How to run a surprise gift room
A surprise gift room is a great way to give little ones
a taste of independence. Whether it's for Christmas, Mother's Day
or Father's Day, you can help children pick a present for the ones
they love while boosting the PTA piggy bank.
Prices
Charging the same for everything is the simplest option, but
having a range of amounts means there's something for everyone.
Keep items at pocket money prices, around £1-£3, and price things
depending on how much they cost - for example, if it cost £1,
double it to £2.
Quantities
Collecting orders through a pre-order form means you can know
how much to buy (and of what, if you include a male/female
recipient question) and receive the payment in advance, so you
don't need to worry about children forgetting on the day. Limiting
the number of gifts per child prevents stocks running out before
everyone's had a chance to buy.
Donations
It's always great to receive donations, but there's a risk that
items will be of dubious quality! The safest option is to ask for
monetary donations, which you can then spend as needed.
Alternatively, a non-school uniform day where pupils pay into the
present fund is an easy way to cover costs.
Who to buy for
While it's traditional to offer gifts for parents, widening the
options means more profit potential! For Mother's and Father's Day,
have options for grandparents too, and Christmas is a brilliant
opportunity for pupils to buy for their siblings. Whatever your
choice, ensure you have a similar number of presents for each
group.
What to buy
It's fine to have some themed gifts for your stall such as
Christmas decorations, but keeping a lot of the stock generic makes
it easier to reuse leftovers. If you're unsure about what to buy
for men and women, sway more towards items that appeal to
everyone.
- For him: ties, handkerchiefs, torches, car freshener, ice
scrapers, beer mugs
- For her: make up, manicure set, nail polish, jewellery,
candles, bath bombs
- For everyone: chocolates, jars of sweets, shower gel, body
spray, scarves, gloves, socks, coasters, stationery, plants,
keyrings, photo frames, mugs, calendar, diary, fridge magnets
- For siblings: colouring books, toys, teddies, games
Combine cheaper items to make something more spectacular to buy
and give. Think mugs stuffed with chocolates or hot chocolate kits,
or layer up sweets in jars.
Where to buy
If you have the storage facilities, shop all year round for bulk
bargains to maximise profits. Hit the shops when non-perishable
items are being sold off in the days after Mother's and Father's
Day or the January sales to buy good quality items at discount
prices. These can be saved for next year, or generic items can be
used at your next event. Places like Home Bargains, B&M and
pound shops are fantastic options throughout the year.
For a quick and easy option, Your Fundraising Gift Shop (yourfundraisinggiftshop.com) offers packs of
presents suitable for all three occasions, which can be bought
wrapped or unwrapped.
Wrapping
Your Fundraising Gift Shop offers the option of having items
delivered pre-wrapped, but this does increase the cost of gifts. If
you want to keep outgoings down, hold a giftwrapping party with
your committee and volunteers, or get pupils to wrap their presents
at your event. This will require plenty of helpers and patience,
but it means that no one has to wrap a pile of presents all in one
go.
Choosing a date
With a Father's or Mother's Day sale it pays to hold the event
as close to the day as possible - this way you can take advantage
of forgetful parents and pupils, and there's less time for buyers
to lose presents!
For a Christmas room, holding it at your winter fair means
everyone is already gathered together. On the other hand, people
may be less inclined to spend as they're already giving to other
attractions, and your sale is restricted to the length of the fair.
While it may be practical to do everything at once, running your
surprise room as it's own event may be more profitable, as you can
have it open for as long as necessary so everyone has a chance to
buy.
Running your room
If your surprise room is going to be an individual event,
consider when you're going to hold it and how long for. This will
depend on how many pupils/classes you have to get through. For an
organised approach, run it during the school day, taking children
class by class to choose their gifts. If there are too many to get
through, do one day for KS1 and one for KS2.
Otherwise, holding it after school means parents can wait in the
playground while children shop. Although you may have to do this
for a few days so everyone has a chance to buy something, having
parents at the ready to give a few pounds to forgetful pupils can
only be a good thing!
Whatever the decision, dividing the room into choosing and
paying areas will ease the flow of people. If pupils are going to
wrap presents themselves, set up a third area for wrapping,
complete with helpers, where children can wrap gifts and write
labels.
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