Thanks for everyone's help. Got some great ideas and yes, we may need to change the name of store!!
There is always those kind of parents!!!
Thanks Again!
Like Ladybug - I went to several sites, called compani4es and asked them to send me what information they could. Little Shoppers sent me a video but no "box of goodies". Fun Services sent me a box of goodies to review, then sent UPS to pick it up when we were finished looking at it. Then the kids from my neighborhood came over and looked over the videos, the box of stuff, the brochures, etc. - the kids made the decision. Yes - some of the things were pretty cheesy, but others were great and yes I would be proud to get them from my kids for Christmas. We went with Fun Services, will let you know after December how it worked out. One thing - we are calling it Holiday Shop because of the non-sectarian (ala can't say "God" in the pledge nof allegiance) nature of the public school system in our country. Took out all reference to Santa and Christmas and in my opinion that's a darn shame, but it's what we have to do if we are going to have the school's support and permission to use their facilities.
About two months ago, I went to several websites for Holiday Shops & requested information to be sent. I got brochures from a couple of companies & I received a HUGE box from one company--Lil' Shoppers Shoppe of Gifts-n-Things. Inside were tons of the gifts that would be part of our shop, video & sample flyer, tablecloth, bags, poster. I was surprised by the extra step they took so we're going with them. Gifts looked good. I think all of them work on a consignment basis. Last year the PTO used Fun Services & it went well, but I thought we should try something different this year. Hope this helps!
We are also thinking of doing a Santa Shop, I would love to hear from any school who has done one in the past, how successful are they, did the parents like it? Are the gifts really nice? Would you want that for christmas? [img]tongue.gif[/img]
We are trying a new Santa Shop this year. It allows us to choose 65 items, while they choose 110. It is on a consignment basis, you get to use a cash register for free, they send you all the things needed such as envelopes, parent letters, a door sign, etc. It is called KidSmart Holiday Shoppes. Their phone number is 1-800-659-9436. Fax number 1-717-249-0697, or go to their website at www.KidSmartHolidayShoppes.com. Hope this helps and good luck [img]smile.gif[/img]
