December 2022 was technically our first Christmas as a trading business — but it wasn’t really. We’d launched in November with limited inventory and no preparation for Christmas demand. Stock ran short before the end of November. Some customers who wanted to order for Christmas couldn’t, because there was nothing left to order. We learned the lesson and moved on.
December 2023 was our first Christmas we were actually ready for. Inventory planned in October. Bundle sets pre-packed. Gift note capability built in. A range worth buying, not just a single product.
What Sold
The Gaucho BBQ Grill Apron sold exactly as expected — it’s the hero product, the obvious centrepiece of a Bison Hill Christmas order, and December reinforced that. What we didn’t fully anticipate was the BBQ Blade selling out. At £10, the Blade is in stocking-filler territory — affordable, useful, specific. It sold faster than any other individual product in December. We hadn’t allocated enough inventory to it relative to the Gaucho.
The Cook and Dine Gift Set performed exactly as designed — a complete gift, easy to choose, positioned at the right price for a main present rather than a token. Customers who wanted to spend meaningfully on a BBQ gift landed there.
What Didn’t Move as Expected
Individual tools without the apron underperformed versus our projections. The King Fork and Bison Skewer sold, but more slowly than the bundled versions. The lesson here is one we’ve seen repeated: BBQ gifting in December is about the complete story. A single tool says “I bought you one thing.” A set says “I thought about what you actually need.”
What Made December 2023 Different
Gift notes. We added personalised gift notes to all Christmas orders — a short handwritten card with each dispatch. Several customers mentioned it specifically. In a gifting context, the small human detail matters. It’s the difference between receiving a product and receiving a gift.
December 2023 was our highest revenue month to that point. Not by a small margin. The combination of a prepared inventory, a full range including bundles, and proper gift framing produced a result that January 2023’s Christmas had not. Two years into trading and the gap between planning for Christmas and not planning for it was measurable in the revenue numbers.
We’ll be ready for December 2024 before October ends. That’s the only sensible lesson.
