A Year of Dates… What is it!?
From a romantic gift to an award winning business
We are Kate and John, and since 2016 we’ve grown A Year of Dates from a gift to an award winning business.
It all started in 2014 when John made me (Kate) a date jar for Christmas. He’d filled 72 envelopes (he got a bit carried away!) with date ideas. Every Monday morning I opened an envelope and we had to make an effort to do what the card said that week. It was exciting, some ideas weren’t what I’d choose to do but we made it fun, and most importantly we made time for each other in our busy lives – something we all can forget to do!
Everyone I spoke to about it said “that’s a great idea, I wish I had the time to think of the date ideas’… And we realised we did have the time and the ideas. A Year of Dates was born in September 2016 with our first product that is based on the original jar.
We’ve now sold over 100,000 products around the world and from the original date box our range of thoughtful gifts also cover birthdays, self-care, new parents, families and more. All the gifts have one thing in common – encouraging people to make time for the important things in life. Most of our products still feature the activities sealed in envelopes, or our unique sealed cards that we developed when it got a bit much to keep on top of stuffing them by hand! We provide you with the cards, you just enjoy and make memories.
We can personalise the boxes adding to the smiles when a gift is received and we love the feedback we get from you – that is where most of our new products come from! So please do let us know if there’s an idea you have that isn’t on the site.
Most of all we love that this journey has introduced us to so many people and opportunities, and that we’re helping people get out and make memories together.
After six years in business we now have a team of 7 staff, our own HQ – with Click & Collect option – and a host of smaller businesses to offer more unique gift ideas. And the journey is only just beginning! Thank you for being part of our story.
We really hope you enjoy the experience as much as we did.
Kate and John x
