How to Host a Holiday Craft Fair From Home

The Holiday Craft fair season begins as early as mid October and usually lasts until mid December. During that time, ambitious craftspeople rent tables in church basements, sports arenas and community centres with the hope of selling much of their hand made projects.

During the summer months when most people are enjoying fun in the sun, devoted crafters are indoors preparing their wares for the upcoming Christmas holiday season. Below I will share with you some tips on how to run your own successful holiday craft fair, be it from home or in a rented venue.

I have been participating in holiday craft fairs for many years. My love for anything handmade began at an early age when my mom first showed me how to knit and sew. Over the years I perfected my crafting skills to a point where I was able to create my own handknit designs. I would spend a lot of my leisure time either at the sewing machine making clothes or on a comfortable sofa, knitting needles in hand creating beautiful handmade sweaters.

Years ago, I remember reading in a magazine about these 2 professional craftswomen who decided to host a craft sale from their home. Inspired by the idea, I contacted a group of vendors from around the neighborhood and asked them to join me in organizing our own home craft fair.

.

I have to say that it was one of the most successful endeavors in which I have participated. The craft fair took place over the last weekend of November. For three days my home was turned into a mini shopping mall. Hundreds of eager shoppers poured in, anxious to buy original Christmas gifts. The house had 2-3 Christmas trees in every room decorated with hand-made ornaments ready to be purchased.

One thing's for sure, if you are looking for something out of the ordinary, you will find it at a holiday craft fair. Many crafters can even personalize their work to make the gift even more appealing. There are thousands of books and magazines about every type of craft imaginable. Below are just a few.

It may be a lot of work but it is so much fun!

Here is an agenda that you can follow for hosting your own holiday craft fair.

Below are some general guidelines to get you started:

1) First and probably most important: no home craft fair would be possible without the unanimous consent of all family members. Once your spouse and kids agree get them to pitch in and help. Furniture will have to be moved and they will have to live picnic style for a few days.

2) Decide on the length of the holiday craft fair, whether it be a one day event or over the entire weekend. Ours was a three day weekend fair. Timing is important as well. Depending on the type of climate you live in, you may want to hold the craft sale before the cold weather and snow arrive.

3) Check with your local municipality to see if it is necessary to obtain any type of permit for holding such an event at your home and that you are adequately insured for it.

4) Let your neighbours in on what you will be doing to avoid any complaints.

Maybe some of them will lend a hand!

5) An event like this would require anywhere between 5 -10 crafters. It is best to start small and grow every year. Make sure you have a commitment from enough people to help with setting up, executing the craft fair, and cleaning up afterwards.

6) Offer a diverse variety of crafts, something for all ages and tastes.

7) Baked goods and preserves are always a big hit. Recrute your best friend or a family member to prepare lots of goodies. Something delicious like our very own lenmaster Freaknoodles' amazing chocolate chip cookies recipe that is guaranteed to provoke the tastebuds and entice your eager shoppers to buy! The cookies can be handed out at the door when they arrive.

Publicity

Get the word out - not only can you distribute flyers around the neighborhood, nowadays with the Internet you can reach a larger audience. You can place an ad in your local newspaper, and sites such as Facebook won't cost a penny to advertise. Post it on your facebook timeline and ask your friends to share the good news. You can even offer an incentive to first 50 shoppers such as a free roll of wrapping paper or a bag of decorative ribbon.

Blog about your craft sale:

You can tell others about your upcoming craft fair through your own blog or even star in your own Youtube or Instagram video with a preview of some of the products.

Free Publicity for your show! Many talk radio stations allow listeners to call in on Saturday mornings to talk about events happening in and around the neighborhood. That is the time to plug your craft sale!

Below is a sample of some great holiday gift ideas! Enjoy Christmas Music Cd's interpreted by some of the most current popular artists.

You can host a holiday craft fair for charity. Listed below are more interesting ideas

Consider donating a portion of the proceeds from your event back to your city or to your favorite charity. Mention this in your ad. To raise money, you can have each crafter donate a gift and raffle them off. People love to win prizes! Or you can all contribute a few dollars to purchase prizes from brand name stores which should attract a lot of buyers!

Although helping the needy is a good thing all year round, you may decide to use this opportunity to collect non-perishable food items from family and friends. During our craft fair one of our volunteers put together several gifts baskets made up of canned food, baby items and other gifts donated by our crafters and delivered them to one of our local charitable organizations.

If any of your crafters make handmade apparel whether it is knitted hats, scarves and gloves or beautiful sweaters, organize a mini-fashion show to promote the designs.

Have a silent auction during the craft sale. Some crafters are exceptionally gifted and create beautiful original paintings.. For example, if you know any Picassos or Rembrandts, ask them if they would like to sell their work using this method.

Since we are in the "green age" use recycled boxes and environmentally friendly plastic bags into which the purchases can be wrapped.

Decorate your home inside and out for the occasion. You can even create a theme for your sale and name it. Something like "Deck the Halls" craft fair, or "From our Home to Yours".

If you use several rooms in the house, create a different theme for each room. For example one theme can be " Noah's Ark", and fill the room with stuffed animals, another one can be Victorian decorated with lace and satin and yet another can be a green theme with items made out of recycled materials.

I would suggest to begin organizing the holiday craft sale several months in advance. A well prepared holiday craft fair, will attract a lot of visitors. And with the help of enough family and friends it will certainly ensure you much success!

You can hang up posters on your front door as well as all around the house!

I just love decorating the house for Christmas. Adding posters will add color and liven up the rooms!

Giclee Print">Santa and Sleigh

Giclee Print

Buy at AllPosters.com

Now that there are so many products readily available that have been imported from the Far East, we often ask ourselves,is it worth investing time and money to create our own items locally?

Do you think it is worth investing time and money to create your own handmade projects?

Find a lot of original holiday gift ideas on ebay!

Some people are so organized and buy their gifts during the course of the year. Others always wait till the very last minute.

Have you ever participated in a holiday crafts fair at your local church or community center? If so, I would love to hear about it!