I agree with Robin don't wait to start shopping--we start right after Christmas and hit all the sales to get all the christmas items at a discount and we store things in the PTO shed at the school and my garage LOL!
We also use brown paper bags stamped with a christmas design to "wrap" the gifts in for the kids.
LOL.. look at my typo.. " Christmad" instead of Christmas.. was that some sort of subliminal or freudian slip about my feelings of spending hundreds of hours on a school function 2 weeks before Christmas?? [img]smile.gif[/img]
hint to ptpmom amd others who do their own shopping for their santa shoppes. Don't wait til August to do that shopping.. do it in EARLY January when there are DEEP discounts on Christmad merchandise..then just pack it away.. that Santa Shoppe 2007 will be here in no time!
Oh, and another hint...candles will warp and melt in hot attics or unairconditioned school closets.. and of course, don't buy anything with food that will sit for a year!- but even if you buy those cute holiday baskets thatDO have food in them.. at 90% off retail, you can throw out the food, and fill the container with something else next Fall! [img]smile.gif[/img]
This was our second yr for a Christmas shoppe at our school of about 300. Last yr we used a company but not this yr. I had kept records from last yr on how many items we sold for about 250 students (1143 items). This yr we did all the shopping ourselves and bought 1565 items from Hobby Lobby (50% off sales), Dollar stores, Walmart, and Auto parts stores. We had only 98 items left over. Items ranged from $.50 to $10.00. We had many compliments from students and teachers on the good quality of items. As far as wrapping, we used paper bags (that we stamped with stampers and punched holes ahead of time) and all of the breakable items was bubbled wrapped before the sale. The only thing we might do differently is start shopping in August and not in November and have more $1.00 - $2.00 items.
Wow, I am impressed with some of your shops. I would LOVE to have parent wrappers, but, lack of volunteers. We use a company and ordered more than usual, no re-orders but have lots to send back. Just the usual pros and cons...
Unfortunately we had a lot left over that since it was opened (dozens) that can not go back. I hope we at least break even. We do not do this as a fundraiser. Guess we will see when the money is counted!
Our PTO sponsors a one-day-only Holiday Shoppe. Our area is rich in artisans and craftspeople, so all of our vendors sell handmade items; this year for the first time we sent out an open call in our PTO newsletter for school family members who do crafts/arts. We've discouraged vendors from bringing Oriental Trading-type stuff, and they're very good about it. We also ask them to have plenty of gift choices under $5, which they do, plus they often list things at half price for the kids.
Parents serve as volunteer wrappers. I did it for the first time this year and had such a good time, even though I did nothing but wrap nonstop for three hours! It was worth it; the kids love being able to find nice handmade things for people. Plus the teachers and parents who come by can shop, too, and get beautiful, unique gifts they can be proud to give. (FYI, one of our tricks is to make gift-wrap "envelopes" ahead of time so when it's really busy, we can just slip the gift into the envelope and tape it shut. And older kids can do it themselves.)
Vendors can either rent spaces for $10 (and they supply their own tables) or they can get a free space if they donate a certain percentage of their proceeds to PTO. We also require all vendors to donate some items to the Secret Santa table, where kids without money can pick out free gifts with coupons we supply to the teachers ahead of time. We usually make several hundred dollars from the shop.
As a thank-you to vendors and teachers, the PTO sets up a lunch buffet in the teachers' lounge. Parents provide the food, and we've been pretty successful in getting beverages donated.
Happy holidays to all, and thanks to you all for doing so much for your schools.
