Introducing dirtysantagift.com: A Journey to Building a Holiday E-Commerce Brand
A year and a half ago, while I was deeply immersed in the development of my iOS application for Cashboard App Inc., I found myself at a crossroads. As a creator, I’m always looking for new challenges, new areas to explore, and new ways to test my skills. Many creators face this urge throughout building and sometimes you must indulge these urges should they intuitively linger. Additionally, I had been dabbling with the thought of some form of e-commerce for a long time, and dropshipping, in particular, had always caught my attention since it seemed to have the lowest threshold needed for capital. And yes, I know the stigma that dropshipping somewhat holds.
At first, it wasn’t about a grand vision or a business plan. It wasn’t even a consideration to pivot. It was more about curiosity, a desire to learn something new, and an opportunity to search new avenues towards revenue. I was interested in understanding the mechanics behind setting up an online store, handling transactions, and navigating the complexities of running a business with physical assets and not just software. I had no expectations and no big dreams of becoming an online retail mogul. Honestly, I didn’t even think I’d sell a single item. However, I did think the knowledge would benefit me down the road regarding other brands I wanted to build in the future, and I knew it felt like the right thing to learn at the time.
I wasn’t aiming to turn my main brand into an e-commerce powerhouse. Cashboard has a focus centered on something entirely different and more revolutionary than a simple e-commerce brand. Instead, I just spun off a small project associated with the brand using Zendrop, a platform that integrates with Shopify, to source products and automate the dropshipping process. I set up my store and added products ranging from clothing to maternity wear, board games, and even baby toys — most of it, admittedly, random. The idea wasn’t to make money; it was to learn and potentially drive some traffic to Cashboard. I didn’t spend much time thinking about pricing. I simply went with my gut, often incorporating marginal shipping costs into the product prices, just in case someone actually did make a purchase.
I also took it a step further by integrating my store with platforms like TikTok and Facebook Marketplace. While setting everything up took some time — from validating my business to navigating the terms of use and learning how to leverage these social media platforms — I had no idea what was about to unfold.
The First Sale: A Moment of Shock
Out of nowhere, and with no advertising budget or marketing strategy in place, I got a notification from Shopify. A sale. A real sale. I had made my first transaction on TikTok Shop. At that moment, I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t planned on marketing my products. In fact, I didn’t even expect to make a single sale. I was just testing the waters. But there it was — proof that, against all odds, a market existed for the hodge podge products I had aggregated to dropship. That feeling of seeing that first sale come through was more gratifying than I could’ve imagined.
Over the next couple of months, I continued to be utterly surprised. TikTok Shop had became the primary source of my sales. No ads, no marketing, just a random collection of products. And yet, by the end of my two-month experiment, I was averaging almost four orders a day. I was stunned. How was this even happening? I found myself checking my phone in hopes to see another green Shopify notification of another sale. I couldn’t imagine how some of these big e-commerce brands feel when they are generating millions of sales daily.
Challenges and Setbacks
As the orders started rolling in, so did the problems. Chinese New Year hit, and suddenly, my dropshipping suppliers closed their warehouses. My inexperience hadn’t even considered that as a thought. This led to significant delays. And just as things were starting to gain momentum, my TikTok Shop account was banned. After digging through Reddit forums, I realized this was a common problem — many stores faced the same fate during the holidays and Tik Tok shop has a strict policy centered around delivery time and consistency that evicts most dropshipping brands.
Still, despite these setbacks, in only 3 months, I had managed to make almost 100 sales, generating nearly $2,000 in revenue with no advertising, no experience, and no effort toward growth. It wasn’t perfect, but it was successful experiment in practice. The takeaway? There was potential in this space.
At that point, I realized the e-commerce store didn’t quite align with Cashboard’s mission or goals. While it wasn’t something I could pursue with my current load of software development needed to build the Cashboard platform, I didn’t want to just abandon the idea altogether. I knew that with the right brand and approach, there was definitely something to revisit in the future. I decided to shelf the project for the time being, fully aware that one day, I’d be ready to dive back in and give the right brand and opportunity the attention it deserves.
The Big Reveal: dirtysantagift.com
Fast forward a year and a half later, and I’m ready to share another big project: dirtysantagift.com. You know the Dirty Santa (or Secret Santa) Christmas game, right? If you’re familiar with it, you know that finding the perfect gift isn’t always easy. The key to making Dirty Santa fun is finding gifts that are worth stealing. The fun lies in the strategy, the surprise, and the excitement. The best gifts are often the quirky, unusual ones — not the usual boring gift cards or Stanley cups that just suck the life out of the game.
I was tired of the predictable and dull gifts that show up every year, and I know I’m not the only one. This e-commerce brand is dedicated to solving that problem, providing the perfect platform for those looking for unique, fun, and unexpected Dirty Santa gifts. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill presents; these are the kind of gifts that steal the show and add excitement to the game – all in one platform.
A Year-Round Santa Tracker: Keeping the Magic Alive
dirtysantagift.com is a seasonal store and, for now, will only be open during the holiday season (November 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025). However, I wanted to keep the brand fresh and engaging year-round. That’s when I had an idea — why not create something that would keep people coming back to the site even when the store was closed?
Enter the Santa Tracker
Every day that the store isn’t open, when you visit the homepage, you’ll see a brand-new AI-generated image of Santa Claus. This image will keep you updated on all things Santa on any given day. Maybe he’s working on a new toy with his elves in March. Maybe he’s getting his sleigh ready in the middle of summer. Whatever the case, you’ll get to see Santa’s latest adventures all throughout the year.
This daily image will keep the magic alive — and as the images improve over time, I plan to partner with a print-on-demand company so you can buy cozy, unique merchandise featuring your favorites of these generated images.
Building the Future: The Long-Term Vision
As I’ve mentioned, this is just the beginning. The official dirtysantagift.com store won’t launch until November 1, 2025. But the plan doesn’t stop there. In the meantime, I’ll continue building the storefront, finding suppliers that align with the brand, and sourcing the perfect Dirty Santa gifts for the end of year business. There’s a lot of work still to do in that regard, but I’m excited to make this vision a reality.
For now, I invite you to check out the Santa Tracker feature. Come back each day to see Santa’s latest update and watch the countdown to the official store launch.
I believe dirtysantagift.com has the potential to become a major holiday brand. With the right mix of quirky products, engaging features, and a strong holiday-season focus, I’m confident it will carve out a unique space in the market.
And as the images of Santa evolve over time and the brand grows, I can’t wait to see how this project unfolds. Stay tuned for more updates as we approach the official store launch, and in the meantime, make sure to check in on Santa’s daily adventures.
It’s going to be a merry ride.
Stay Tuned to Future Posts
I know this blog post has been more focused on the journey behind dirtysantagift.com and the story of how it came to be, but I want to let you know that I plan to dive deeper into the technical side of things in a future post. I’ll be sharing all the details about the technologies and tools used to build the storefront, the backend infrastructure, and how I leveraged Google Cloud, React, Express, and other platforms to bring this project to life. I may even start giving away some open source starter kits to help aid the readers of interest. Stay locked in to the blog and don’t miss out!