It's 4:55 p.m. on December 24!!

It is 4:55 p.m. on December 24 and we are about to close the doors on the Christmas/Holiday season.
This year was both different and the same.
We began on Thanksgiving with the joint celebration of Thanksgivukkah...the coincidence of the first day of Chanukah occurring on Thanksgiving Day. We celebrated (and so did some of our customers) with delicious cookies from Cookiedoodle.  Two designs:  a Turkey Menorah and a Dreidle with a Turkey and the greeting:  Gobble Tov ("Tov" means good).
Because Thanksgiving occurred on the last Thursday of November (or correctly on the 4th Thursday of November) we had a great rush of 3-1/2 weeks until Christmas.  Time went by so quickly that we are just now catching our breath.
As usual, we saw many of our customers who visit us once a year, at Christmas time.  When they volunteer that information, I signal that I have been struck in the heart by that news and tell them to try harder next year to visit us at least 2 times in 2014!
Significantly as far as I know, we didn't have any customers who told us that they were shopping at Sweet Tooth because what they ordered online didn't come in, or came in and wasn't what they wanted.  I am taking this as a sign that more Tulsans are seriously shopping locally!!
We have a jovial time at the store...laughing and joking about the fun or unusual things that happen.  We rarely have grumpy customers and if we do, we work really hard to cheer that person up.
No bounced checks so far!!  If it is going to happen, it would happen now.  Let's cross our fingers on that one.
At Christmas people really love to combine a candy gift with whatever else they have purchased.  We see lots of fun stocking stuffer ideas and we are occasionally asked to help create something special.  We love doing that!
A few local celebrities have shopped at Sweet Tooth.  I won't divulge their names but we did have a couple of Tulsa mayors (hey Dewey, we didn't see you!) and some very talented musical folks. 
We are taking 2 days off.  Our After Christmas Sale begins on Friday December 27th and in January we will be off to the Gift Market.  More on that later.  In the meantime, Happy New Year from all of us to all of you.

Sweet Tooth: A Happy Place

In the midst of all the flurry which is what our store is all about at this time of the year, I realize how much I really like people!!
Most every person who comes into Sweet Tooth is looking for something special and different for their loved one or their friends.  They make such an effort to pick just the right candy or gift....they are pleased with their choices, they love getting a complimentary gift bag and they thank us over and over for what we do.
And what we do is simply what we do all the time.  It is called "doing our best".
If I every retire from Sweet Tooth I will truly miss our customers more than anything else.
Today we had a customer who brought in a glass boot.  She wanted to give the boot to her son-in-law, filled with layers of Jelly Bellys.  She was a tiny bit apologetic, asking me for the extra time it would take to get the jars of Jelly Bellys, measure out each one, carefully put them in the glass boot and then figure out a way to make sure the Jelly Bellys don't blend with each other.
As for me, I thought it was a clever idea, something fun, something that she put a lot of thought into and I really enjoyed helping her. 
In the past 20 Christmas seasons we have been asked to do all sorts of different presentations of gifts and candy.  And it is generally one of the most fun activities we have all year long.
So, hats off to Sweet Tooth customers, for their caring, for their clever ideas, for their gratitude and for being joyful people.
If you have been seeing our ads in Tulsa People and in Intermission magazine, you will know that we are thinking of Sweet Tooth as a "Happy Place".  Now you know why. 
P.S.  We have some bragging rights!  Gift Beat magazine's December issue has featured our "Happy Place" ads in their issue.  We've gone national...how fun is that?

Shopping Small

Shop Small Business Saturday, November 30 appeared to be a success story for American Express, its sponsor and many small businesses across the country.
According to a poll of shoppers, consumer awareness of Shop Small Business Saturday was up to 71% from 2012's 67%.  At Sweet Tooth we had a number of people tell us that they came into our store to shop on that day because they wanted to support small businesses like ours.
Those comments really made our day!  We gave away all the free tote bags which American Express sent us and could have used more.  And guess what?  Not all the shoppers used an American Express card.
Today on KWGS radio I listened to part of a discussion about pop up ads, banners and other advertisements on the internet.  What I heard was that people were paying less and less attention to those ads.  Occasionally I find those ads annoying...they pop up right in a middle of something I am researching and I can't find the button fast enough to get rid of them.
What does all this mean for small business in America?  One customer told me she was surprised to find out that small businesses generate the majority of consumer purchases in the U.S.  Talk about being sheltered!!  Until that moment when the customer said that to me, I had been thinking it obvious that all us "moms and pops" were the basis of consumer sales and that everyone knew that.
We've got to start all over again making people aware of how important shopping locally, shopping in individual stores, etc is to our general economy.  Think of the loss to Tulsa of Steve's Sundries store when it closes at the end of December. 
Going into a store like Steve's Sundries or Sweet Tooth where staff know your name, where they provide real customer service may still be of value to Americans.  That would certainly make our 21 years well worth all the time and effort we have given to Sweet Tooth.  Thanks, folks!! 
PS:  21 more days until Christmas.  If you are shopping for Christmas, remember to please SHOP SMALL.

Who IS Doctor Who?

This year's biggest hit is Doctor Who mugs, ornaments and scarves.
Who IS Doctor Who?
Thank goodness Sabrina clued me in on this whole thing, since I have attempted to watch one episode a few months ago and was totally lost.
All I know at this point is that the final actor is playing the final Doctor Who and those who are big fans are following every little thing which happens.  There were some marathon t.v. shows this past week on BBC television and since we don't get that channel, I couldn't take a look to see if I could figure out Doctor Who is.
My friend's son is a big fan and when we went to the June Market, she told me that her son wanted me to look around for Doctor Who items. 
As we were walking around at the Market, I did attempt to find any Doctor Who items, but it wasn't until I got back home and was checking out a catalogue from a large Christmas ornament company, that I saw "the light":  the Doctor Who Tardis and Dalek ornaments from this company were numbers 1 and 2 most popular ornaments being ordered for this Christmas.
As a contrast, I asked my sales rep from this Christmas company about Downton Abbey ornaments....me being a big fan of that series.  I was told that us mid-Westerners were not big Downton Abby followers....in our neck of the woods Doctor Who is out numbering Downton Abbey.
What I did, of course, was put in a substantial order for Doctor Who mugs and ornaments.  My mom didn't raise a fool....as someone says....and I didn't order Downton Abbey anything.
But next year...watch out!!  It could be the year of D.A. and I, for one, will NOT be asking Who is Downton Abbey?
Can't wait until January for that series to return!!  30 days until Christmas.

Are We Going To Be Black Or Red?

34 days and counting until Christmas.  And only 9 more days to purchase your Advent Calendar if you are a follower of that tradition and don't want to gobble down 5 pieces of chocolate because you started your Advent Calendar on December 5.  Of course there are those people who would adore gobbling down a bunch of chocolate!!
We are winding down from our Obsidian Trunk Show and our 2 day Holiday Party.  And at the same time, we are gearing up for holiday gift baskets and other gifting ideas which our customers bring to us.
The days actually go by so quickly that we hardly realize how time slips by when you are busy and thinking about a dozen things at a time.
In the middle of the night I am liable to wake up and remember something I need to do, or a person I need to call, or an email which didn't get sent.  If there is no piece of paper on my night table, I repeat over and over to myself what I need to remember.  Do I always remember it in the morning?  Who are we kidding?
Somehow though one of our staff reminds me of what needs to get done.  What would I do without the constant interchanges with our staff?  I have found that delegating is the very best way to assure myself that everything will get done and will look perfectly wonderful.
Guess what?  We are also receiving phone calls from sales reps whose holiday selling is done and they are ready to sit down and look at Valentine's Day or Easter or just the new collections of gifts or candy which are coming out the minute we hit January 1.
Some of the clever sales reps, realizing that there is no time in December for retailers to think ahead to the spring, take their vacations, their cruises or simply their time off during December.  
You might wonder about personal time?  There isn't a lot of that to be had at this time of the year.  You  know, that is a good thing....it means that our end of the year will be black and not red!.

Have You Heard About Thanksgivukkah??

This year the first day of Chanukah and Thanksgiving are on the same day ...November 28.  This coincidence will not occur again for 70,000 years.  Wow!
Since the date of Chanukah is based on the Jewish calendar, a lunisolar calendar, the days of Chanukah seem to jump around every year.  Yet Chanukah is always on the same lunisolar calendar date each and every year.
Because of the coincidence of these 2 holidays some vendors are having a wonderful time thinking of how to combine the symbols of each holiday into one symbol.
What we have is a new name for this occasion:  Thanksgivukkah.  There will be lots of turkeys on spinning dreidles, new holiday greetings like Gobble Tov (which means Good Gobble) and a semi-feeble attempt to mix turkey and dressing with potato latkes and sour cream.
I just point this out not only for your edification but just to let you know that retailers are hustling to figure out what to do about all of this.  This is exactly what retail is always doing.  I think these 2 holidays coming together has caught many retailers off guard.
In addition, we are now at 43 days until Christmas.
Sweet Tooth will be attempting to provide some fun goodies for all 3 holidays.  Check out our Facebook page or come into the store and see what's cooking!!

49 Days Until Christmas

Here's what I am thinking about.  49 days until Christmas.  49 days to get everything done that a retailer wants to get done during the 4th quarter.
Why, you ask?  Because the 4th quarter in retail either makes or breaks the year. So much of what happens in the next 49 days is due to the consumer's interest in what we have, to the choices we make for publicity and marketing, to the possibility that we are missing some critical trendy item, to the overall confidence in the economy......in other words, it is a partnership between the retailer, the consumer and the economy.
If I had to pick out the "trendy item" I would point to the Dr. Who ornaments, mugs, watches and scarves we have this year.  And I really know nothing much about Dr. Who except what my daughter tells me.
If I had to pick out the best marketing and publicity for the store, I'd have to say the great relationship we have with the people at Tulsa People magazine.  Our latest "My Happy Place" ads which have featured Connie Cronley, Eric Himan, Teresa Miller, and for our December pin up, Karl Krause as Scrooge have really taken off.  The staff at Tulsa People have given us such great feedback and turned our ads into glorious color and fun.
Picking out what the consumer's interest will be is a lot harder.  Each year we have some definite repeats, particularly in the Candy Section of the store.  But if a manufacturer decides not to produce last year's best seller, we are really out on a limb about that.  What sells big in our store may not be the best seller nationally.  And just to let you know, sometimes the candy biz has trouble recruiting candy makers.  Candy manufacturing, although industrialized, is still a hands on business and less people these days are into being craft people.  As we always tell our customers, seasonal candy and gifts are just that:  SEASONAL and no one down the line in the retail business wants to be left with seasonal stuff.
As for the economy, it is locally an election year and believe me, that effects people's buying patterns.  In addition, what is going on nationally eventually finds its way to Tulsa.
Stay tuned for the On The Spot Reporter...ME...to find out what happens during the next 49 days.