2013 Holiday orders

If you're thinking this week about whether or not I can help out with your Winter holiday gift-giving, you're thinking about it at the right time. And I say that hating holiday decorations out in stores before Halloween just like the rest of you! Trust me. Christmas is my favorite holiday in the entire year, but I don't really want to think about it until after Thanksgiving. But I need to talk to you about my holiday "order by" dates, and about an upcoming vacation. This year I am planning on taking some time off, between Saturday, December 14th and Sunday, January 5th (time for inventory, planning for the new year, and a little holiday time with my family). While I will be available to ship things out during that time, I will not be taking any custom orders or posting new products in the shop for that three-week period. So. What does this mean for your desire to make it a HaldeCraft Holiday? Ceramics take me about six weeks from placing of the order to mailing it out -- so if you want something mailed out by December 13th (incidentally, also the last day the USPS says they can get it to you before Christmas), you'll want to start talking about that with me before the October 31st. If you are shopping for Hanukkah, though, which starts November 27th this year, you'll need to get a jump on it and place your orders before October 4th. I know that seems rushed, but trust me, the time is necessary. Yarn can take me four weeks, or longer if I need to acquire the base yarn, so if there's a yarn lover in your life who might like some quality hand-dyed goodness, you have until November 8th to place your orders (or October 18th, if you're shopping for Hanukkah). In addition, right now I am out of my base yarn Andre and am not likely to be able to restock that until mid to late October, so please keep that in mind. Soaps can take about three weeks from order to delivery on a rush order, so if you are thinking along those lines, you have until November 22nd to get with me about what you might like in those items (or October 28th, for Hanukkah rather than Christmas). Now... that's enough thought about the holiday season for me, this early in the year! I haven't even celebrated my October birthday, let alone bought any Halloween candy yet!