And So It Begins... 🎄

First things first, I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. However it was spent, I wish that the day was nothing more than enjoyable.

I was knocked straight into a food coma until the following Monday when I had to be up for work again. This had me thinking, though, who'd be willing to sign a petition to propose mandatory paid-vacation for the day after Thanksgiving through the end of the year?

(I definitely think there's a chance.)

WHO'S WITH ME?

The start of the Christmas season is almost exclusively the day after Thanksgiving.

I don't know about you, but that day is the day I allow myself to wear my first Christmas sweater of the season and look for the crazy deals online, and in stores, to kick off my holiday shopping list. It's the day I allow myself to go home, bake cookies, snuggle up under a blanket and search Netflix for the most appealing Christmas movie. From that day through December 25th, we're all allowed to embrace the excitement for everything jolly.

We are undoubtedly lucky to live in Portland, where some of the most enjoyable Christmas occasions take place.

Portland International Raceway has their annual Christmas Light Show, glistening on the race track with familiar stories of old St. Nick and a fun soundtrack to go along.

The Oregon Zoo has their classic ZooLights display, christening animal cages with colorful decorations and fun representations of Christmas in the wild.

While the air is getting colder, the atmosphere feels warmer.

Christmas lights adorn suburban houses, old downtown areas deck the halls with plenty of wreaths, bows, and snowflakes.

There's something comforting about the holidays being so habitual.

Everyone just knows what to expect, more or less.

Christmas music has finally found it's way to our office speakers. I can hear Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" playing no less than 5 times throughout the day. BELT IT, GIRL.

Pioneer Courthouse Square lights their 75' Douglas Fir, complete with one of the biggest sing-alongs all year AND performances by Pink Martini (a Portland holiday original)

Alas, it's Christmas time. The stress of it all can feel immense during this quarter but there's something special about how this holiday makes us feel.

There's a reason we make this time of year such a habit.

Everything gets kicked into high gear around here; in between all of the gift-packed boxes we're preparing and all of the holiday orders we're fulfilling, we've got our hands full.

I've had to stop myself from buying 10 bags of cinnamon-scented pine cones so far. Who might need that many scented pine cones, you might ask? ➡️➡️➡️

'Tis the season for online shopping, and boy, let me tell you how much you don't realize it until you're receiving and fulfilling orders yourself.

Have you tried our Fleur de Sel caramels? If not, it's probably time you jumped on the bandwagon. Almost every single online order contains these delicious little pieces of heaven. You might've thought the salted caramel fad would end but jokes on all of us! (THIS ISN'T A PHASE, MOM!)

Right now we're offering FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50. Really, it's just an excuse to get double the chocolate you wanted in the first place.

We've revamped our website for the holiday season so why don't you hop on over and check it our for yourself?

Remember, the holiday stress is all worth the end result. Don't like your traditions? Switch them up. There's a type of candy for everyone, and chances are we've got just what you need.

We'll stay busy for ya, don't worry.