So Yes I was one of those people. I did queue outside the local toy store for two hours when there was talk about a second lock down. This year I feel that we have all been through enough without having to explain to the kids that Santa couldn’t manage to get them just what they wanted as he was self-isolating!
This virus has turned our world upside down, we have had holidays cancelled, I think I have actually lost hair trying to home-school and not once have my three gorgeous kids complained. They had just taken it in their stride and not blinked an eye at all the change or things they have had to give up this year. The only thing we have heard is how they have missed hugging their grandparents and how they can’t wait for a sleepover at Nana’s when this is all over. So for that reason and to celebrate the fact that we have all got through this madness healthy and feeling very grateful that we still have all our loved ones in good health, I am determined to have the BEST CHRISTMAS YET!!
It may be a different Christmas but it is still going to be fun. It is still going to include lots of presents, too much food and hopefully, fingers crossed will have a few very special people around our table this year. For that I feel happy and excited and hopeful!
With all that in mind, I had asked the kids to write their lists extra early and to write them a little different. I asked them to put down one present that they wished for and to list things that they would love to spend the day doing. My son wrote down how he would love a bike so we could all spend Christmas day going for a family cycle together. My other son wrote down that he wanted an xbox so we could play family games together indoors for when it gets too cold to go outside . My daughter wrote down that she wanted a camera so that she could take photos of all our family memories over Christmas and the rest of the year. I was in tears reading each list as you can imagine.
They asked for a Christmas day filled with togetherness, laughter, a time that was making another family memory. So that is why I got out of bed extra early and I queued outside the shop waiting for its doors to open. I was one of those people that was reported about in the papers!
So here I am now with a bike, a camera, an Xbox and the worst fear that one of them will open the garage door and discover their surprises all too soon!! I wake in the middle of the night thinking I hear one of them out of bed and jump. So today I took out the laptop and I booked a storage unit. A 16 square foot unit that fits all inside so I can lock away the surprises until the Big Day. I know I won’t stop there too, this lock down will probably make me shop online even more and I can actually get all my Christmas presents delivered directly to Space Storage so Santa can breathe a sigh of relief.
This year has been hard enough so this little bit of joy has really made me feel hopeful for the days ahead. Thanks Space Storage for not letting Covid-19 spoil this Christmas Magic!
As the final days approach before all the madness, excitement and Christmas magic starts, I need a few of my own Christmas miracles to pull all the final bits together to ensure another magical Christmas this year.
For Christmas dinner we have 10 adults and 8 kids, dear Santa please send me a bigger house to fit them all or a bigger table to fit them all or more chairs for the small table I have. So my thoughts to solve this plan is to pop along to Space Storage and pop any unnecessary clutter into my unit to make my house feel bigger, while I’m there maybe the garden table and chairs in my unit can double as the kids Christmas table! Problem solved.
Christmas night we have 4 extra adults staying and three kids, dear Santa I need two extra bedrooms at least for my house, a few extra beds and enough duvets and pillows to keep everyone warm. I can clear out the spare room of the gym equipment, bring the sleeping bags from our camping equipment in our storage unit and I know we have boxes filled with duvets and pillows I can bring from my unit.
Under my tree is filled with gifts for each of my guests to bring home, dear Santa I wish I had something where each guests can place all their gifts to take home. I can pop into Space and get some boxes and we can decorate them with Christmas wrapping paper so they can fill their box and it can be an activity to keep the kids busy while I get the house sorted for all the visitors.
Now where to hide the gifts….Dear Santa please can I have a lock to keep the children’s curious minds out of the shed so they can wake up to a house full of surprises. Oh I just remembered something that Space Storage also sell locks so something else I can pick up when I am there.
Dear Santa at Christmas we reflect on how lucky we are, for this beautiful house we have and the warm beds and smiling faces so we are pretty sorted for Christmas wishes and it seems like Space Storage have all the other stuff sorted.
Merry Christmas from all the staff at Space Storage and we wish you a healthy, safe and wonderful 2019 and remember we are here for all your storage needs.
Being a parent comes with huge responsibility and one of those is keeping the magic of Christmas alive in the hearts and minds of all our kids for as long as possible. So with each passing year the magic of Christmas is a little harder to create and you can almost see the children trying to figure out how it all works. It is all resting on your shoulders to ensure that each night the elf is moved, the lists are written and taken from the fire place before they wake up and that not one present is discovered before the big day.
The first four or five years came and went without a glimmer of doubt or suspicion but as they get older you can see their mind begin to question the magic just a little and you begin to feel the massive pressure to be on your top game and keep this Christmas magic alive as long as possible.
From the moment the first add for toys is on the tv, or the toy catalogue comes through the door every part of their little faces and bodies are bursting with excitement of the imminent arrival of the big man in his red costume and a promise of even more toys to be added to your already overflowing collection. The house feels like it is bursting at the seams.
This year already the plans are beginning to form of wanting this and that and where each new item will go and how good they will be in order to receive all their treats and delights. Soon the lists will be written and they will magically disappear up the chimney and the elves will be hiding around each corner checking on behaviour and ensuring chores are completed and teeth are brushed each night. The kids are playing their best game and as parents we need to too to keep all this magic alive.
My kid’s favourite game to play is hide and seek so they know every single hiding place my house has to hold. So there is no way a present could ever be hidden in my house without a little body hiding under a bed finding it. This is what led to my discovery that Santa’s grotto had to be somewhere that my two little rascals could not access. Somewhere that was locked and only I had had the key to.
Each year I acquire a storage unit and hide away all their presents in the unit. It is so much easier and I can drop the items off as soon as I finish shopping as I have 24 hour access or I can order my items online and get them delivered to my storage unit so there is no evidence of them ever being in my house. Their little minds would always questions a brightly coloured box or knock on the door from the postman!
Christmas eve I can drive out to the storage facility and pack up the car and deliver them under the tree without a question being asked. Last year I even wrapped the presents at the facility and made up a drum kit so all I had to do was leave them for the kids to burst in and find them the following morning.
All I had to do was sit back and watch their faces full of happiness and joy and celebrate another Christmas miracle. I can’t wait for this year already and see that moment as the magic and Christmas spirit fills up their little faces and celebrate another successful year of believing in Santa. Thanks Space Storage for helping me keep the magic alive.
I set up my business 5 years ago and it was a seasonal business specializing in all things Christmas. It included jumpers, decorations, kid’s treats and everything jolly for the festive season. Each year between September and December I would open my doors and literally resemble one of Santa’s elves trying to ensure everyone had their order in time to make their house ready for the big man’s arrival.
The first year started off mainly through friends and colleagues and a lot of visits to industrial estates knocking on offices and hoping one would make an order. Use of social media was fantastic way of getting my products out there and led to a large uptake of my products. It led me to setting up a website and allowing customers to make orders online.
As the business grew so did my stock levels and ideas for new products. Last year’s big seller was a Christmas box including a different selection of products etc. I had to source everything from different manufacturers and had items arriving almost hourly by courier to my house. I had neighbours watching out for delivery drivers in case I would miss them while I flew out and did the school runs so I could make up the orders quick enough to get them back out in time.
Last year I was given the opportunity to operate a Christmas cart in the middle of a large shopping centre in Dublin. It had a fantastic footfall and led to a massive jump in sales which I was delighted about. The cart I designed was fantastic and I loved it. I could display all my products but I had no space to store additional products. I approached the shopping centre about the possibility of a small store room. The fees were huge and enough to make trading about covering the rent rather than making a profit.
I was starting to run into a few problems with deliveries too as I spending more time operating the cart I was constantly missing deliveries to the house and simply couldn’t ask my neighbours for another favour with all the boxes they had already collected for me. Then the unexpected struck about mid-November when I realized that although the cart was fantastic I had no idea where I was going to put it when I closed up on Christmas Eve. During the festive season the shopping centre allowed it to be stored onsite. The cart’s wheels came off and when empty could be stored flat, but even still would not be something my already overcrowded house could fit.
I sat down with a pen and paper and began to write down what I needed, somewhere to store my cart between Jan and September, somewhere to store stock, somewhere that could accept deliveries on my behalf, somewhere that was accessible 24 hours and somewhere that was secure. I looked at a local property sites, the option of acquiring an office, the option of hiring a stock room and nothing seemed to make any sense. It was when I fired up the laptop and typed in storage that Space popped up. The more I read the more I thought this could work.
I picked up the phone and called Darren and I made a plan to visit the facility in the coming days. It was perfect, it had 24 hour access, they could accept my deliveries, I could have racking in the unit to split out my stock, and it was big enough to store the cart. My unit was in a building that was behind a security gate and there was cctv everywhere I looked. I had access codes to access the building wherever I needed. It was perfect.
The orders have already started to come in and this Elf will be getting busy again in no time, thanks Space Storage
Another happy Space Storage Customer!
18 days and counting to go to the big day and with more visitors coming to stay then a hotel, we need more room at the Inn.
It must be time to tackle the spare room. We call it a spare room but it is anything but. It has many uses, launderette fully equipped with six foot drying horse, home gym complete with treadmill and exercise bike and home study complete with desk, large office chair and books and files strewn everywhere. Creaking open the door I peek inside and also discover bags and boxes full to the brim of clothes and toys meant for our local charity. Looking around the jam packed room it is hard to believe there is a bed in there somewhere that needs to be occupied by our imminent visitors.
How am I ever going to sort this one out??? As I stand scratching my head and pondering my options I remember the small unit I took to store my Christmas presents, could they have bigger units? Could they help me find the bed underneath all this?
I picked up the phone and called Space Storage and explained to Darren in Space that I simply must have more room in the Inn.
“No Problem” were Darren’s words. Amazing I thought.
Darren explained that they could drive the Space van to my house and I could load up all my extra belongings into the van and Tomas would drive the van back to Space Storage where I could unload all of my belongings into my unit. Problem solved!
Moving day was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders and I finally found the bed in what was now a spare bedroom. It was truly a Christmas miracle!
Merry Christmas and thanks Space Storage
The Space Fairy
Storing For Christmas
Every year I say that this Christmas I will be more organized in terms of buying presets earlier. And yet, somehow, I get to Christmas week without a present bought! I then have the mad dash to not only buy but to hide the gifts in a house with limited storage and two inquisitive children more like secret service agents noticing an additional box or bag under the bed within seconds of it being stuffed there.
“Mom…. Who is this dolly for?”
So this year no more, no more stress, no more dashing into shops on Christmas Eve to discover that the dancing dolly or the bike in 14” has sold out. This year I am going to plan and be more prepared.
What if I can buy a present every week and have a place to store my items without worrying about little hands and eyes finding them or myself dipping into them every time a kiddies’ party pops up, which let’s face it, is most weekends?
I started to research and found a storage company! Could this work? At first I imagined large units were businesses would hold stock or people would use to hold furniture while waiting to move house. After studying a little more in depth, however, I found this storage company had spaces of ten square feet, which sounded ideal for my purpose. As you know, many kids’ toys come in huge boxes, yet these can be easily stored top to bottom inside my unit.
The last two weeks, I have been visiting the local toy store ticking off items on my list and then dropping along to Ballymount to pop them inside my unit.
As I close the lock on my unit I know there is no chance of my two kiddies finding out too early what treats are in store for them on Christmas morning!
Thanks Space Storage
New Celebrity Customer!
Christmas time is a time of magic. And no one does magic better than Father Christmas himself. But let’s be honest, Santa has enough to do with travelling 510,000,000km and carrying 840,000 tonnes of presents! So naturally he does not also make all the toys himself. That job he leaves to his elves.
Most of Santa’s elves, we are sure, work very hard for him year round and extra hard of course as Christmas approaches. However, Space can confirm that recently Santa has had to deal with some slackers, some lazy elves. Santa’s operation is massive! Gigantic beyond comprehension. So there is no room on the production line for messing around. However this year it seems Mr Claus has had to have words with some of his elves about not towing the line. You would think that that would snap them back into action but it seems a stern talking-to from the big man was not enough for some of his more idle helpers!
Here at Space we are in a unique position to confirm that Santa has taken extreme measures this year to discipline his bad elves. We regret to inform you that the boss man is now threatening his elves with confinement – imprisonment. But where will Santa lock up these naughty elves? Not in a cozy, firelit elf cottage in lapland. No! Santa’s proposed punishment is much more severe.
You see, this is how Space has acquired a new customer. We can now reveal that our new celebrity customer is… the one and only Santa Claus! Yes, Mr Claus has rented a 150 square foot storage unit, our largest one available. He dropped into us last week to take a few pictures of the unit. He wanted to highlight the austere surroundings of a modern industrial storage unit – cozy for boxes but not for elves. Santa informed us that he would be posting the photos on elfbook as a warning to his lazy elves. We had a peek on elfbook and we also came across this photograph so there can be no doubting Santa means business.
As yet Mr Claus’s unit remains empty. It seems the ploy has worked for old saint nick and his little helpers are back working hard as ever. That should mean that there will be no disruption to production and no issues with distribution. So all good little boys and girls can expect to see their prezzies magically appear under the tree as usual.
Watch this space. We’ll let you know if our facility receives any new lodgers!
Happy Christmas,
Hiding Christmas Presents
For better or worse, kids are curious. And never more so than at Christmas time. If there are presents in the house, they’re gonna find them (and possibly ruin the loveliest lie that they will ever fall for in their lives!). So to prevent this catastrophe here are a few suggestions of clever ways you can hide the Christmas presents from wandering eyes.
Old suitcases are a perfect empty space waiting to be filled. Chances are your bags and cases stay in the same spot all year long so kids will be unsuspecting once you put them back in their spot stuffed full of prezzies.
If you keep the goodies in a golf bag or gym bag in the boot of your car they should be safe. It is unlikely your children will think to open them up and peek inside. Also, whenever you leave the house you will take the gifts with you – and that is precisely the time the kids will probably start poking around.
Is there some way you can make the present look like something else. For example if you bought your son a video game or a dvd could you slide out the inlay card and replace it with a boring old one then just leave it on the shelf. Or another clever one that I picked up from Hitchcock’s macabre film Rope – the murderers hide the body in a box then dress it up as the dinner table! – why not throw a tablecloth over that little pool table you picked up. No one will ever know.
Maybe hide some of them in plain view. A box lying in the corner is unlikely to arouse suspicion, especially if it is topped up with old newspapers looking like it is destined for the recycling bin. Could be a perfect place for little stocking fillers.
Sometimes the most obvious place is the last place you look. Why not wrap the present then just give it the wrong label. There’s no chance anyone will suspect a present is for them if it has your work colleague’s name on it. Just remember to change it back on Christmas Eve or else you may end up giving your pal in the office My Little Pony at the Xmas party.
The safest place of the lot.
Yes, kids are curious, but you can’t tell them where the presents are. And it isn’t always wise to answer all of their questions either!
To dramatically illustrate this point I will leave you with this little parenting story from stand-up comedian Louis C.K.
Happy Christmas from everybody at Space Self Storage!
Space Cadet.
