Sunday December 23rd I had almost the whole team in, making up Christmas orders and helping those who ran into the shop in a blind panic asking if we could supply the whole of Christmas! Given that we are sandwiched between the Butcher and the Wine Merchant, between us we could pretty much supply a whole Christmas.

Tomorrow morning we are open until midday. After which I’m off to Waitrose in Worthing, in the hope that they still have food left. I plan to fill a trolley with as much stuff as I can and then John and I are going to flop onto the sofa -correction, I’m going to flop on the sofa, chose the most undemanding film I can find, while John cooks me dinner and plies me with alcohol.

Merry Christmas to Becky, Annemarie, Lisa, Mel, Charlottie, Rachel, Ruth, Daisy, Antonia, Claire and ALL our lovely customers, friends and followers. You’re all FABULOUS!!!

• 

• 

• 

•