Just finished holiday store yesterday. No matter which company you choose, having enough volunteers is crucial. We didn't, now I'm worn out. Enough volunteers makes the childrens' experience wonderful. Having someone who can spend time helping them shop and wrap the gifts is the best. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Holiday Shops can be a lot of fun and are a nice service for the kids.
Even if you use a turnkey solution, they do take a lot of planning and some pretty serious volunteer commitment.
No matter what the schedule, it always seems to take more time than expected to get X number of kids through.
It's sooo hard for them to choose sometimes and the younger ones don't undertand money. So they'll pick out $15 worth of stuff and give you $4.40 in PENNIES. It can be a slow process (but cute!!)
Anyway, just be sure you spend some up front time planning well and recruiting plenty of volunteers.
In our school we run our own. We purchase the bulk of the items from 2 companies online and then buy some odds and ends at stores.
Our parents like it so much better now as we can control the quality and pricing of the items we sell. Not to mention that instead of making a company money the money all comes back to the organization for the kids.
Check out my favorite: Kids Go Shopping. They offer great incentives, pay for all shipping and handling (even shipping over-night), and are easy to use.
There is one (can't remember the name) that you don't even do the inventory at the end. You just pack everything up, ship it, and wait for the bill. I didn't use it because I am too much of a control freak to let someone else do the math. It isn't that I don't trust them exactly; well maybe it is...lol...
Most "Santa Shops" furnish everything you need to run a successful shop, just beware of the quality of goods. We had no returns and no breakage from Kids Go Shopping. We had lots of returns, breakage, and unhappy parents with Jingle Bell Shop.
Try Fun Factory. We have used them in the past and are again this year. They have everything ready for you, including this year a cash register with a scanner.
Do a search for Santa Lands or something like that.
