You’d think the festive season is prime time for traders everywhere, but one thing I have noted throughout my years of selling kinky books and bits and bobs is that December is often one of the less good months at fetish events. It’s not disastrous, necessarily, but it can be quieter than other months. Of course, it’s logical enough when you think about it: people have less money to spend on naughty treats and sex toys, because they’ve got all those gifts to buy for relatives and non-scene workmates. Mind you, if your stock includes cheap bits and pieces that aren’t too serious or hardcore, anyone shopping for an office Secret Santa might be delighted to see you.
Having said that, the Christmas markets are usually quite a laugh. Being a bit of a pound-shop-tat addict, I love having the excuse to rummage through their seasonal aisle for things to dress the table up with – mostly LED candles and tinsel, but a few bags of chocolate coins can come in handy, as well. Halloween is another good time for that sort of thing as long as the dates fall towards the end of the month. I suppose I ought to make something of an effort for Valentine’s Day too, but it isn’t a festival I’ve ever paid much attention to.
OK, the other thing about this particular festive season is that pretty much everyone is even more anxious about what the year ahead will bring. There are 
days when offering people some horny fun and some distraction from the truly alarming political landscape still seems like a good and valid thing to do. Particularly now that opportunities to do that are shrinking. (The purging of erotic content from site after site is a fucking disaster for so many reasons.) Sometimes it might feel like an irrelevance, but I think we have to keep pushing, keep shouting, keep going as long as we can.
I haven’t produced a special bit of festive filth this year, but if you want something to cheer, distract, comfort or simply turn you on, here’s one I made earlier.
And also last year’s Blissemas offering. (Don’t try to enter the competition, the prize was won, you know, last year...)
Enjoy your festivities. Lighten the darkness. Do what you can.