I think the C word was first uttered around May this year.
Christmas is a huge part of our calendar, and as the saying goes, you’ve got to make hay while the sun shines — though I do often wish our business wasn’t quite so dependent on it.
Over the years, we’ve had our fair share of crises hit during the week of the big day: card machines going down on the busiest day of the year, Covid wiping out key team members, bird flu affecting suppliers…the list goes on.
We’ve certainly done our 10,000 hours — which they say is what’s needed to become an expert at something.
Christmas used to feel daunting to me. The expectations are enormous — delivering everything perfectly, for so many people, in such a tight window. For many of our customers, what they collect from us becomes the centrepiece of the most important meal of their year. That’s no small responsibility, and it can weigh heavily.
But alongside the pressure, there’s something else I’ve grown to love: the stories. The rituals. The traditions that people share with us. Families who come to pick their tree every year. The same people who collect their turkey from the butchery counter at the exact same time on Christmas Eve. Those who kick off the season with a Hartley mince pie at our Christmas Market.
Hearing that Hartley has become woven into people’s traditions — that’s the bit that lifts the weight. It makes it all feel worthwhile. And it makes me want to do it better every single year.
Because the truth is, Christmas starts for us almost as soon as it ends.
In January, we gather around a plate of biscuits and dive straight into reviewing the entire season. What worked? What didn’t? What needs attention? Nothing is off the table: product ranges, queue management, marketing, logistics — all of it.
Not long after, we’re ordering trees and turkeys, planning our beef production for the year, attending trade shows, and lining up all the festive must-haves. By late summer, the marketing plan kicks in: How do we make this Christmas more special than ever? How do we tell that story?
All of that work, all of those countless decisions, now come to fruition as we head into these final two weeks. The ducks are, we hope, in a neat-ish row. The turkeys will be tied, pigs in blankets rolled, hams glazed, and mince pies filled. And yes, there will be twists, turns, curveballs — there always are.
Someone once told me that a successful business isn’t the one with the fewest problems, but the one that overcomes them in the best way. That’s what we aspire to.
Lately, as my kids’ eyes begin to widen to the adult world, I’ve found myself telling them more and more that life is what’s happening right in front of your nose — not yesterday’s mistakes or tomorrow’s worry.
Henry repeated my own words back to me the other day:
“It’s tomorrow’s worry that steals today’s joy.”
Wise advice for the next couple of weeks, when it can be easy to drown in the stress instead of noticing the magic.
So whatever part Hartley Farm has played in your Christmas rituals this year — however big or small — we are genuinely, deeply grateful. It means the world to us to be part of such an important moment in your year. We don’t take that lightly.
And if you’re still yet to tick off the final piece of your Hartley Christmas tradition, don’t forget: Christmas pre-orders close this Monday night!