Welcome folks, to the highest income time of year for any blogger: the holiday season. Starting with blanket scarves and ending with sequined frocks, now through the end of December, many bloggers can make as much or more than they did the rest of the year combined. When I quit my day job, I wasn't trying to line it up with the holiday season, but it's a nice perk. Especially since last year, I thought I was going to lose my damn mind. As a family, we didn't send out holiday cards because I just couldn't get our act together. When cleaning out my office at work this week I found a Christmas gift I somehow forgot to wrap and give to Emerson. My only saving grace last year was that I was still in my old position at work which found the end of the year to be molasses slow. It's the only way I had the energy to whip out gift guides and sparkly outfit posts to take advantage of the season.
It's like I blinked and it went from August to November. I don't feel ready for the holidays, but I will be. On the home front, I scheduled the family photo shoot for the holiday cards and already acquired what we're wearing. I've even purchased a few Christmas gifts. On the blog front, I have clothes at the tailor to shorten to Allie length and feature, I've had a few brands offer to send me fun things so I can add honest reviews into some of my gift guides, and well, there's going to be a lot of sponsored posts.
Groan, nobody likes sponsored posts, right? Well you know me, I learned from my cookie mistake, and I try to choose brands that make sense for me, you, and the whole concept of this blog. So mostly fashion with a touch of lifestyle thrown in. But there's going to be a lot this month because... well, it's all business stuff and some were contracted but ended up not being spread out over several months. And then brands know this is gift-giving and holiday-fashion season and see the value of partnering with bloggers to promote their stuff this time of year so some I said yes to while I was still in sandals and sundresses. So this season you may think, "Geez, Allie really sold out. She quit her job and now every other post is a sponsored post." But it's totally coincidental. Promise.
And the brands I'm partnering with, I think they're pretty good. And so far, they're giving me a lot of creative freedom with what I feature and focus on so I've chosen some things I know I would like to see this time of year on a blog. I hope I chose wisely, and I hope these posts blend in pretty well with the rest of the content and give you some holiday inspiration.
And I do plan to bring back gift guides. I was against them for a long time, but I tried them the past two years and you all really liked them. Again, I try to fill them with things I'd want to see in a gift guide. And many gift guides are inspired by you readers - so let me know what or who you're shopping for, your gift pain points, and I'll do the research.
In between will be plenty of "normal" content. I have two capsule wardrobes I created over the past couple of months but haven't had the time to complete. Some hits and misses I need to share. And so many cute clothes that deserve to be photographed. I'll be sharing how we celebrate the holidays, but I'll also be prepping for 2018, and that requires your help. Let me know what sucks and what rocks. Be honest with me, I can't improve Wardrobe Oxygen if you don't tell me what is wrong. Don't make me have to find your thoughts on a message board! I really think what we've built here together is pretty fantastic, and the only way it can continue to be awesome and become even more awesome is with your feedback. So leave comments, send me emails, slide into my DMs, tap me on the shoulder at the grocery store, and let's chat. I'm super excited about the future of Wardrobe Oxygen and I look forward to experiencing it with you!
