Month: December 2025

We thought we would have a look back this year at some of the history behind the traditional UK Christmas. Where did these well-worn, much-loved practices that we return to year on year originate, and what is it that covers Christmas with such a strong sense of nostalgia?

Well, perhaps no other period in history has shaped the way we celebrate Christmas in the UK quite like the Victorian era. Many of the traditions we now think of as timeless – and which continue to inspire festive arts, crafts and handmade gifts today – emerged during Queen Victoria’s long reign from 1837 to 1901. From decorated trees and Christmas cards to gift-giving and family gatherings, the Victorian Christmas laid the foundations for the season we recognise and cherish today, a legacy that still covers much of how we celebrate.

Before Victoria came to the throne, Christmas was often a far less cosy affair. Celebrations were limited, sometimes rowdy, and rarely centred on family life. Many people worked straight through the festive period, with little time or money to spare for leisure or celebration. By the end of the 19th century, however, Christmas had become the most important annual celebration in the British calendar. Industrialisation brought new wealth, especially to the growing middle classes, while changing attitudes placed greater emphasis on home, children and charity. The royal family played a crucial role in setting the tone, with their customs widely reported and eagerly copied.

For much of the population before 1837, there were no Christmas cards, no crackers, no decorated trees and no turkey dinners. Most people did not receive time off work, and festive meals were modest at best. As factories and industries expanded, however, families in England and Wales increasingly gained the ability to take time away from work to celebrate Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Boxing Day itself takes its name from the boxes in which servants and working people collected gifts or money from wealthier households – a reminder of the strong charitable element that covers the Victorian Christmas story.

Gift-giving as we know it today truly flourished during this era. While presents had previously been exchanged at New Year, Christmas became the focus for family gifts, particularly for children. Advances in manufacturing meant toys could be mass-produced, making dolls, games, books and clockwork toys more widely available – at least for middle-class families. Adults tended to receive practical or modest gifts such as books or fruit. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert helped popularise the tradition through their “present tables” at Windsor Castle, where unwrapped gifts were laid out for the family, much as they were for royal birthdays. Victoria’s diaries record the many gifts exchanged, from jewellery and artworks to sculptures and paintings. Particularly charming are the handmade items she received from her children and grandchildren, including embroidery, drawings and handicrafts – a tradition that still resonates with makers and crafters today.

The rise of Christmas cards was another Victorian innovation. The introduction of the Penny Post in 1840 transformed communication, allowing letters and cards to be sent anywhere in Britain for a single penny. This simple reform paved the way for the first Christmas cards, which quickly grew in popularity. When the cost was reduced further with the introduction of the halfpenny post in 1870, card-sending became a widespread festive habit. Early cards were often beautifully illustrated and reflected the era’s love of design, print and decoration.

Food traditions also evolved significantly. Although turkeys had been brought to Britain from the Americas long before Victoria’s reign, they were initially too expensive for most households. Regional traditions varied: roast beef was common in the north of England, goose was favoured in London and the south, and poorer families often made do with rabbit. At royal Christmas feasts, Queen Victoria’s table featured beef and even roast swan. Over time, however, turkey rose in popularity, aided by royal approval. Victoria herself came to enjoy turkey at Christmas, and gradually it became the centrepiece of festive dinners across the country.

Christmas trees, another enduring symbol of the season, gained prominence during the Victorian era. Although Queen Charlotte, the German wife of King George III, had introduced the tradition earlier, it was Prince Albert who truly popularised it after bringing a tree to Windsor Castle in the 1840s. The royal household reportedly had multiple trees – one for the Queen and Prince Albert, others for their children and for the Queen’s mother. In 1848, the Illustrated London News published an image of the royal family gathered around a decorated tree, and the fashion quickly spread. With it came a demand for ornaments made from glass, metal and brightly coloured materials designed to shimmer in candlelight. Mass production and improved printing made decorations more affordable, while many families combined shop-bought items with handmade ornaments and edible treats tied on with ribbon.

The Victorians also gave us Christmas crackers. Invented in 1846 by London sweet maker Tom 

Smith, crackers evolved from simple paper-wrapped sweets into the familiar festive staple containing mottos, paper hats, small gifts and a cheerful bang. Music, too, flourished during this period, with many beloved carols written in the mid-19th century, including O Come, All Ye Faithful, Once in Royal David’s City and O Little Town of Bethlehem.

Together, these traditions reflect a Victorian love of creativity, craftsmanship and togetherness – values that continue to inspire Christmas celebrations, handmade gifts and festive crafts to this day.

From all of us at Craft Insurance, we’d like to echo some of the sentiments of a creative, Victorian-style Christmas and send heartfelt goodwill from our family to all of our customers. 2025 has been a year of hard work and progress, and we are looking forward to the New Year and everything it promises. We wish you and your families a truly wonderful Christmas and New Year.

As we hurtle toward 2025’s end while preparing for the arrival of 2026, many artists and crafters will be considering the best ways to reach their audience and sell more handmade items. Most craft sellers will be aware of the opportunities that the internet offers but not all may know how to take full advantage of them. In this blog, we have put together some suggestions to help both the unititiated and the seasoned online seller who wants to grow their craft business to make 2026 the year that they take their place in a successful community that is selling crafts online.

What is best for those who are new to selling crafts online?

For those who are new to selling crafts online, Etsy is a good place to start.

Etsy is a marketplace platform where customers come to shop for handmade and creative products. If you have never sold on Etsy before, you’ll be relieved to know that only minimal technical knowledge is required to get going. You start by creating an account and opening an online “shop”. There you can list your products with photos, descriptions, and prices.

The Etsy platform handles everything regarding search visibility and basic payment processisng which is good news! The other good news is that Etsy offers you a built-in audience and low upfront costs.

Etsy also offers you the option of running Etsy Ads for which you can control the budget. You have to pay extra for the ads but the minimum spend is actually only £1 per day. The ads will appear in Etsy search and on external platforms (like Google).

For those starting on their online journey, it’s worth noting that, with Etsy, competition is high

And you have limited control over branding and customer data (with your own website you can build and establish your brand thoroughly and also use your own site analytics to understand your audience better.)

What about those who want to grow their online business by selling more crafts online?

For those who have experience of using online selling platforms such as Etsy, you’ll have had the opportunity to test and see which of your handmade products are the best online sellers before investing in your own website or Google Ads. This is great news!

In order to increase your online presence and start selling to a wider audience with more control over how you grow your online business there are options that Google offers to businesses for free.

One option is to start selling via Google Merchant Centre with Google Ads

Google Merchant Centre is not a marketplace itself like Etsy, what it does is to connect your product listings to Google Shopping Ads and drive traffic to your own website or online store.

Needless to say, you will need to have your own website, and when you have one, you will need to set up a Google Ads account. The website might cost you something to build (there is a wide range of possibilities and prices available). However, setting up a Google Ads account will cost you nothing! It’s relatively straightforward, just persevere and reach out to Google when you get stuck. There is a lot of online help and advice when it comes to Google Ads, especially on YouTube. You’ll need to set up a Google Ad Shopping campaign but there are a few steps you need to go through to do this:

You need to set up an online shop linked to your website and a lot of people report that “Shopify” is the easiest to use. Your site must clearly show prices in GBP (£), shipping costs (UK + international if offered), returns & refunds policy (Consumer Contracts Regulations), contact details (email required; address recommended) and offer a secure checkout (HTTPS)

Then it’s time to create a Google Merchant Centre Account. Again, this is free of charge! You sign up with your Google account, select the United Kingdom as your target country, then verify and claim your website. You’ll need to enter your business details (sole trader is fine)

You’ll have to list your products. For each handmade product, you’ll need the following product info: Product title (include “handmade” naturally); Description (materials, size, care instructions);

Price in GBP; Stock status (in stock / made to order); High-quality images (minimum 100×100px, ideally much larger). Lastly, and very important for handmade items, you will not need to add a GTIN / barcode! Google will ask for one and reject products that don’t have one but you can specify that the item is handmade.

Then it’s time to create and upload your product feed

Your product feed sends product data from your website to Google. The Shopify & YouTube app is rumoured to be the easiest to achieve this. Once you have set up your feed you can set up shipping in Merchant Centre and add UK shipping rates (flat rate or weight-based). Only add international shipping if you ship abroad (obviously). It’s important to ensure that shipping prices match your website exactly.

If you are not VAT registered you can show your prices without VAT, so do not add VAT in the Merchant Centre. If you are VAT registered then prices must include VAT with VAT consistent across your site and feed.

If you turn on “Free Listings” in Merchant Centre your handmade items can appear on Google Shopping at no cost! This means slower traffic, but zero ad spend! Great if you want to test Google visibility.

Finally, it’s time to run your Google Shopping or Performance Max Ads. Connect your Merchant Centre to your Google Ads campaign and you are away. A typical starter budget for ad spend is £5–£10 per day.

Focus on your best-selling or high-margin handmade items and use specific titles such as “Handmade Oak Jewellery Box – UK Made”. You can monitor product approval by checking diagnostics in Merchant Centre regularly. When products are approved they will start to appear online when people are searching for items of that nature. N.b. Niche products (with specific rather than generic names) perform best.

Phew! Now, after all that hard work you can sit back and wait for the sales. It is a bit complex to set it all up but if you can push through, the rewards are waiting for you on the other side. You’ll have full control over branding and pricing and your business will scale. Just be aware that ad spend is required but you can spend more at times of the year when you expect people to buy (Christmas for example) and your ads will become more visible and then you can drop your spend at other times.

So, to all those planning to take the leap in 2026 and start selling crafts online, we hope that some of these tips will help you to sail gracefully through digital waters! And if you need help with insurance for your online craft business, please do give us a call and Samantha or Naomi will be delighted to help you.

What is your immediate, gut reaction when someone talks about the wonders of memory making at Christmas time? A cosy glow, a sinking feeling, a sense of loss, a mental menu plan…These are but a few of the multitude of emotional responses we might have. While the Christmas season does offer us many opportunities to meet up and enjoy spending time with family and friends, we want to acknowledge that this is not always a wholly warm and joyful expectation. Our world appears somewhat fractured, many relationships are under pressure, and we can feel fragmented or torn in different directions. The expectation of fun and laughter with friends and of deeply fulfilling family time can heighten any pain we feel around these areas.

How then do we navigate this discrepancy between the expectations all around us and the sadness or stress within us? Can we still enjoy Christmas and the making of memories? Maybe part of the answer is in rearranging our expectations. If getting together with family is always stressful, are there any tweaks you can make to help the day run more smoothly? If you have a child for whom Christmas is very overwhelming, what practical steps can you take to reduce the overload, ensure some good sensory input and manage anxiety? If you have lost a loved one, how can you hold this and yet still enjoy time with those dear to you? Christmas might need to be different, but it can still be good.

Traditions, habits and customs are a part of Christmas for most of us. We each have our own, some passed down from our own childhoods and some new ones we’ve initiated as adults. Traditions engender a sense of identity; “in our family we….” or “every Christmas Eve we….” They root us in our families and communities and draw us together with an invisible cord. They give a sense of security and stability in what seems to be an increasingly unstable world.

Why not do something different with the youngest people in your family to kickstart a new tradition? It’s good to encourage children to look outwards at this time of year. One simple tradition which could be woven into your family is a ‘Smile Jar’. This is so simple to put together. All you need is an old jam jar, some crafting lollipop sticks and maybe a ribbon, gems or some glass paint. Decorate the jar and then write a caring suggestion on each stick that will create a warm memory. This could be ‘hug someone’, ‘give your sibling a compliment’ or more time-consuming tasks such as ‘make a card for a teacher’, ‘put together a care package for someone you know is having a hard time’. Any of these activities is guaranteed to bring a smile to someone at Christmas and it doesn’t have to cost the child a penny.

Seasons change in our lives and as some traditions fade, maybe as children grow up, we have an opportunity to create new ones. Often the best are those which are small and inexpensive; hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, baking Christmas cookies, gathering greenery to make a wreath or decorate the house, or listening to some of John Rutter’s wonderful carols.

The years go by so swiftly and it’s important to record the memories we make. While we take photos of big events, it’s often the small, humble traditions woven into the rhythms of of lives which create the most heart-warming memories. It’s these ones which we may not always capture on camera. However, we could make a point of doing so this Christmas and then pop them in a frame to enjoy over the coming year.

Picture frames make great gifts, especially at Christmas or other significant dates and festivals e.g. Valentine’s Day, birthdays and anniversaries. A frame is very versatile and can be made out of a wide variety of materials, from traditional wood through to resin, a comparatively recent innovation. They also lend themselves to personalisation, with names and dates or with bespoke colours and design.

Resin is a comparatively new ‘kid on the block’ when it comes to handmade crafts, and with the rise of resin and art and its growth in popularity, resin picture frames could be a good stock item to have over the coming year. The chemical reaction which produces the epoxy resin used today in resin and art was discovered less than a century ago. Its versatility and creative potential were harnessed by innovative crafters and since then we have seen an exponential leap in its popularity worldwide and in the imaginative ways in which it is used. Resin and art have become firmly established in the crafting world and its boundless potential and glorious, glossy products make it a winner for many.

Wood, resin and a number of other mediums all work well to craft picture frames. An advantage of wooden frames is their environmental credentials, so if this is the material with which you work, make sure to highlight its sustainability, whether that be reclaimed wood, driftwood or wood which comes from well-managed forestry. Consider your customer base and let your creativity run wild with a range of beautiful frames. With so many moments to capture, you might consider multi-frames which will hold a number of photos and make perfect presents, especially if filled with delightful and heartwarming photos.

Traditions, whether they involve favourite festive food, special decorations or long-held household rituals all help to cultivate a family culture which is totally unique. They are like a glue which hold you together during the tough times and add sparkle to your celebrations during the festive times. They are there in all their familiarity to welcome adult children home and give us a soft landing into which we can sink back as we take time out from the pressures of normal life.

This Christmas, let’s enjoy our much-loved traditions and begin one or two new ones. Let’s immerse ourselves in all that is good and beautiful at this time of year and make precious memories that we can carry in our hearts (and in some carefully created handcrafted picture frames) throughout the coming year.

Imagine a couple of scenarios. Firstly, a shopping mall three Saturdays before Christmas. The stress is almost tangible as you jostle with the crowds to reach a long queue at the till. Piped music blares out the festive songs you have already been hearing for a month. Central heating is blown out through regularly placed vents and garish lights and decorations assault your senses in every shop you enter. The cafes are hot and overcrowded so by the time you get home, you’re thirsty, tired and somewhat overwrought. Your bank account is considerably dented, and you wonder if your purchases will really bring the joy you had intended.

Next, turn your imagination to a local Christmas craft and food fair. A towering Christmas tree, sparkling with lights, adorns the town square and underneath it the Salvation Army brass band are playing age-old carols. You join other shoppers in throwing some cash into their collection, knowing it will be going towards feeding those without permanent homes this winter. You slowly wander around the different stalls, chatting to some of the sellers you know from regular markets. It is cold, and the wind bites at your face and fingers. Time for some sustenance. You have a choice of locally produced, delicious treats to eat and a steaming mug of fairly traded coffee. As you restart your shopping, you enjoy browsing the gorgeous and individually crafted products as well as choosing some perfect gifts. There is a hot brazier out of which rises the sweet fragrance of roasting chestnuts, so you grab a bagful to eat on your way home. As you head off, you feel tired but elated and inspired. It’s been a fun outing; you’ve brought some gifts which you know will be enjoyed and you’ve put your pounds into the local economy. 

Which one of these sounds more appealing? We may be biased, but the second one wins hands down over here at Craft Insurance. Not only is the shopping experience much more enjoyable and enriching in itself, but a gift from an independent producer means so much more than one bought from a large chain, and in addition, it will contribute directly to the local economy. 

If you are a newly fledged crafter and are wondering where to sell handmade products thisChristmas and into next year, here are a few ideas. You might still be able to squeeze into a small Christmas fair organised by a local group with the purpose of fundraising. It could be a school, Scout group, a church or any other community-focused group. In these instances, table prices are generally very reasonable, and you know your money is going to a good cause. It’s worth finding out the age range/average budget of clientele as this will direct your product range. Often the event will attract families with young children, so pocket money purchases and other lower priced items will sell well. 

Another location to add to your list of where to sell handmade products would be a Farmers’ Market. These are often bustling and buzzing with shoppers, intentional about buying good food fresh from source and directly supporting their local farmers. Many markets have a few stalls reserved for other local producers, including crafters. In the run up to Christmas they are especially convivial affairs, often with live music and plenty of festive cheer. Customers know that buying in this way will ensure their hard-earned cash is ploughed straight back into the local economy, thus helping small businesses to keep going, keep providing employment and keep producing high quality, locally made wares to be enjoyed.

A third venue to consider when you’re looking for where to sell handmade products is in small, local, independent stores. Buying some shelf space is likely to cost you more than a table at a local fair or market, but if footfall is good, it could be worth the investment. The advantage is that your products are available all year round, and not just on certain days or during specific seasons. Furthermore, selling is not quite so weather dependent!

Buying local is gaining traction and that’s not just because it is a better shopping experience. A locally made gift means so much more than a mass-produced one. Each item is totally unique and tells a story. Each is a testament to its creator’s talent and hard work and is often a reflection of local culture and heritage. 

Buying locally made gifts this Christmas will, more often than not, mean you can purchase with a clear conscience. Most small producers have much better environmental credentials than large companies, sourcing raw materials locally or if from further afield, ethically. They will have lower carbon footprints within both their manufacture and marketing and will often use recycled products or even upcycle whole items.  As we have said before, the money goes right back into the local economy, boosting small businesses, encouraging local artisans to flourish and keeping traditional crafting skills alive.

In an age when many of the foundations we have historically put our trust in feel somewhat unstable, there is something very appealing about rooting ourselves in the richness of our regional heritage and traditions; skills and customs which have been passed on from one generation to the next and have withstood many upheavals and storms.

So, this year let’s celebrate the host of crafters who are among our nation’s dependable independents. Let’s both create and give gifts which are unique, well made and come with a story behind them. Let’s support and help build strong local communities and networks by putting our pounds directly into the local economy. Let’s choose shopping experiences which are enjoyable and uplifting and give gifts which are thoughtful, creative and support our local artisans. Merry Christmas to the wonderful network of gifted crafters across Britain, our dependable independents!