I have helped run our school holiday store for the past two years at a profit of $4,000 for a school size of almost 800 students. We keep most prices low from 50¢ to $5. Our items include:
1. CRAFTS made by parent and student volunteers: last year we made 300 reindeer candy canes, 300 no-sew fleece scarves for moms, dads and students, 50 small decorated holiday trees, 100 little xmas stockings filled with pet dog bones from Costco or cat toys made with fleece scraps tied to foam paint sticks from Michael's, doll blankets made from fleece scraps
2. WHOLESALE toys purchased from A)Toyssmith (best quality, a little pricey),
Joissu (great prices, beware of some cheap quality toys), C) Oriental Trading (shop xmas sales in Jan, beware of lots of poor quality items that can be sent back for a refund),
3. MICHAELS after holiday sale in late Dec and early Jan for 80% to 90% off their dollar items and holiday decor such as note pads, gifts boxes to fill with candy, candles, ornaments, 40 holiday wreaths and 40 poinsettias we buy at $5 each and sell for $8 to $10 to parents and teachers. The wreaths decorate the cafeteria during the boutique and any unsold ones are allowed to be kept up after the boutique with discreet price tags so the cafeteria looks festive for student holiday concerts.
4. DOLLAR STORE online
5. COSTCO Online
6. CLAIR'S jewlery store sometimes has amazing sales on costume jewelry that we try to select the nicer pieces that Moms and teens would appreciate
7. SEE'S CANDY - we send an order form before the boutique for candy to be picked up during the boutique, as well as a limited supply available for sale at the boutique.
PRICING - we buy
8. CONSIGNMENT - We are looking for a source to purchase some items that can be bought on consignment or returned if unsold.
9. ADULT GIFTS - We are still looking for a better source to purchase adult gifts, especially for Dads.
STORAGE: We are very lucky our school has a storage closet they let us use during the year to store pre-purchased items. We try to make our big purchases of multiple items closer to the date of the boutique, but allowing us enough time to return items of poor quality.
PRICING; We buy Post-it 3/4" round Removeabe Pinter stickers, template #2700-O to print our own pricing stickers. They can be printed on a printer or a master copy can be printed on plain paper and xeroxed onto stickers using the school copier as needed.