With our holiday shop guide, you can learn how to plan and operate a winter store that raises essential funds for your school.
A school holiday shop is a fantastic way to engage students, parents, and your school’s community. By planning your holiday shop ahead of time, you’ll be well-positioned to make it a resounding success.
In this holiday shop guide, you’ll learn what to prepare in the weeks before the event, how to organize a team of helpers, the best places to set up around the school, and some tips for cash and inventory management. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to set up a holiday shop in under six weeks!
The First Order of Business
Start looking for holiday shop providers at the beginning of the school year so you can reserve their services before they’re booked up. Research school holiday shop suppliers and find one that aligns with your goals.
If you’re looking for an option with low upfront costs, search for a supplier who operates on consignment. They will send you products, and you’ll only pay for what you sell after the fact. You’ll return the rest to them at the end of your event!
4-5 Weeks Before Opening Your Holiday Shop
About a month before your school holiday shop opens, you’ll want to decide what to call the event and start gathering volunteers.
- Name your holiday shop something that relates to the season. For example, “Frosty’s Fun Shop” or “The North Pole Market.” You can also find creative ways to implement your school’s name, like “Holly Jolly Jefferson.”
- Decide when your holiday shop will start and end (a week is a good amount of time) so you can make a preliminary announcement on the school message board, newsletter, Facebook page, etc. Include in the announcement a call for volunteers and a place they can sign up.
- Gather promotional materials (usually provided by your holiday shop partner) and hang them around the school.
2-3 Weeks Before Opening Your Holiday Shop
Decide where you’ll set up shop, plan the organization of items, and narrow down a schedule for visits. Then, send flyers home with students so their families can make arrangements for visits.
- Coordinate with your school staff to determine a schedule for classroom visits.
- Along with the staff, decide whether you’ll open the shop after school hours so parents and family friends can visit too.
- Decide the best place in your school to set up your holiday shop. Consider the gym, library, cafeteria, and any large, empty spaces in the school that could comfortably fit a few tables and a class of shoppers.
1 Week Before Opening Your Holiday Shop
The week leading up to opening day, everyone should be eager for the shop to open and prepared for their responsibilities!
- Ask the administrative staff to include the holiday shop hours and location in the school announcements.
- Give teachers a detailed schedule of the order of classroom visits.
- Send reminder emails to parents and post on your school message board, Facebook group, etc.
- Give a sneak peek into the holiday shop by listing items that will be available, and include pictures if possible.
Cash & Inventory Management
Cash and inventory management can be very simple if you choose the right holiday shop partner. A provider with no-count inventory will send you everything you need to welcome shoppers, and you’ll only keep track of the items you sell and how much money you make each day. At the end, you’ll send all unsold merchandise back to the provider, and they’ll bill you for the items they didn’t get back (everything you sold).
Most holiday shop partners will provide you with a way to keep track of sales. Some will have paper sheets that you’ll fill out by hand, others may have an app that automates the process for you, and some may use a combination of both methods.
However you manage cash, it’s best to minimize the number of people handling it as much as possible. Having only one person per shift responsible for holding onto money reduces the chances of errors.
Now that you’ve read through this holiday shop guide, you’re ready to take the first steps toward setting up your own! As you research the best providers, consider Lil’ Shopper’s Holiday Shoppe. We make it easy by sending you everything you need to promote, set up, and operate a successful holiday store! Fill out our online form today to get started.
