Christmas craft fair
 

I'm kinda in charge of setting up our church Christmas craft fair starting this year. I have helped the former 'in charge' person from the beginning of the event, about 8 years total. She is no longer involved and the majority of participants want to continue having it but with some changes. One major change is making it more kid friendly. We have had vendors from the community and probably would keep that aspect, but want to reach out more to our congregation and make Christmas present purchasing more affordable, especially for the children. All that to say-anyone have any suggestions? Any experiences in this-good or bad? Thanks in advance.

Is the primary purpose of this fund-raising for the church?

Regarding affordable kid-friendly presents, I will say that one of my treasured possessions is a microfiber scarf made for me by my daughter. All it involved was cutting a rectangle, and then having her cut "fringe" about an inch wide and two inches deep on each end. Although you could sell these already made to children, it might be nice to have a kids' craft area where the children could cut the fringe themselves after selecting a colored rectangle.

Just today I was talking about this subject with a friend (of church craft fairs). She was telling me how her church back east made the entrance to the kids area just their size. In other words the made the doorway not very tall to let in just the kids to shop. Of course they had adults to help them and their gifts were wrapped for them before they left the room. I thought this was a great idea.

If you are making things for the children, fabric tic tack toe boards with huge buttons are fun (or checkerboards). Baby bibs, burp cloths, receiving blankets, quilts, etc. diaper bags, winter hats made of fleece or knitted or crocheted. If you are looking to make things for the kids to purchase for others, placemats, mug rugs, bookmarks, little bags, small purses, dog and cat toys or bandannas, small inexpensive items that older kids would enjoy.

The purpose of the fair is not fund raising for the church-rather a time for vendors to sell their wares and shoppers to enjoy some Christmas atmosphere. Church families with kids have gotten involved as vendors selling things the kids have made with mom and dad. The kids and parents have really gotten to enjoy just the atmosphere of fun and Christmas and not so much making any profit.
I like your scarf suggestion. Could you post a photo so I could present it to the others involved in the planning? Thanks for your time to respond and post the photo!!

I really like your idea! Really sets their area apart and limits who can enter. Thanks so much for your input!

I guess we are working both sides of the sales idea-ideas for the kids to make as well as to purchase to give to family members.
I like all your ideas! I will use these as suggestions when I meet with the others involved in the planning. Thanks so much for your input!

if you have anyone to make jewelry . . kids like to buy mum a necklace. could be simple. or they could have kits made up with the "chain" and beads so the kids could make it up there at a craft table or take it home. bookmarks could be cut out of scrapbook paper (heavy type) ahead of time, a hole punched in 1 end and a ribbon put thru or made of heavy construction paper and they could draw on them for presents. doggie bows and barrettes. we all love dressing up the pups. salt dough ornaments can be made ahead of time so the kids can decorate them at home WITH mom or they can be done for folks to buy. handmade ornaments can be charming. and there are many suggestions online. many with patterns

I couldn't find a website that shows how my dd made my scarf. However, it's very simple if you use microfiber (fleece), as it does not fray. Cut a rectangle the width and length you want for the scarf (mine is about 12" wide and 36" long). On each short end, use a scissors to cut into the scarf about 1" apart and 2" deep. That's it.

Here is a website that shows how to make easy no-sew blankets out of fleece:
http://www.instructables.com/id/No-S...ece-Blanket-1/

These can be made smaller for pet blankets. Larger sizes are nice for watching football games, etc.

I really like your ideas! Thanks so much! Time to do some web searching for patterns and directions for simple jewelry.

Thank you for the link. I made a couple of these fleece blankets, but my knots didn't look that good. Now I know how to tie them.

I wonder if some families would like to make dog and cat treats; kids might want to buy them as presents. I'm sure there are home recipes online.

when I do shows and do the dog treats, it's the first to disappear. once I just bought little milk bones and dipped them in the FAKE white chocolate disks and put red and green sprinkles for Christmas and blue for hannuakka. sold in a flash. I put 13 in a bag and called them a barkers dozen.

Now, THAT is creative!!!

Could you set up a Secret Santa to make/buy gifts for a Seniors Home in your area? Many seniors have few visitors and it would be spreading Christmas cheer outside of your Church membership.

Wow! I never thought of pets gifts--that's a great idea! Thanks!

Very Cute!!! Pets gifts are wonderful! Would you mind if we used your title? I really like it! Where do you get fake white chocolate disks?

Oh, my goodness, what a GREAT idea! I never would have thought of it! Our senior citizens are so often forgotten at holiday time. What a touching way to get to bless them. Thank you so much!

I'm sooooo glad I posted this question to all of you creative people. You have given me some really great ideas and suggestions! Keep them coming!

Where di you find the fake chocolate discs this is just a wonderful idea

Here a favorite with children is the lucky dip. Some great ideas on this post. Thanks to all.

I think all white chocolate is "fake" because there is no chocolate in it. It's almost pure fat and sugar. The white discs are used for making candy and are widely available where fancy backing/cooking supplies are sold. Even Amazon has them:
http://www.amazon.com/Merckens-White...dp/B00067WBHC/ .
The discs make melting it easier than if it is in slab form. Most grocery stores also sell white chocolate chips (where the regular chocolate chips are) which would also work but would be a little more expensive.

thank you prism, yes, those are the ones I use. I don't even know if the brown ones are real chocolate. anyone know?
the white lets you use any colored sprinkles you'd like.
I put them in a clear plastic lollipop type bag and put a curling ribbon on top with "Barker's Dozen" on a brown tag that looks like a dog bone. they sell out quite quickly, so be prepared and make extras.

Can you explain the lucky dip?

Great idea!