These are my pics this year for Advent Calendars that can still be sourced this close to 1st December 🙂

It is such fun to look around the Advent calendars on offer each year! Some truly clever ideas out there. You can have ones you eat every day, drink everyday, make, do or just look at it. Whether you are into candles, perfumes, Harry Potter, Minecraft or Unicorns -it’s all there.

I’m always a fan of the make your own, as I love the “crafty” touch to any Christmas tradition, and the bits as a family or parent that you can add to this that make it truly memorable, so my list below is more focused on those.

1.

This little starter for a DIY calendar is available on Domanye for $13 – how much fun could you have with it?!

2.

This Nutcracker themed Advent Calendar From Meri Meri – found at Robins Nest 

3.

A good old Chocolate one – just with my fav chocolate! I’m sure can be found at most places, but I found it looking through Myer

4.

Another sweet little Nutcracker themed Advent Calendar from Target this year

5.

David Jones has this sweet little reindeer (and some awfully beautiful Advent Calendars for Mummy’s at DJ’s too!! $$$ 😉

6.

Pretty cute Advent truck from Myer

7.

I love this idea for an older Adult, or someone with out kids … imagine what tea you might taste!!

8.

How about this as a lovely family idea – especially this year “Today I am grateful for” and doing it in the 24 days to Christmas … easy to copy this template and enjoy filling it out each day

9.

This visual Santa from Big W – esp for those young kids!

10.

For forward planning to 2021 – these ones from Hide and Seek Textiles in the UK are a pretty special heirloom style calendar, that is hard to beat!!

10.

This super cute book “How Winston Delivered Christmas” that has a craft activity to do with every chapter too

(we read this book last year, and did ‘some’ of the craft activities and my girls are already looking forward to reading it again this year!)

A sit down with Pippa t0 find out what it’s like to work with Santa!

I’m going to share more on this in the next few days …

I’ve been side tracked with getting on with the huge volume of orders that I need to get out and posted.

*This year each order takes me sooo much longer than every before, and I don’t mind because I love reading every letter and making up each letter parcel as perfectly as possible, but I don’t want to let anyone down, so I need to keep my head down and focused on the task so I don’t run out of time.

This year I have written a new letter called “believe” helping children to believe in Santa. I’ve been wanting to add this special letter to my collection for the past two years, so I am so proud and excited to say it’s finally here. I’ve been inspired by some beautiful stories and things I have read about this moment in children’s life. It’s a hard message to get right and I think that is why it has taken me so long to crack. But I finally have. And it’s beautiful (if I do say so myself).

Why a believe letter? In my journey or writing letters for Santa over the last six years I’ve learnt that there are plenty of older children who believe in Santa, or at least who desperately want to believe in Santa, and my letters have allowed them to feel connected to that belief and wonderment, even if just for a moment. But we all know that the older you get, the less the whole story makes sense in your brain, and that is just a natural (very sad) progression.

As I was driving home from a winter weekend away my seven year daughter and I had “the” full on chat about Santa. She asked me all the questions. I thought I was ready to handle them, I thought I was well qualified. But I wasn’t. The most interesting thing is deduced from the conversation was that I could hear in her voice she wanted me to tell her it was all true, she wanted to believe. So Bonnie, my darling, you were my finally motivator, this letter is for you this year and I hope it keeps the magic alive whilst acknowledging your concerns.

The “believe” letter is only going to be offered for children aged 7 years and older.

It explains what the magical feeling is at Christmas time, and powerful it is to believe in that feeling together.

It starts like this …

” … This year has been a bit befuddling, hasn’t it? That’s the feeling you get on the inside when things just don’t make sense, no matter how hard to you try to make them. 

There are a couple of things that have helped me during this most befuddling of years. It’s been thinking about all those people, elves and reindeer that I love. And it’s been imagining the joy and surprise on the faces of kids like you and Freddie all around the world when they wake up on Christmas morning. 

Do you know I was having a little chat to your Mum & Dad the other day and they said you were starting to feel a little befuddled about me and this whole Christmas Eve adventure? … “

As you know I don’t normally share my letters each year, it’s part of the magic for everyone. But this one is different. You can read the rest of the letter below, if you fancy.

When should you send this letter?

When you’ve really run the full length of the Santa magic in your house … it’s the last straw. I don’t think this letter will actually pop any bubbles, but it will nod to the child’s intelligence, and pending who the child is it may, or may not get them on the other side of the fence. My advice would be to leave it as long as you can …

You can order it here with all my other letters.

copyright LOVEFROMSANTA

This is your gentle reindeer nudge of a reminder that all letters from Santa need to be ordered EARLY this year. We are limited by production and postal capacity this year so we will be closing our orders down much earlier that ever before. I’d hate you to miss out on that magical touch this year.

All letters this year will be sent to the person who placed the order.

You will receive a boring looking white envelope marked as “Normal Mail” … just like the below pics …

Inside the boring looking white envelope you will find your special red envelopes with their letters tucked inside as well as some instructions from the Head Elf about what to do next!

100% Made in Australia!

Let me introduce Ari the woman behind the incredible Santa Sack and Christmas Stocking ranges I am lucky enough to sell every Christmas. Ari and I met way back when we first started out on our Christmas ventures and we’ve shared our journeys since.

The Christmas Santa Sack range she makes every year is like no other, 100% designed and made from scratch – by her in her home studio on the beautiful NSW Central Coast.

 Ari uses the best materials to make her textiles and prides herself on creating quality, unique and lasting items. All the cotton Santa Sack and Christmas stockings are all made using a SUPER heavy weight natural OEKO certified 100% cotton fabric and a beautiful thick quality cotton rope. The Santa Sacks have French seams to give extra strength and durability and she adds genuine stainless steel eyelets so that they will not rust or discolour. Ari hand screen prints in her studio too, using only non toxic water based inks, and the personalised details are embroidered with her own hand crafted designs. There’s a massive dose of love, care and TLC that goes into each item she makes too.

It’s no surprise that it’s only early October and she is flat tack already on her Christmas orders …!!

*I’ll share a video on instagram shortly giving you more of an insight into her studio and how each item is made.

Hard to believe, but it is only three months until Christmas. And for those like me who work in the land of creating made to order Christmas delights, that means it’s time for us to remind you that you need to get your Christmas Skates on if you are on the hunt for true treasures.

When I embarked on my Christmas business journey back in 2015 I was introduced to the cleverest of ladies, Ari, who lives up on the Central Coast of NSW. She makes the most gorgeous textiles, including a Christmas range of Santa Sacks and Stockings. This is coming to our 6th year of working together now. Ari’s textiles are all made by her in her home studio, she’s a perfectionist and a sucker for top quality environmentally friendly everything! Needless to say she spends all year planning and preparing for the crazy Christmas rush in order to meet the demand for her products.

This years range of Santa Sacks and Christmas Stockings is now live on my website. Anyone who has ordered these in the past knows two key things 1) they are absolute treasures 2) they sell out super quickly each year.

Have a browse through the collection, there’s so many options and choices to consider. Truly beautiful, handmade items that you you will love having on display in your home in the build up to that special Christmas Eve visit.

Are you a Cotton fan? Or are you more of a Linen Fan? So many beautiful options. Each design is highly personalised when you order it (which is why it takes weeks to get out to you). Oh and if there’s something you think you’d like but it’s not listed – ask away, we love those bespoke jobs!

Get yourself organised for December 25th now … 🙂

Below is a list of some of the most commonly asked questions, as well as the nitty gritty of how we do things (for those that like to know that level of detail). If there’s something that is not covered and you would like to know more, drop me a note!

Commonly asked questions:

How much does a personalised letter from Santa cost?

The cost of a special Letter sent from Santa is $12.95 per letter. There is a $2.30 P&P charge added at checkout per order (regardless of the number of letters)

For any orders of over 4 letters please contact me at pippa@lovefromsanta.com.au to chat about our your requirements – so I can be sure to make sure everyone gets something different & special.

Why should I buy from you?

I am a passionate believer myself, and so for every letter I make I take that passion and create something magical. I believe a letter from Santa should be full or wonder and amazement – nothing gimmicky or glitzy, just genuine childhood wonderment in a good old fashioned letter, that arrives in a good old fashioned way in your letter box (which is almost a novelty now). I’ve had so many customers tell me over the years that their children get their letters out and ask them to be read and re-read to them, they enjoy them so much.

All my letters are:

Beautifully designed and cleverly written with varied letter content so siblings receive different letters

Visually designed with a child in mind first, and then the adult. Full of fun colours, pics of Santa and of course lots to read! I like to think I’ve found the balance of what is visually appealing to kids, and too adults 🙂

My letters are different every year (of course) filled with tales from the North Pole and sprinkled with details about each child that only Santa would know. We always try to make sure there is at least one giggle per letter – Santa’s got a great sense  of humour and wonderful way with words.

I make an especially cute babies ‘First Christmas’ edition for all those children who are experiencing the delight of their first Christmas (they make the most special mementos or keepsakes to reflect back on over the years)

I offer the choice of whether the letter is from ‘Santa’ or a ‘Father Christmas’ – as you prefer

All letters arrive together in a white envelope address to the persons who placed the order. The white envelope is marked “Normal Mail” and looks all together very boring (intentionally!). Inside you will find the letter/s you ordered address to the recipient, sealed and ready for posting in your letter box close to Christmas, when you think the time is right!

My site utilises 256 bit SSL encryption through Paypal –  as safe as they come – and all your data is stored safely and privately as per my policy.

How do I place an order?

Ordering is easy. Simply complete the online order form. Be sure to check all of the information you enter is correct, as it will appear as you have entered it (spelling mistakes and all)!

Secure payments can be made using you Credit or Debit Card (via Paypal).

How do I personalise my child’s letter from Santa?

During the order process, you’ll be asked some questions about your child. These answers will tell us things only you and Santa would know. We then customise your child’s letter based on the information you provide us with.

Do you offer a Santa letter for newborns?

We sure do, we offer a special, extremely cute, letter that has been written just for newborns – Baby’s First Christmas. You can choose this letter during the ordering process. It’s one of my favourite letters actually!

Postage details

All letters will have an additional $2.30 postage and packaging fee added at the checkout this year. We are posting our letters ahead of Christmas this year so that we can avoid postal delays. Note this charge is per order, not per letter.

Letters will have a special NEW “North Pole” stamp attached to them this year – super cute and totally authentic 🙂

I have more than 1 child, will they receive the same letter from Santa?

Nope, they’ll each get a letter that is different and then sprinkled with their own special details. Each letter has totally different news from the North Pole – I wouldn’t have it any other way! You can also choose from 3 of my beautiful designs for your letters. These are water colour paintings especially created for me and Love From Santa. Each child (up to 3 children) will automatically be sent a different letter so long as they are ordered on the same order form.

If you have more than 4 children please contact me so I can be sure to send them all different letters – as best we can!

How do I make changes to my order?

Once your order has been submitted, you have 24 hours to make any changes after this if you need to make changes to your order, there will be a $5.50 change fee incurred.

Please contact us immediately so we can make the changes you require.

(Note: It is important that you contact us within 24 hours of placing your order to make any necessary changes.)

When will we receive our letter/s?

We are NOT sending the letters like we normally do this year – you will receive them sent address to the person who ordered them in a big white, plain looking envelope.

Santa letters will be written and despatched as they are ordered – we are hoping to work to a two week turnaround time.

Please, please do let us know if you are worried that your letter has been lost – or just hasn’t turned up, the more notice I get with this, the easier it is for me to solve and avoid Christmas disappointment

We are still heavily reliant on the snail mail postal system, so please have patience with us and then Posties esp in a Pandemic 🙂

*Note that for destinations outside of Australia we will endeavour to stick to these timings as best we can, however please understand that we have even less control over local posties around the world

How do I know if my order went through?

Once you’ve completed the ordering process, you’ll receive a confirmation email with order details. Paypal will also send you a confirmation email which contains your order details, along with your transaction number and receipt. The receipt will reference our business name, Love From Santa. PLEASE remember to pay, if you don’t pay, your order will not be processed as we have not recognised it as a finalised order.

Be sure to add the @lovefromsanta.com.au domain to your SAFE SENDERS list in your email software! This will ensure you receive important emails regarding your order.

Do you send Santa letters to countries other than Australia and New Zealand?

This is a commonly asked question. We sure do! International orders will close much earlier this year though. ALL orders going outside of Australia will leave Australia no later than 16th of November – so please ensure you place your order as early as possible to ensure your letter arrives on time.

If you would like to order letters for destinations other than Australia, it is important that you place a seperate order for these letters (1 order per destination only). Please include letters travelling to the same country within 1 order.

2020 letter ordering deadlines

Orders for letter will open earlier, and close earlier this year due to the Pandemic and how we anticipate it to continue affecting the postal services.

Make sure that you place your order by the deadlines below to ensure your letter arrives in plenty of time!

Why didn’t I receive my email confirmation?

If you did not get the confirmation page at the end of the ordering process, the email receipt may have been sent to your ‘SPAM’ folder. If you have any concerns or questions with your order, simply contact us. I will get back to you in a jiffy.

Be sure to add the @lovefromsanta.com.au domain to your SAFE SENDERS list in your email software! This will ensure you receive important emails regarding your order.

Can I receive a discount if I order more than 1 letter?

The cost of a Santa letter is $12.95 per letter. I am a small business doing it mostly for the love of it. For any orders of over 10 letters please contact me at pippa@lovefromsanta.com.au.

Do you have any other Christmas inspiration?

We sure do! Loads of it. We LOVE Christmas. Check out our blogs posts, our instagram and FB pages – so many ideas in there!

General

How secure is my Credit Card payment online?
Extremely. We use the Paypal processing system to ensure your security.

What forms of payment do you accept?
You can pay with a credit card (Visa or Mastercard) or via your Paypal account. All payments are processed securely using Paypal.

What currency will I be charged it?
All prices are listed in Australian Dollars. We reserve the right to change prices at our discretion.

What will my credit card statement show?
Your statement will show your purchase as being from “Love From Santa”.

How do you use my contact information?
We treat our customer’s information with absolute respect and confidentiality. We will only use your information in relation to fulfilling your Love From Santa order and will never share or sell this information to a third party. You can read our Privacy Policy here.

If there’s another Q&A you think I should add to my commonly asked questions list please let me know!

That is my key advice. Christmas in a pandemic will be a Christmas like none of us have every experienced before. But I am hopeful it will bring with it’s special Christmas touch, no matter the new circumstances we are all under.

The last minute madness that is normal Christmas behaviour might have to be re-thought however. For all of us online orderers, we need to get ahead of the game. The postal systems are sluggish at Christmas in a good year, and those of us working in the online retail space know it’s going be really challenged this year. So let’s not waste a previous minute deliberating our choices, make your orders, tick off the lists and get organised for Christmas 2020 early this year.

My Santa Sacks and Christmas Stockings are open for business. It’s this time every year when I look through them all, and just sigh in awe at the cool-ness of them all. So beautifully made, so strong, the perfect size, and just so Christmas! I am so lucky to sell this beautiful collection that the clever Ari makes every year (she’s based about an hour from me on the beautiful central coast of NSW). BUT this year more than ever you need to get your orders in and get organised for Christmas early, we don’t have the luxury of time at all this year.

Have a browse through the collection on my website, and follow my on Instagram to get updates regarding stock levels and cut off dates (you might also find some Christmas ideas and inspiration you like too).

Get your Christmas game on now 🙂

This is a link to the 2020 order form, for approved people to use only … if you are not sure if you are an approved person, please ask me. I don’t want to sell you a product I can’t provide 🙂

Letter ordered on this link will be posted with express post on Friday 4th of Dec – to Australian addresses (only). The mail will arrive wc 7th of December, and will be trackable.

This is the BEST Christmas Craft to do with your kids

This is such a fun and easy thing to do with your kids. Thank you @anneke_hau for this wonderful recipe and inspiration!

I made this with my kids a few weeks ago, and the only thing I would add is that it took a bit more cooking – you really do need them to brown on one side, so they are not brittle and break. And I used hair spray to seal mine!

Ours our Christmas tree decorations and gift tags for presents …

Dough Recipe