Last year, we made the observation that while there was a lot of heartache and reasons to be reluctant to celebrate the holidays, families and friends found normalcy through the magic of Christmas. As a business, we were fortunate to use the momentum from the end of last year to plan 2021 with surgical precision—we altered our business model from the core with the simple goal of continuing to create the highest quality Christmas product in the market and to welcome back familiar faces to our Retail Gallery in the quintessential Massachusetts town of Sutton. It was both wonderful and humbling to see so many happy faces (we can only assume that they were ALL smiles under those masks) this season—whether during our Christmas Opening to introduce the now sold-out Starlight Santa, collectors from around the country joining us during our Christkindlesmarkt, regional collectors attending the performance of A Christmas Carol with Gerald Charles Dickens, local collectors simply coming to enjoy the decorations and imports in the newly opened Christmas Parlour, or even collectors flying to Germany to enjoy the (open) Christmas markets via Viking River Cruise. Although we went into the year with high expectations and incredible planning, we never anticipated how much Christmas traditions truly mean to you. We appreciate the patience while understanding the frustration to those who might have found bare shelves and empty branches during their visit late in the season. Although most collectors were able to find the perfect gift, we’ve learned how to better plan as we go into 2022 to ensure that the wonder of the decorations and experience is consistent and the selection ample… without sacrificing the fine art detail found within our hand-painted chalkware pieces. We are thankful to every collector—both first-time and long-time—who chose to visit us online and in-store. One aspect that cannot be overlooked is our staff. We have always felt our team was more like a family than employees, but this Christmas season there has been a comradery and synergy that goes far beyond any expectation. Whether working the Retail Gallery late into the night or seeing the paint brushes moving feverishly after hours and the weekend; every teammate put aside any ego or individual wants and did whatever was needed to be done to ensure that Christmas would happen. It is not common for businesses to be able to say that their team is entirely committed to their craft—but our team has exceeded this. To both our staff and collectors, thank you for continuing to keep the magic of Christmas alive.