So it’s back to work this week, for most of us. With a few too many mince pies sitting in our bellies and a couple more hours needed in bed, we say goodbye to the holiday season and say hello to a brand new year. We hope that for all of you, Christmas was a magical time full of happiness, cheer and love. And long may that warm, fuzzy feeling continue into 2017.

Christmas was an especially big time for the team at Hand on Heart, with orders for personalised and print Jewellery coming in thick and fast. As always, our fingerprint, handprint and footprint jewellery remained popular. It’s a time of year where we think about loved ones who have just arrived, stayed in our lives or sadly, just departed, and print jewellery is a fantastic way to keep them in our hearts.

But it isn’t just humans that make this time of year so important. We’ve all heard the phrase 'dogs aren’t just for Christmas' and by the looks of the order coming in, that saying is as true today as it was when it was first spoken. And it definitely applies to cats and other furry friends too.

Pawprint jewellery is one of our most popular ranges. For most pet owners, their animal is just like another child; a smaller and slightly furrier member of the family.

Which is why we’ve written this blog. This is a message to those people who have been blessed with the present of a new dog, cat or other animal this Christmas.

Everything is exciting now. The first few days, weeks and months with a new pet is so fun; everything is new and everything is fresh. However, the sad truth is that some people will tell you that things get less fun as time goes on. They will say that getting up to go on morning walks, expensive vet bills and the occasional accident on the floor make having a pet a chore.

But we’re here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. You only have to read the stories and feeling that accompany every paw print jewellery piece we make to know that it’s when the fresh feeling wears off that the real excitement kicks in.

We see people buying pawprint jewellery for all different kinds of reasons, but rarely is it because they’ve bought a pet that day and want to celebrate. More often than not, it’s because they want to celebrate the incredible connection that has been built over time. They want to celebrate the fact that they have unconditional love and in turn will love unconditionally.

Sadly, many of our pawprint orders come to celebrate the life of a pet which has not long ended, but many are placed so that people can keep the love of their pet with them wherever they go.

As the flames of Christmas joy slowly fade away, we go back to work and things become a little harder, just remember that you haven’t bought an item that you can discard at a moment’s notice. You’ve bought a best friend who will bring happiness and joy in equal measure.

At Hand on Heart Jewellery, we would never say a pet is just for Christmas. That’s why we make personalised pawprint jewellery. Our pets have a lasting effect on us that many of our customers want to take with them wherever they go.