It might be rather late, but you still have time to put one together! Do you have a dollar store nearby? That's a great place to start (assuming you have at least a small budget). If budgets are tight, start contacting the reputable santa shop companies to see if they can ship you a complete shop (I really hate to suggest that, but I know time is short for this year!). If time permits to create your own shop, don't forget to add some homemade items- they sell like crazy! LMK what other things you are thinking about - I'll share any and all info I have from my shop!
Momski: Thanks for bringing this topic out of storage! We've given up on the santa shop companies this year and are doing it ourselves! We also added a Scholastic Book Warehouse Sale to run inside the santa shop.
OK, I admit that the PTA Pres. has the DT's about buying all this "stuff" instead of "just hiring" someone, but the quality has gone way up and the prices have been cut in half!!
All: Don't be afraid to cut loose and try a santa shop on your own! Our PTA has spent THOUSANDS of our students $$ on items priced 3-10 times their real value as a "service" to the kids. Now we're going to see if it works better this way... More to follow!
This was my first year of coordinating the Santa Store and I have to say it all ended up turning out well despite the fact that we didn't have a Santa until two days before.
My problem is not in the organization or the volunteers (luckily, we had plenty) - my problem is HOW DO I GET MORE PEOPLE TO COME? We had our Santa Store on a Saturday from 9:00 to 2:00. We sent out numerous flyers and even had it posted on the city sign (and school sign). However, out of 700 students only 200 children showed up.
We do the same thing only one of our retired teachers organizes everything and PTO volunteers help the students. She does try to use recycled items for her projects so cost is very low. I think students are asked to donate $1.50 and can make 10 craft projects if they want to. Students also get to stamp bags for gift wrap. Works great and everyone gets to make something even if they don't bring money!
