What Is a Holiday Shop?

Holiday shops, also known as Santa shops, are popular with kids and parents, and volunteers often enjoy helping children make their choices. The basic setup is that parent groups provide merchandise, which students can purchase as gifts for family members and friends (including pets!). Many groups mark up the items to run the shop as a fundraiser, while others sell the items at cost as a service for families.

How Does a School Holiday Shop Work?

• Decide on a name for your shop. Popular names include Winter Wonderland, Candy Cane Lane, and Santa’s Workshop.

• Make sure to choose a good mix of gift items at a variety of price points. It’s best if most items are less than $5 to $10 each. You’ll want to set up your shop in a spot with enough space to display the items and manage crowd control, such as the school library or multipurpose room.

• Work with teachers and administrators to schedule previews and shopping times for each class. And have a plan to discreetly help children who can't afford to shop; this might be done with gift certificates or store credit, for example.

Benefits of Working With a Holiday Shop Company

A DIY holiday shop is a big organizational challenge, with a lot of up-front planning, cash outlay for gift items, and volunteer recruitment. By working with a holiday shop vendor, you can order merchandise on consignment (no preselling or money up front) and use the preloaded store app for purchases to make the checkout process even simpler and faster. No money goes to the vendor until the shop is over; you’ll only pay for what you sell, and return any unsold items.

Most vendors will send the holiday shop chair a planning packet with tips for a successful event, promotional materials, bags, tablecloths, and signage. And, since it’s tough to predict what the hot items will be, working with a provider gives your group a pain-free way to restock from day to day.

Below are some popular companies that provide holiday shop services to school parent groups. Give them a look to find the one that works for your school community.

Lil’ Shopper’s Shoppe

Holiday Treasures Gift Shop

Kids’ Kastle Holiday Shoppe

Fun Services

Penguin Patch Holiday Shop

Lil’ Shopper’s Shoppe

Overview
The Lil' Shopper's Shoppe makes your in-school holiday shop easy! We are not only a one-stop shop for a fun and successful fundraiser, but also a dedicated partner in ensuring that your school’s holiday gift shop delights students, parents, and educators. Lil’ Shopper’s Shoppe provides everything essential for a stress-free experience—quality gifts, supplies, technology, signing bonuses, and more! We are a family owned and operated company that has earned the trust and respect of schools and volunteers nationwide for over 45 years.

Features and Benefits

• Quality: We are the only company to design 100% of our gifts and 85% cost $5.00 or less.

• Ease: We will send you everything you need to guarantee your school a smooth and easy experience.

• Bonus: At sign-up, your school chooses from several exclusive bonus offers.

• Free Shipping and Supplies: All your orders will ship UPS or next day air with no fees or costs.

• Flexible Invoicing: No-Count inventory for easy invoicing. We still offer Count inventory if needed.

• Cash Register App: Our exclusive app makes checkout easy and accepts credit cards with no fees.

• Gift Certificates: Families can pre-purchase gift cards so their child doesn’t need to carry cash.

Pricing and Profits

We provide everything you need:

• No out of pocket or up-front costs

• Only pay for the gifts you sell

• Return all unsold gifts

• The holiday shop can be run as a service program or as a fundraiser

Choose your profit: 0%, 10%, 20% or set your own prices

Sign up and use promo code PTOHolidayShop to receive a $300 carnival kit. Choose an additional sign-up bonus:

• 200 Lil’ Shopper’s Shoppe dollars

• 5% additional profit

• $300 carnival kit

What Parent Groups Are Saying About Lil’ Shopper’s Shoppe

“I ran the Lil’ [Shopper’s] Shoppe for my son’s school and we absolutely loved it. The items were of great quality and reasonable pricing. The company made sure we were taken care of and had everything we needed. And if we ran out of something it was overnighted to us. 10/10 would definitely recommend. And I can’t wait to work with them again next year!”
—Meghan Marvin, PTO Holiday Shop Chairperson, Berea Elementary, Greenville, SC (Google review posted June 5, 2022)

Holiday Treasures Gift Shop

Overview

Give kids at your school the Joy of Giving to family and friends this holiday. For over 50 years, Holiday Treasures has built its reputation as the quality gift shop provider. We are still family owned and operated and have grown into one of the largest suppliers of in-school holiday shops in the country. Our shops feature gift store quality at kid friendly prices, backed by smart technology to make your shop easy. You’ll love our Ez Scanner checkout system for ringing up sales and tracking inventory. Our real-time reporting shows you all the detail for your sales and profit. We make your PTO look good!

Features and Benefits

• Gift Store Quality – You’ll See the Difference!

• Kid Friendly Prices - Most $1 to $6

• Handheld Scanners Make Checkout Easy

• Easy Sales & Inventory Tracking – No Counting

• Overnight Reorders Guaranteed

• Online Gift Preview for Families

• Prepaid Gift Vouchers Can Be Used In Place of Cash

Pricing and Profits

This is the program you remember as a kid! You can run your school’s holiday shop as a service or a fundraiser. Your parent association chooses the profit markup of 5%, 10% or 20% on gift prices. We implement your prices in all aspects of your shop including a website for families to preview your gifts. The majority of gifts are priced between $1 and $6. Please note: we encourage early sign up as we sell out each year.

What Parent Groups Are Saying About Holiday Treasures Gift Shop

“The past six years our PTO has worked with Holiday Treasures for our annual school holiday shop. We have never been disappointed; the high-quality service and care you will receive always goes above and beyond. The inventory is of great quality, there are so many options, that there is truly something for everyone and every budget. If you are looking for a holiday shop look no further, I assure you, you will be more than pleased.”
—Breeanna Kostopoulos, Genoa Kingston, Genoa, IL

Kids’ Kastle Holiday Shoppe

Overview

Kids’ Kastle is one of the most sought-after Kid’s “Holiday Shoppes” in the nation. Why? Service and Quality. For 40 years, we have been the best decision schools make for their In-School Holiday Shoppe for their students. Our products are carefully selected for their quality and value. We will guide and support you from start to finish. Our staff have run Holiday Shoppes in their respective PTO, PTA, HSAs over the years. We know how to best help and guide you to Holiday Shoppe Success. We promise to do everything we can to make this a fun and rewarding experience for all those involved.

Features and Benefits

• Quality Merchandise

• Next Day Reorders

• No Count Inventory System

• Cash Register APP & Gift Certificates

• Chairperson Website Personalized For Your School

• 85% of Merchandise $5 and Under Including your Profit

• 5 Star Customer Service

Pricing and Profits

Choose our “No Count” System or Traditional “Count/Set your own pricing Inventory System.” Our No Count inventory allows you to unpack, set up and start selling. Select your profit in advance and receive custom printed tent cards for your tables along with table clothes, posters, Parent Letters, Budget Envelopes, and social media posts. Just keep track of your daily sales and utilize our online invoicing system to generate your invoice. Your profit and invoice will be calculated automatically.

What Parent Groups Are Saying About Kids’ Kastle Holiday Shoppe

“Our Kid's Kastle Holiday Shoppe was fantastic! It was great to be able to get back to having a Holiday Shoppe for the students and believe me Kid's Kastle is the way to go. There was a wide variety of items to purchase and the prices were right on point. We were also extremely pleased reordering items as they were quickly selling out. Call your order in by 1pm and we received it before 11 the next day!!!! Our entire experience with Adam Kaplan and his staff was very satisfying. I would give them a 10 out of 10 and look forward to next sale.”
—S. Lovas, Arbor Intermediate, Piscataway, NJ

Fun Services

Overview

When that special gift means everything to them and you...Only Fun Services will do! Our local Fun Services Santa’s Secret Shop^® & Holiday Gift Shop^® experts make your satisfaction and success our priority. Everything we do is directed toward 1) Making the program convenient and easy for your volunteers and administration 2) Providing ample, new, & popular gifts that kids are excited to give 3) Providing high quality gifts and unique services that are valued by your school families. Since our original gift shop in 1968, we strive to provide the best gift shop program of its kind.

Features and Benefits

• Local, Family-Owned Business – freaky fast service for everything

• Stress Free – Our innovations, tools, & hi-tech options let you enjoy the students & the season

• Superior Quality – Over 50 years of secrets add up to the ultimate shopping experience

• Best Prices & Value – Because we are local, we pass the savings on to you

• Sports Merchandise –local pro & collegiate teams for your sports fans

• Free Promotional supplies – success guide, parent letters, money envelopes, tablecloths & posters

• Easy Peasy – We include decorative self-seal mylar gift bags (no tape/staples needed) for wrapping

Pricing and Profits

• All gifts are on consignment – you only pay for what you sell – no other charges!

• You get to select your mark-up percentage so you can control the pricing of the gifts

• Most gifts fall between $2.00 - $7.00; but can range from .25-$15.00

• We keep prices reasonable so you can provide a true service or raise needed funds

• Guarantee of Satisfaction – We replace any gift any time, No charge-No questions asked!

• Your business contributes to Fun Services’ support of Toys for Tots

What Parent Groups Are Saying About Fun Services

“We have been working with Doug and Emily of Fun Services for our Elementary School Holiday Shop for many wonderful years. Their dedication and customer service far exceeds any vendor we have ever worked with. Our students are always so pleased with the wide selection of gifts to pick out for everyone in their family. Doug and Emily make the process so easy and they are there with you every step of the way. We are so grateful to have such a hardworking team on our side to help us host Holiday Shop for our school community.”
—Erica V., PTO President, Southwest Elementary, Jacksonville, NC

Penguin Patch Holiday Shop

Overview

The Penguin Patch Holiday Shop offers the perfect balance of fun & function. Our fundraiser/service program brings together volunteers, parents, and teachers for the benefit of every student. Watch your students smile & giggle as they shop for holiday gifts for family & friends. Volunteers and teachers will crack up or even tear up listening to the students explain why they selected each present. Our focus is to offer a program that is easy and flexible...providing you with everything you need to have a successful event. A Penguin Patch Holiday Shop is a tradition that the entire school will look forward to every year and we are so excited to be a part of your school family.

Features and Benefits

• Flexibility like no other program! Choose the mark-up depending on your unique goals… Run it as a Service Project or a Fundraiser.

• Choose any combination of dates to meet your staff & students needs!

• All supplies included and shipped free to your school. Gift bags, budget envelopes, tablecloths, poster to advertise your shop, parent informational letters, reminder stickers.

• Adorable, custom aprons for every volunteer. This helps students to know who to go to for help and the front pocket is perfect for storing your phone and pens.

• Social media template wording and graphics to quickly and easily spread the word about your event.

• Online calculator programmed with your mark-up to smoothly check-out each child

• Loyalty program that pays you back. Our schools receive 1 point for every dollar that is paid to Penguin Patch. Use these point to get gifts and gadgets for your school.

Pricing and Profits

Add up all your sales, keep your selected mark-up and send us the rest. Service Project mark-ups are 0% and 10%. Fundraising suggested mark-ups are 20% and 30%.

What Parent Groups Are Saying About Penguin Patch

“The Penguin Patch Holiday shop is not just for kiddos to get stuff, it’s a way to teach them about independent shopping, using money and giving.”
—Charlotte Ann Cox Elementary PTA, Cedar Park, TX