Farewell to Christmas

For 10 years, Jeni Mudgway has shared the Christmas spirit with the people of Tauranga through her business, The Christmas Heirloom Company.
Next year, she is hoping to instead share this spirit with her friends and family.
Mrs Mudgway has owned the Tauranga branch of The Christmas Heirloom Company for 10 years and was a store manager in Hamilton with The Christmas Heirloom Company, for three years.
But she has now decided to pack up Santa's workshop and sell the business.
"I love the creativity side of it, I love the people and I love Christmas. I just love everything about it," she said.
However, the time had come for her to move on and focus her attention elsewhere.
In her 13 years with The Christmas Heirloom Company, Mrs Mudgway said she had never seen a grumpy customer.
"In what other industry does that happen?"
Mrs Mudgway has fond memories of the store and her time spent there. One of her favourite things is her interaction with customers and seeing families return year after year to add to their Christmas collections.
"I've seen families grow up with kids who first came in when they were 5 years old, now they're 15. That's a really nice part of it ... getting to know the customers."
Another thing she enjoys is her ability to give back to the community. Three nights a week, Mrs Mudgway holds evening workshops where she teaches guests how to make wreaths and garlands and decorate trees. All the profits from the workshops are donated to charities.
As well as The Christmas Heirloom Company, Mrs Mudgway and her husband own Tauranga Tourist Park on Mayfair St.
She said these two commitments sometimes "put the pressure on", which ultimately led her to come to the decision to sell the Tauranga branch of The Christmas Heirloom Company.
"I thought about selling it last year and I've had a couple of nibbles but nothing serious at this stage," she said.
"It will be sad to see it go and I'm hoping the right person will take over."
Mrs Mudgway said she was not asking a lot for the business and the new owner would have be "the right kind of person".
"They'll have to love Christmas ... have to be creative and get on with people," she said.
The Christmas Heirloom Company store on Devonport Rd will be open until Christmas Eve.
For inquiries, contact The Christmas Heirloom Company on 0508 434 756 or Jeni Mudgway on 07 571 6804.
See our gallery (below the image on this page) for lots more Christmas cheer!