I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a very different year to what we could possibly have anticipated! With no idea what's going to happen in December (yes we're meant to come out of lockdown on the 2nd but I don't think you can bank on anything right now) we're all having to get creative with gift-buying and sending. In England a lot of retail shops are currently shut and we're not *really* meant to be going out unnecessarily, so I'm sure that like us a lot of you will be looking at buying online. Of course we want to support small businesses as much as possible too (Sunday lunch delivered to us by the local pub - it'd be rude not to!) but it's really hard to know what to get sometimes, isn't it?! We have put together gift guides before, but this year's felt more important and relevant than ever. If you think it might be useful please do pass it on and get your friends/family to have a read. 🤗
Just FYI as well - do let us know if it's a gift so that we can *not* put the invoice/receipt in the parcel! If you want to it be a total surprise, we can also print the return address without Eden Cottage Yarns on it, and we can not put an ECY sticker on the parcel!
1. Gift Cards - Our gift cards consist of an email containing a voucher code. When you buy a gift card you will receive the email which you can then forward on or to make it extra special you could copy out the code into a card or letter. Our gift cards do not expire and can be used for purchasing any items on our website. This is a great way of gifting when you have literally no idea what the person might want, or if you know they're particular about what they like!
2. Gift Selection - This is ideal if you want to buy a yarny gift for someone where you do have an idea what they like, but are struggling with too many options. Simply select the package value and provide as much information as possible about the sort of things the recipient likes (eg. are they a knitter or a crocheter, what colours we should avoid, do they regularly make socks/shawls etc). We will then take this information and put together a parcel for them. We can either send it to you to give/send to them, or we can post it directly to them - do let us know if you want us to *not* put the invoice in the parcel!
3. Books - Books of patterns make a great gift as the recipient will get hours of enjoyment flicking through the designs, considering possible yarns to use, knitting/crocheting the item and finally getting use from the finished object. Cat Knits by Marna Gilligan is perfect for the knitters while Three from the Top is a lovely selection of three crochet cardigans from The Crochet Project.
4. Kits/Add-on kits - Our kits come in two forms; Kits contain a pattern, the yarn required (normally our mill dyed yarns, Milburn 4ply/DK and Whitfell DK/Chunky), a project bag and a sachet of soak. Add-on kits give the added flexibility for you to choose from all our yarns including hand dyed yarns. For this you will need to purchase both the Add-on kit and enough yarn as stated in the pattern requirements. We will then make this into a kit for you.
5. Yarnlings™ - Everyone loves Yarnlings, either in a sweetie jar of 15 balls or a lucky dip glassine bag of 5. They are lovely as a decorative feature but also are really handy for smaller projects, stripes, sampling lots of yarns/colours, and colourwork. They don't have yarn info on them because they are randomised, so they are each a complete surprise.
6. Secret Santa! We've been seeing orders come in that are for secret Santa gifts, which I think is a brilliant idea! Because you can get a pattern or a smaller book plus a lucky dip of Yarnlings for about £20 (inc VAT) this is a really handy option if you are doing secret Santa for a crocheter or knitter. Just pop the recipient's name and address in as the shipping address, and please tell us in the comments box so that we know not to include the receipt. 🧑🎄🎅
Any purchase can be prepared as a gift for you, just let us know in the order notes and we will make sure not to include an invoice with the order. If you put the recipient's address in as the shipping address during checkout we will send the parcel straight to them. We can even add a message on a blank ECY card from you if you like.
So that covers buying an item for a recipient but how about those of you wanting to make items to gift? There is still plenty of time to get cracking on some quick makes.
Chunky yarn works up so quickly that you could easily work through a few projects in no time at all! From our patterns I would recommend Brigg, Fellsider and Langrigg. All three use a single skein of chunky yarn each making lovely winter warmer accessories. Use a skein of hand dyed Pendle Chunky to make a super special gift!
Finally: please do remember that postal services around the world are under a great deal of pressure (already - and it's mid-November as we type!) and shipping is taking longer than normal. Our ParcelForce delivery man said just this morning (16th of Nov) that it's already as busy as the week before Christmas now. 😬 This will only get worse over the Christmas period so please do allow plenty of time for shipments to arrive to avoid disappointment.