Christmas – it’s the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ – I mean when else can you acceptedly drink champagne at 5am as the kids open their presents whilst still wishing you’d not drank the last bit of Santa’s port just a few hours earlier? It’s the time of the year where many of us stop work, close the doors, and just for a short period of time focus on the people we love and the things that we sometimes don’t give enough attention to in our pursuit of both personal and business success.
I’ve tried to do things a little bit differently this year, and by different, I mean rather than hit the internet and buy all my gifts in one hour long Black Friday hit, I’ve decided to shop local.
Whilst as a family we are very committed to our local high street, shopping with the butcher and baker most weeks, and not to forget the local wine shop (important to keep them going, hic), we all have that tendency to hit the online shops.
So, this year, whether it be gifts for my family or our corporate gifts at Genesis Homes (Watt’s Christmas tea and coffee, Lakes Distillery and cococo chocolate makers); we’ve gone local. There are so many options out there when you get a look around, that’s what surprised me the most. This county offers so much in food such as an array of the finest cheeses from Cartmel, Mr Vikki’s home-made curry sauces and pickles, or my local deli, Shills, with so much to offer in foods and wines – we have fantastic local suppliers and shops throughout the county. If its beers you’re after, the county is blessed with some of the best breweries and micro brewers with most doing a Christmas gift pack. Clever crafts in abundance, why not when we have so much here to source them from, not forgetting ‘Herdy’ and their cuddly toys (look out for them in our buyers hampers from next year!)
Shopping local is something which aligns with one of our key business strategies at Genesis Homes in building relationships with our suppliers and endeavouring where possible for them to be local.
Supporting local businesses brings so much more prosperity to the local community, with most of the monies swirling from one local business to another in the supply chain.
Merry Christmas everyone. I’m looking forward to spending time with my children and family and friends. I hope that your Christmas is filled with fun, laughter and special moments.
Oh and rest up… we’ve got another big year ahead of us.
Nicky Gordon, Managing Director