Hi wolfes01!
We hear about lots of folks doing a holiday shop on their own by picking up items (start now!) from discount and dollar stores. It does take more upfront work, but lots of folks report that they really enjoy doing it this way.
If you have the time, you may also want to post your question on our PTO & PTA Leaders group on Facebook It's a closed group, so you do have to request to join (I'll approve you immediately!). You'll find many helpful PTO and PTA leaders there who are very willing to share their experiences. They are so helpful!
8 years 4 months ago#170426by Seasoned Professional
Replied by Seasoned Professional on topic Santa Shop
One of the best online resources for purchasing gifts on your own is www.santashopgifts.com
The dollar store is a great place to buy some items, but you are really missing out on the Mom & Dad items. They have the largest and best selection of various family trinkets and such I have found. Buying from them before mid October is absolutely important though. Many items seem to sell out the closer you get to shop time. Lower buying price = higher resale price = higher profits = better value.
I'd love to share any more advice or tips if anyone is in need.
I think we are going to try to do this without a company this year too and just purchase the items ourselves. Curious how many of each thing those of you that have done this usually purchase?
Last year we did a craft store and offered 3 types of crafts for the kids to make and it went over well; but was a bit on the labor intensive side.
we use fun services as well. they have a great assortment and local. we can call them by 4pm and get a delivery that evening (or early morning) during our holiday shop!
We held our first Holiday Shop last year and were not pleased with the quality of items, nor the types of items they offered (too many varieties of screwdriver/tool kits, ice scrapers for windshields... just weird stuff). We also ran out of most of it the first day of the sale (it was 3 days long) so I ended up making several trips to local vendors to re-stock. After doing so, I realized that we were able to mark-up many of the items more than 50%, which is a significant increase over the 20% offered by the company we used. This year, we are going solo and purchasing the items ourselves. Ask around for donations and moms who craft, as well.
