12 Days of Planning: How we levelled up this year’s advent to be the BEST. ONE. YET!

Hey all, Jo here, founder of Oops a Daisy… and the person whose smart idea it was to create a stationery advent calendar that needs to be packed and dispatched at the busiest time of year! (Lols – you know we love it really).

With this year’s box now packed and dispatched, I wanted to pop in and give a little bit more of an insight into the thought behind this year’s theme “Make It Happen”.

It all begun in July…

The planning for our 12 Days box started way back in July…

I knew after the sell out success of last year’s box, that I wanted to up our game for 2024 in terms of the contents, the packaging and the amount we could make available for you to purchase!

This year, in addition to our embossed box, I also wanted to created a bespoke envelope design. These had to be ordered way ahead of time to ensure everything was ready in time, which meant we also needed to have a clear idea of the concept and design aesthetic well in advance too.

Once we had an idea for the concept, I created a plan for the items we wanted to include. This allowed me to prioritise the items that needed designing by us, in order to get them externally manufactured and delivered in time.

Including a journal

In previous years we had so many requests for a hard bound journal to be included that I wanted to make it a possibility for this year’s box. I also wanted to give the flexibility of ordering without, if preferred. This posed the question of how many I should order…

The manufacture time of journals is at least 4 months from design to delivery, so I had to get the numbers right so no-one missed out (but we also didn’t want to be left with a huge amount of stock to store!)

In terms of design we wanted the journal to be appealing to everyone, so we opted for a classic black faux leather. To make it extra special we added stunning holographic page edges, and a foil embossed “Make It Happen” cover design.

This meant the classic design could be used purely as a goal planning journal or as a main 2025 set up!

We still have a very limited number of the A5 and B5 “Make it Happen” Journals available to buy separately. If you’d like one click the links below!

Why this year was a challenge

Last year’s box was a complete sell out, which resulted in a few disappointed customers (which we never want!)

This year we increased the quantity available, which created a few logistical issues… Firstly, we didn’t have room for everything inside OAD HQ! Thankfully, we managed to find a small warehouse space close by that allowed us to store everything until we were ready to pack!

The original plan was for us to also pack the boxes in this space, but due to the cold weather spell we are having this wasn’t really possible (unless I wanted a frozen team).

As we ended up packing the boxes at OAD HQ, it was necessary to get the Big One subscription shipped a little early to allow us the space to lay out all of the boxes and envelopes. This, in itself, seemed like it would be easy to achieve, but OMG! We have also been so crazy busy for shop orders that the last few weeks have been incredibly long and hectic for us to get everything sent out, as well as pre-pack all of the 12 Days envelopes.

With the clock ticking and shipping times extended, I pulled in some extra help in the form of my lovely mum and we managed to get all of the boxes packed and shipped in just one week!

Check out our little team celebration…

Why “Make it Happen”?

It’s now the 4th year of creating the 12 Days of Planning and every year we like to improve on our past boxes.

This year I wanted the box to have a focus that would appeal to everyone. Goal planning has so many applications for your home, work, and personal life, so it seemed like the perfect theme!

This year’s box will focus on setting SMART goals, breaking them down into smaller steps, and choosing daily habits that will move you closer to the desired end result!

What’s inside?

Our gorgeous foil embossed box holds 12 individually wrapped items. The exact contents are always a surprise, so no spoilers here. What I can tell you is that it will include exclusive items designed by us, specifically for the box.

We have a really nice mix of stencils, stickers and Washi tape, along with some more unusual and bigger ticket items!

How does it work?

We begin opening the envelopes on 25th December, taking us through twixmas until the new year!

This year rather than adding a prompt every day, we have created 4 larger prompts. This will allow us to focus on our 4 mantras:

• Dream Big
• Work Hard
• Stay Positive
• Take Action

On day 3, 6, 9 and 12 you will find a postcard within your envelope (in addition to that day’s surprise). This will have details of the prompt. It encourages you to use the items from the past 3 days to get the most out of the box contents and get planning to Make It Happen!

But that’s not all…

This is the box that keeps on giving!

We will also be holding two livestreams where we will work together to get the most out of our new stationery! (You can also watch back later if you can’t watch live.)

Within your box you will also find a link to the 12 Days of Planning hub, which contains all the accompanying blog posts, livestream links and resources.

What to do when you receive your box?

1️⃣ CHECK YOUR ENVELOPES

We have been super careful when packing but mistakes do happen (we are only human) – Please take a moment to check you have all 12 envelopes.

Number 6 and 9 look very similar – all envelopes have the opening on the right so you can tell the difference!

2️⃣ NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

We know a few of you won’t be able to wait until the 25th of December to start opening your envelopes, but please don’t share the contents online until the day they are due to be opened! (Totally happy for you to share your happy mail as it arrives though!)

3️⃣ GET ON OUR EMAIL LIST!

We will be sending out information next week when the 12 Days of Planning hub goes live, but we can only email you if you’re opted in to our mailing list.

We are so proud of what we have put together this year, I honestly think it tops all previous years so I hope you love it all as much as we do!

GOT FOMO?

There’s still time to get your hands on a box! Check out our website for more info!