Christmas Craft Shows Display Ideas
Best Ways to Attract Customers and Sell Handmade Crafts at Fairs
Nov 14, 2009
Christmas craft shows attract both professional full-time business owners and seasonal vendors who do work at craft fairs year round. Seasonal craftspeople are equally talented but less likely to have acquired art show tents and necessary booth set-ups of their year-round counterparts. During the season they must utilize artful and sometimes inexpensive ways to complete and showcase their wares.
Christmas Craft Shows
Many Christmas craft fairs are held indoors to avoid the predicable inclement weather. Schools and churches often hold them in gyms and church basements and charge vendors a relatively small fee.
These events may be smaller than others, but the potential to make money while getting exposure is there. While producers of smaller, indoor events often allot a length of table (10 feet, for example), vendors would be foolish to simply place items on the table.
Christmas Craft Display
Every vendor is supplied a 10 foot long table and a folding chair. The rest of the display is up to the craftsperson. First, set aside a small part of the table to sit behind, either in the middle or on one side.
- Height. Bring items for sale up closer to customer eye level. To do so, purchase inexpensive tabletop shelving units. They must be sturdy but do not worry about their beauty (read on).
- Tablecloth. Purchase three or four identical, plain tablecloths and use one to cover the table. It must reach the floor. Vendors store boxes and extra items to sell under the table.
- Shelving units and tabletop displays. Cut up the remaining tablecloths into pieces that will drape over and cover shelving units. Alternatively, if the units are wood and nice looking, create a backdrop.
- Backdrop. Take a piece of plywood or cardboard and cover it with one of the tablecloths. The board must be tall enough to reach from the floor to top of the display units, and not so wide as to prevent vendor from sitting at the table. The backdrop is leaned against the back of the table and secured with boxes or weights (such as bricks) on the floor.
- Hanging displays. Items such as candles and Christmas ornaments can be hung on tabletop "trees" designed for this purpose.
- Card displays. The investment of a tabletop greeting card display rack may be worth it.
Small items like jewelry can be pinned to the cloth covering the backdrop. Jewelry is best viewed hanging as it will hang on a person.
Christmas Booth Display Decoration
Once items are displayed well, don't be afraid to make the booth space even brighter and more attractive to customers.
- If there is access to electricity, string Christmas lights around the edge of the table. It is more difficult but possible to string lights in front of the tablecloth in a pleasant patten. Secure the string of lights with safety pins here and there, or tiny pieces of Velcro.
- Bring table lamps to keep display bright.
- Hang tinsel around the edge of the table and matching tinsel around the backdrop.
- Decorate the edges of the table and backdrop with natural Christmas garlands.
Remember to make your table warm and inviting for the best chance of selling success.
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