I'm sorry ladyfingers, my experience was just the opposite-many of the prepackaged gift shop items were damaged somehow, while very little of the items we actually bought ourselves broke. The warehouse we were shopping in had a lot of non-junky items, while the gift shop company sent us things I was embarrassed to sell. I guess it's all in where you shop.
We did circumvent the special person items problem by ordering mugs from Oriental Trading Co. in the last Santa Shop we had, but this year I have specifically looked on the sites I mentioned above and right now there are mugs, key chains, jewelry and more for moms, dads, grandmas, and grandpas. Not too sure about other family member items, but there are teacher items and general "Special Person' items available too.
2 of us went shopping the last time and it worked out well;she had a van and we packed it full. The only real reason we would have needed another person was for another vehicle to haul it all.
You do need to lay out the $ in front, but the prices on the websites are so low that I don't see that as being a problem;when we do our budget I've already suggested that we order for the Santa Shop immediately after the fundraiser using the funds we've planned to set aside for it. That way we'll hopefully avoid out of stocks and shipping delays.

Hi Holly(Sunny FL)

I used to do a shop on my own, big no no! First of all you have to have the money up front to lay out and the pta help to do all the shopping. Everyone says they will help, but then later everyone is to busy, doing all other pta duties. Also, most things bought in the dollar store and outlets are either damaged, or the ceramic was not boxed and chipped. When we were running out, the stores were bare and all junk was left. Then you are running the sale and trying to save things for other grades, because you do not want to run out (by doing this we were losing money) also, try running out in the middle of your sale to get new things, talk about having a break down!!!! I could not find any items the actually said mom, dad, grandpa etc.
After this disaster, I tried using a holiday gift shop company. I will say it was the best decision I ever made. We did not have to pay for anything up front, they shipped it all to me for free and they took back whatever we did not sell, even the damaged items!!! All on consignment! Most of their gifts were personalized which was we were looking for. We wanted the kids to make happy memories with the family members they picked their own gift out for. We did not use this for a fundraiser, every other thing we do all year is to make money, not this, we use this time just to enjoy the kids and have fun! The quality of the gifts, were great (really gift type items someone could use) not from the dollar store, where everything is pretty much junk and not really worth gift giving. If you take the extra step, add a santa and take pictures, give out candy canes, show a holiday movie while the kids are shopping, everyone (kids and parents will enjoy the time with each other)! The shop I use is very reasonable and their customer service is great.
Check Them Out: A Small World Gift Shop www.smallworldgiftshop.com

get your parents involved. you'll be surprised at the talents around you.
any arts and crafters can whip out quality gifts at the drop of a hat. folks can work individually or you can get toghether a crafting session so volunteers can get to know each other. they get to use their gifts for the school, kids get to buy high quality items, recipients are happy to receive a thoughtful handmade item rather than junk. way fun!

LOL, ask and you shall receive-I found this one mentioned on another board I visit.

buckwholesale.com

Okay, I've been looking into this very subject this weekend, and this is what I've found:

Sav-On-Closeouts has lots of deals, you don't need to pay a fee to join and the shipping looks fairly reasonable.

There is a company in Miami-Dade county cally Furad that has fewer items but at least there are some different choices. They do have minimum purchases but it seems to usually be like 3 or 6, nothing outrageous.

I found another website that I spent a lot of time on, then my laptop went all fritzy and I can't seem to find it again.

I also looked at several of the prepackaged Santa Shops, and still feel that we'll be better off doing it ourselves.

And here are several of the companies you might want to look at:

www.ptotoday.com/yellowpages/fundraising...tegory=Holiday+Shops

Tim