Where has all the Christmas gone?

If you have been browsing the new 2013-14 Annual Catalogue, you might have noticed a distinct absence of all things Christmas-themed.  Never fear!  There are a range of stamps still available to order from the Autumn-Winter Catalogue (with the amazing ornament on the cover).  If you click on the image above, you will be taken to my Mediafire PDF page, just click the 'view' button, or choose 'download' to save to your computer for printing etc.  These will tide you over until we get our new Holiday Catalogue, which starts on August 29th, right in time for cranking up Christmas card production!

 There are two reasons for this move - firstly to make room in our main catalogue for a greater range of stamps and accessories for year round use, and secondly, to offer a wider selection of seasonal and holiday themed items in a separate catalogue.

There's more Halloween goodies inside, as we now have exactly the same selection as the USA.  Love it, or hate it, Halloween is growing in popularity here in Australia.  And, if you would rather make some cute treats hand-stamped with love rather than contribute to plastic commercialism and mass sugar overload, well now you can!  Hate it passionately?  No problem - many of the products make great masculine cards and gifts with a bit of a twist, which is always a good thing.

There's also a range of Thanksgiving-themed items.  I do wish that this tradition of being grateful for what we have, and gathering with friends and family to enjoy each others company WOULD take off in Australia!  It's a unifying occasion, something our multicultural society would benefit from.  We're also an agricultural nation, and would give us all an occasion to recognise the efforts of Australian farmers in providing us with such a bounty.  We're a lucky country, and a dedicated day to express our gratitude ahead of the avalanche of consumerism that Christmas has become would be welcome, in my opinion.  I also like the idea that Thanksgiving gifts, to friends, neighbours, volunteers etc are traditionally home-made, crafts of all kinds and baking.  I think we could all benefit from more of this!  Perhaps you'll join me, starting this year, in expressing our gratitude to those that fill our lives with happiness of all kinds.  Tell me what you think - I welcome your comments and observations below.

Thanksgiving is the great American unifier of holidays because unlike Christmas or Easter, it is something everyone can appreciate and participate in, precisely because it is not faith-based. It is also a holiday that has its roots in the acceptance of those with different religious views, as the settlers used the help of the non-Christian Native Americans in learning to work and harvest the land in this new country.  - See more at: http://secular.org/blogs/Lauren%20Youngblood?page=2#sthash.J2rOV9u5.dpuf

Thanksgiving is the great American unifier of holidays because unlike Christmas or Easter, it is something everyone can appreciate and participate in, precisely because it is not faith-based. It is also a holiday that has its roots in the acceptance of those with different religious views, as the settlers used the help of the non-Christian Native Americans in learning to work and harvest the land in this new country.  - See more at: http://secular.org/blogs/Lauren%20Youngblood?page=2#sthash.J2rOV9u5.dpuf