How We Run Our Own School Holiday Shop for 1,300+ Kids (Plus a FREE Inventory Spreadsheet!)

How we turned our elementary school's holiday shop into one of our favorite PTO fundraisers, learned some expensive lessons along the way, and used a whole lot of spreadsheets to make it work!

Heads up: this post contains affiliate links. If you shop through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I've actually used and paid for myself.

I'll just go ahead and say it: Holiday Shop week is my absolute favorite week of the entire school year.

And that's saying something, because by the end of the week, our PTO volunteers are exhausted, our feet hurt, and we've probably heard "Can you help me find something for my grandma?" approximately 400 times.

But there is something truly magical about watching an elementary school student experience the joy of giving, sometimes for the very first time.

Our school has more than 1,300 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, and every December, we transform a room into a little Christmas shopping wonderland where students can purchase gifts for their friends, families, teachers, and even their pets.

We don't use a holiday shop company or purchase one of those prepackaged programs. We buy every single item ourselves, set our own prices, create our own displays, and run the entire shop with PTO volunteers.

Is it a tremendous amount of work? Absolutely.

Is it worth it? Without a doubt.

And here's the part that might surprise you: Last year, our little holiday shop generated $48,616 in sales, up from $35,656 the previous year!

Those proceeds helped our PTO work toward a $172,000 playground improvement goal that we successfully reached. But unlike many traditional fundraising activities, this one gives our students something really special in return.

They're learning to budget, make decisions, think about other people, and experience what it feels like to choose the perfect gift for someone they love.

We're heading into our third year of running our own shop, and while I certainly don't claim to have everything figured out, we've learned A LOT. I've also looked at plenty of other holiday shops along the way, and I'm pretty proud of what our PTO has created.

So I'm sharing the whole process: what we buy, where we shop, how we price things, how we manage inventory, our biggest mistakes, our favorite decorating tricks, and even the spreadsheet I use to keep it all organized.

And yes, I'm sharing a FREE copy of my actual holiday shop inventory spreadsheet, along with a blank version you can use for your own school!

Our First Year: When My Spreadsheet Saved Christmas

A little background about me: Before leaving the corporate world about 10 years ago, I worked as a financial analyst and cost controller for a Fortune 500 company, where I specialized in forecasting.

These days, I spend most of my time volunteering for our school PTO, but I still love a good spreadsheet.

Actually, that's probably an understatement.

So when we decided to run our own holiday shop for more than 1,300 elementary school students, naturally, I built a spreadsheet and started forecasting.

The problem? We had absolutely no historical sales data.

Our librarian generously shared the total sales from our school book fair, and we used that information to estimate that the average student would probably spend around $20 at our holiday shop.

It seemed like a reasonable starting point.

Boy, were we wrong.

By the end of our very first shopping day, I could tell from my spreadsheet that we had purchased barely over HALF the inventory we were going to need to make it through the week.

HALF!

And we still had four days of shopping ahead of us.

Cue the panic shopping.

Our PTO volunteers spent the rest of the week scrambling to buy additional merchandise from local stores, restocking whatever we could find, and just trying to keep enough variety on the tables for every class.

Somehow, we made it.

Every student in the final class was able to find something for everyone on their shopping list. But just barely!

We finished the week with less than $2,000 in carryover inventory, and while that might sound like a successful sell-through rate, it was cutting things much closer than I ever wanted to experience again.

Lesson #1: Selling almost everything isn't necessarily a good thing when you're running a children's holiday shop.

Your last class deserves a great selection just as much as your first class.

And the experience of giving should never feel like picking through leftovers.

Year Two: Finally, Some Real Data!

Thankfully, our second year was an entirely different story.

We had actual sales numbers, knew which items were popular, knew what price points sold best, and had a much better understanding of how families approached shopping.

Our goal was simple: We needed to purchase at least as much inventory as we had sold the previous year, with enough additional merchandise to improve the selection for the final classes.

But I had another trick up my sleeve: our eWallet data.

How We Use Square eWallets to Forecast Sales

Families can send cash or a check with their students, but we also offer prepaid eWallets through Square.

Parents purchase an eWallet before shopping week, providing their student's name, teacher's name, and the amount they want their child to spend.

We enter each student's name when processing their holiday shop transaction in Square. The eWallet purchase and the student's shopping transaction aren't automatically linked, but we can spot-check transactions to help reconcile our records.

Our eWallets are prepaid balances, and under our program's policy, any unused funds become a donation to our PTO. That said, we work really hard to make sure students use their money. In most cases, we help them get their remaining balance down to less than $1.

Now, here's where my forecasting background comes into play.

After our first year, I was able to pull the Square transactions and calculate the average eWallet amount purchased by parents.

Year 1 (2024) average eWallet: $32.91

Then, in the two weeks leading up to our second holiday shop, I monitored the incoming eWallet purchases.

The average amount parents were loading was trending higher, giving us an early indication that students might spend more in year two.

And by the end of our second year, the numbers confirmed it!

Year 2 (2025) average eWallet: $41.18

That's a 25.1% increase in the average eWallet amount from our first year to our second!

That was a pretty strong indicator that we could expect students to spend more in year two.

Why the increase?

My theory is that parents weren't quite sure what to expect the first year. They may have anticipated the inexpensive trinkets and plastic toys that are common at some school holiday shops.

But after their children brought home the gifts they'd purchased, families realized we actually had some pretty nice merchandise!

I suspect many parents increased their child's budget the following year, or allowed them to shop for more people once they understood how it all worked.

Of course, eWallet averages aren't a perfect predictor of total sales. Not every student uses an eWallet, and spending patterns can change. But combined with our previous year's sales, the information was incredibly helpful.

And that's one of my biggest recommendations: Collect as much useful data as you reasonably can.

You might not need it today, but you'll be glad you have it next year.

The Numbers: How Profitable Is Running Your Own Holiday Shop?

Let's talk money, because I know that's what many PTOs are curious about!

Here are the actual numbers from our first two years.

That's a 36% increase in actual sales from our first year to our second!

And while our inventory purchasing expenses increased by only about $1,457, the total retail value of merchandise available increased significantly.

Why Buying in Advance Made Such a Big Difference

A big part of that bigger profit in year two came from one change: we felt comfortable buying a lot more of our inventory in advance.

When we shop clearance, bulk, and wholesale ahead of time, we pay so little per item that we can often sell it to the kids for less than the original retail price and still make a much larger profit.

Shopping during holiday shop week is a completely different story. When we have to restock mid-week, we don't mark those items up nearly as much, because we want the shop to stay affordable for the kids. At that point, it isn't about profit at all. It's about surviving the week and making sure every class still has a great experience.

And that's okay! Because we know the merchandise we bought in advance has already done the heavy lifting, we can afford to restock at slimmer margins when we need to.

So if you take away one money lesson from our shop, let it be this: the more you can buy ahead of time, the more profitable (and less stressful!) your holiday shop week will be.

Now, a quick accounting note, because I can't help myself.

These figures aren't a complete net profit statement. We carry merchandise from one year into the next, and our spreadsheet records the inventory expense in the year it was purchased. We also have operating costs, payment processing fees, and occasional donated or credit-funded inventory.

But even after accounting for those expenses, running the shop ourselves has been a very successful fundraiser for our PTO.

And I love that we're raising money while providing something children genuinely enjoy!

Where Do We Buy All This Stuff?

This is probably one of the questions I get asked most often.

The short answer? EVERYWHERE.

But our biggest money-saving strategy is shopping after the holidays.

Start Shopping the Day After Christmas!

We do a tremendous amount of our holiday shop purchasing during post-Christmas clearance sales.

I'm talking 90% OFF clearance.

Some of our favorite places to hunt include Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, CVS, Walgreens, At Home, and Dollar General.

And don't stop shopping after Christmas!

Valentine's Day clearance is one of my favorite opportunities to find holiday shop merchandise.

Think about it: stuffed animals, perfume, bath and body gifts, candles, gift sets, and plenty of other products aren't necessarily Valentine-specific.

Something that was originally marketed as a Valentine's Day gift might make a perfect Christmas present for Mom, Grandma, a sister, or a friend.

When you're purchasing merchandise that children will buy at relatively low price points, getting your inventory at a deep discount makes an enormous difference.

And don't forget to look beyond the seasonal aisles.

Here's what our holiday shop storage office looked like after one of our post-Christmas clearance runs, before we priced and packed everything away!

Our Other Favorite Inventory Sources

The rest of our inventory comes primarily from:

• Temu: An especially valuable source for inexpensive merchandise and bulk purchases.
• Amazon: Wonderful for filling inventory gaps, finding certain popular items, and last-minute restocking.
• Woot: Worth checking for discounted merchandise and special deals. Their Toy Palooza events have been great for stocking up on larger toys at low, low prices.
• Faire: A wholesale marketplace, and the products often come in display boxes that are ready to set right out on our tables.
• Accessories Palace: Another great source for jewelry and accessories.
• Oriental Trading: Handy for bulk packs of fun kid items, like squishies.

I'm working on a separate blog post all about how I maximize discounts and credits on Temu, because honestly, that topic deserves its own article.

Coming soon: My Tips for Saving the Most Money on Temu

Want to see exactly what we buy? Jump down to our holiday shop best sellers list, with links and the price we sell each item for.

Where Our 2025 Inventory Actually Came From

Here's how our year two inventory broke down, straight from my spreadsheet:

Temu was our single biggest source: about a third of all the items in our shop, for less than a quarter of what we spent.

The biggest takeaway is that you don't have to purchase everything from one company or one supplier.

In fact, some of our best deals have come from being willing to shop all year long.

Price and Label Everything as You Buy It

Here's a little tip that saves us an enormous amount of work later.

When we purchase merchandise, we put the price sticker on it before packing it away.

Every item gets its color-coded price sticker, gets entered into our inventory spreadsheet, and goes into storage.

So when December rolls around, we're not sitting in a room surrounded by thousands of unpriced items.

We've already done most of that work throughout the year.

Trust me, future-you will appreciate this.

How We Price Our Holiday Shop Merchandise

We offer gifts at several fixed price points:

$2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $10, and $12.

This year, we're adding a $15 category as well.

Rather than individually labeling every item with a written price, we use colored dot stickers, with each color representing a specific price. We like these small dot stickers for jewelry and smaller items, and these larger dot stickers for everything else.

We also have laminated price charts at every merchandise table, and our shopping volunteers carry copies.

This makes it easier for children to identify prices and for volunteers to help students stay within their budgets.

But it also makes checkout and inventory analysis much easier.

We Decide the Price Before We Buy

We decide what a gift is worth to a kid shopper and sell it at that price, no matter what we paid for it.

Novelty socks for Dad are a perfect example. They're always $4. Sometimes they're clearance finds, sometimes they're from Dollar Tree, sometimes they come from a bulk set on Amazon that we split up, and sometimes we buy individual pairs on Temu. Whatever the source, they sell for $4.

It keeps pricing simple for the kids and the volunteers. And knowing ahead of time that socks sell for $4 also helps me decide whether a deal is actually worth buying.

Why We Track Sales by Price Point

When a child checks out, we select the appropriate color/price category in Square for each item.

We're not tracking every single product individually at checkout, but we can see exactly how many items have sold at each price point.

And that information is incredibly useful.

Let's say we've purchased 500 items priced at $10.

If we sell 250 of them on the first day, we know we need to watch that category closely.

But I'm not necessarily panicking yet.

A student who has $10 to spend on someone could potentially purchase two $5 gifts instead.

Now, imagine we've purchased 1,000 items priced at $2 and sell 800 of them on the first day.

THAT is a problem.

Because a child who only has $2 left to spend on Grandma needs to be able to find something for $2.

They can't just move up to a higher price point.

Having enough inventory at the lower price points is especially important.

This is why we don't just look at the total number of items remaining. We look at how many items are available at each price point and in each merchandise category.

Our Holiday Shop Best Sellers

One of the questions I get most often is "What do you actually sell?" So here are some of our best sellers, grouped the way we group them on our spreadsheet, with the price we sell each one for in our shop.

I'll be adding to this list as I shop for this year's holiday shop, so check back!

For Mom & Grandma

Almost everything for Mom works for Grandma too, so they share a table in our shop.

• Blankets: $10. We also buy a ton of blankets locally at At Home, right before and during shop week.
• Boxed charcuterie board and tools gift set: $10
• "Mommin'" hats: $12. Not nearly as popular with the kids as Dad hats, but one of the first things our volunteer moms say they wish their kids would pick for them!
• Women's bag set, split into four gifts: gym duffle $12, backpack $8, handbag $8, and makeup case $5
• "Mama" wooden bead keychain wristlets: $8
• "Mama" jewelry boxes: $8
• Mama necklaces (style 1, style 2): $5
• Paw print earrings: $5. Every school in our city has a Husky mascot, so anything with paw prints is a hit. Look for jewelry that matches your own school's mascot!
• Women's touchscreen gloves: $5
• Women's fuzzy socks: $4
• Christmas earrings: $3
• Chapstick and lotion gift sets: $3
• Smaller candles: $3, as a less expensive candle option. We also buy a lot of bigger glass candles on clearance locally and sell those for $5 to $10, depending on size and design.
• Travel angel keychain sets: $3. Especially popular for Grandma.
• Face masks and foot masks: $2 each
• Boxed mini resin figures with phrases: $2 (see the story below!)

Grandma likes tiny things. Our first year, we sold croc charms, and kids kept buying them for Grandma. When we asked if Grandma had Crocs, they'd say, "No, she likes tiny things!" So we started selling these little boxed resin figures instead. They come with sweet phrases and nice packaging, so they feel like a complete gift rather than a random charm, and we sold a ton of them last year.

New this year: I found the same kind of little boxed sets, but with squishy pickles inside, for $3. I think the kids are going to love them!

For Dad

• Hats: $10. These always disappear first!
• Christmas edition Dad joke book: $8. Watch for Amazon's buy 2, get 1 free book deals, which make these an even better buy.
• Dad joke book and calendar set: we split the set and sell each piece for $8
• Men's wallets: $5
• Men's neckties: $5
• Novelty socks (bulk set, individual pairs): $4
• Sasquatch (Bigfoot) multi-tool: $4
• Cooling neck towel: $4
• Keychains: $2
• Fishing lures: $2

For Mom or Dad

These come in multi-color packs, so we split them up by color: pink and purple go on our "Mom" tables, and the other colors go on our "Dad" tables.

• Back scratchers: $3
• Head massagers: $3

For Teens & Grown-Ups

Electronics are popular for teenage siblings and adults.

• Shower speakers: $12
• Mini speakers: $10
• Earbuds: $10

For Girls

• Bagged spa gift sets: $10. These work for Mom too!
• Touchland-style spray hand sanitizers: $4
• Lip gloss: $4

For Boys

• Ice cream drip baseball compression sleeves: $5
• Rebound wrist baseballs: $3
• Sports bracelets: $2

For Kids

• Light-up Christmas winter hats: $10
• Digital ATM bank safes: $10
• LED electronic watches: $5
• LCD doodle boards: $5
• Italian Brainrot blind boxes: $5
• Plush blind bags: $4
• Video game keychains: $3
• 3D printed snakes: $3. We package each one in one of these bags.
• Phone water ring games: $2

Squishies!

Squishies are SUPER popular right now. Every squishy on this list was tested by my daughter first to make sure it was a good squishy and not junk. And they're all individually packaged!

• Coconut oil squishies: $8
• Gorilla squishies: $6. These come in a display box that goes right on the table.
• Dumpling (bao bun) squishies: $6
• Butter squishies: $5
• Duck squishies: $5
• Taba squishy set: the set has large and small squishies, so we sell the large ones for $5 and the small ones for $2
• Gumdrop squishies (similar to NeeDoh Gumdrops): $3
• Boxed squishy pickle sets: $3 (new this year!)
• Squishy balls: $2 each, or bagged bundles of 3 for $5

I've ordered a bunch more squishies to test, and I'll update this list once we confirm which ones are worth ordering!

For Pets

• Dog crinkle and squeaky toys: $5
• Cat ribbon wand toys: $4. Funny enough, lots of kids bought these for their sisters to use as ribbon dancers!
• Individually wrapped Christmas dog cookies (set 1, set 2): we buy the sets and sell 1 cookie for $2
• Dog rope toys: $2
• Christmas dog tennis balls: $2
• Cat feather wand toys: $2

Make Your Own Gift Sets

Some of our favorite gifts are ones we put together ourselves. Splitting up a multi-pack and pairing each piece with something inexpensive turns one purchase into several gifts that look like much more than they cost.

• Grill set ($5): We split up a set of grilling spices and tie one spice to a pair of Dollar Tree grill tongs with Christmas ribbon.
• Baking set ($4): A silicone spatula tied together with a Christmas towel (both from Christmas clearance shopping), plus a cookie recipe card we print to make it look extra special.
• Spa set for Mom: We bundle face masks, foot masks, hand masks, and/or eye masks together and price the set $1 to $2 less than the masks would cost individually at $2 each. For example, a set of three sells for $4 or $5 instead of $6.
• Squishy ball bundles: Bagged sets of 3 for $5, instead of $2 each.

Make It Look Like a Gift

Packaging makes a bigger difference than you'd think. A few of our tricks:

• Some of our electronics came in plain white boxes, so I printed the product photo on sticker paper and stuck it on each box. Now kids can see what's inside, and it looks like a store-bought gift.
• Loose items, like our 3D printed snakes, go into clear bags so they look like a finished gift and the tables stay tidy.
• A simple printed card, like the cookie recipe in our baking set, makes a homemade set feel complete.

My FREE Holiday Shop Inventory Spreadsheet

Okay, fellow spreadsheet lovers. This section is for you.

And if spreadsheets aren't your thing, don't worry! I'm sharing a blank template with the formulas already built in, so you can simply start entering your inventory.

Before leaving corporate life, I specialized in forecasting, so building a spreadsheet that would help us predict inventory needs was probably inevitable.

But what started as a relatively simple inventory list has evolved into a tool we use to make purchasing decisions, track potential profits, compare inventory levels, and even estimate how many gift-wrapping bags we need to order.

I'm sharing two versions:

1. An example of my actual holiday shop inventory spreadsheet, so you can see how we've used it.
2. A blank holiday shop inventory template, with dropdowns and formulas ready for you to enter your own merchandise.

Understanding the Inventory Entry Columns

When we purchase merchandise, we only have to fill in a handful of columns. The rest of the calculations happen automatically.

Here's what each column does.

Columns G, I, and J are intentionally left blank.

Why the Dropdown Menus Are Important

Several of these fields use data validation dropdowns.

That's a fancy way of saying you choose from a predefined list rather than typing whatever you want.

For example, our intended recipient categories include:

Dad, Mom, Boys, Girls, Unisex Kids, Pets, and Teacher.

These are simply broad inventory categories, not rules about who can receive each item!

A child might buy a kitchen gift for Dad, a tool for Mom, or something from the general adult merchandise for a teacher.

I reserve the Teacher category for merchandise that specifically says something about teachers and wouldn't make as much sense for another recipient.

We also categorize merchandise by item type, using categories like toys, plush animals, kitchen items, blankets, jewelry, fishing, golf, tools, books, ornaments, pet toys, and more.

The reason these dropdowns matter is that our summary formulas depend on the categories being consistent.

If one person enters "Blanket" and another enters "Blankets," a formula looking for one of those categories might not count the other.

Using dropdowns prevents those problems.

If you decide to add new recipient or merchandise categories, you'll also need to update the corresponding dropdown lists and summary formulas. In the blank template, the dropdown lists live on their own "Dropdown Lists" tab, so adding a new category is as easy as typing it at the bottom of the list.

How to Enter Bulk Purchases

Column H is the number of individual gifts, while Column K is the total cost of everything on that line.

For example, if I purchase a package containing 24 individual gifts for $12:

• Quantity (H): 24
• Total Cost (K): $12
• Selling Price (L): Whatever we plan to charge for each individual gift

If I'm shopping clearance and purchase 10 identical items for $1.25 each, I might simply type =10*1.25 into the Total Cost field.

The important thing is that the cost reflects everything on that line, not just one item.

You'll also notice some inventory with a $0 cost.

That could be leftover inventory from a previous year, merchandise we received through free Temu credits, or donated items.

We record inventory expenses in the year we actually purchase the merchandise, so we don't count the same expense again when carrying items forward.

The Columns That Do the Math for You

Columns N through Q calculate everything automatically.

These are projections based on the inventory you've entered. They tell you what the merchandise could generate if everything sells, not what you've actually earned.

The Inventory Summary: Where the Magic Happens

Starting in Column S, my spreadsheet has several summary sections.

At the top, it calculates:

• Total number of individual items purchased
• Total inventory cost
• Total expected sales if everything sells
• Total expected merchandise profit
• Average cost per item
• Average selling price per item

There's also a planning section that calculates how much inventory you might need based on your student enrollment and how many gifts you expect each child to purchase.

I originally used 1,340 students because that was our enrollment during the first year. You can change that number to match your own school. In the blank template, it's the yellow cell right above the planning section.

It gives you estimates based on students purchasing two, five, seven, eight, or ten gifts.

We don't rely on this section quite as heavily now that we have actual shopping data, but it was incredibly helpful during our first year.

Comparing This Year's Inventory to Last Year

This is probably my favorite part of the spreadsheet.

I have three sets of columns that compare our inventory:

• Columns S and T: How many items we've purchased for the current shop, broken down by recipient, merchandise type, and selling price.
• Columns V and W: How many items we had in each category the previous year.
• Columns Y and Z: How many additional items we'd need to purchase to at least match the previous year's quantities.

Instead of just knowing we need to buy more stuff, I can see exactly where we're short.

Maybe we have plenty of $5 gifts but need another 300 gifts priced at $2.

Maybe we're well stocked on toys but don't have nearly enough merchandise for adults.

This information helps us shop strategically rather than just buying whatever catches our eye.

Although, I'll admit, sometimes a really good clearance deal still gets the best of me.

Even the Gift-Wrapping Bags Are in My Spreadsheet!

Remember Column C, where we select Small, Medium, Large, or X-Large?

There's a summary near the bottom of the spreadsheet that calculates how many bags we'll need in each size based on our inventory.

We round those numbers up and purchase extras for any last-minute inventory additions.

There's also a supply expense section where I track things that aren't actual merchandise, including price stickers, to/from gift tags, and other operating supplies.

That way, those expenses don't get mixed in with our inventory purchasing costs.

Organizing the Holiday Shop: What We Changed After Year One

Our first year, we grouped all the merchandise by price.

There was a $2 table, a $3 table, a $5 table, and so on.

On paper, that seemed like the most logical way to organize everything.

In reality? Not so much.

Kids picked things up and put them down on the wrong tables, and suddenly nobody knew what price anything was supposed to be.

We also noticed that children naturally preferred to shop for a particular person rather than for a particular price.

So we completely changed our layout.

Shop by Category Instead of Price

Now our displays are organized more like a little retail store.

We have areas for kitchen items, pillows and blankets, candles, toys, hobbies like fishing and golf, and other types of merchandise.

We loosely divide the room into three general shopping areas: gifts that tend to appeal to adults, divided into two broad interest groupings, and merchandise geared toward children.

We don't label those areas "Mom," "Dad," and "Kids," because obviously a dad might love to cook and a mom might love fishing.

But the overall organization gives students and volunteers an easy starting point.

Put Less Expensive Merchandise Near the Front

This is one of those little details that makes a big difference.

We generally place our less expensive merchandise toward the front of the room, with higher-priced items farther back.

Why?

Because when a volunteer is helping a child who has a very limited budget, they can concentrate on the front portion of the shop, where there are plenty of affordable choices.

There's no need to walk them past the more expensive gifts and create disappointment.

It's a simple way to make the experience more enjoyable for every student, regardless of how much money they have to spend.

Give Every Shopper a Christmas Tote Bag

Elementary students have small hands, and once they've picked out gifts for Mom, Dad, Grandma, and the dog, things start getting dropped.

So at the entrance to the shop, we hang Christmas tote bags on a clothing rack. Each student grabs one on their way in and uses it as their shopping basket while they shop.

It keeps their selections together, frees up their hands, and makes it easy for volunteers to see what they've chosen so far. When they get to checkout, we empty the tote and ring everything up.

Then the totes go right back on the rack for the next class. And when the week is over, we pack them away and reuse them again the following year, so they're a one-time purchase that pays off for years.

Keep Extra Inventory Hidden and Restock Often

We don't put every single item on display at once.

Extra merchandise is stored behind our curtains and underneath our display tables.

Whenever possible, we replenish the displays around midday, and we always restock at the end of each shopping day.

That way, the next morning's classes walk into a shop that looks fresh and full.

And honestly, a beautifully stocked table is just more inviting than one with three lonely gifts sitting on it.

Let's Talk Decorations: Make It Magical!

I love decorating.

Probably a little too much, if you ask anyone who's ever volunteered to help me set up an event.

But I truly believe that the decorations are part of what makes our holiday shop so special.

We want students to feel like they're walking into a Christmas wonderland, not just a room full of tables and merchandise.

Don't Forget the Ceiling!

If I could give you only one decorating tip, it would be to decorate the ceiling.

It makes SUCH a difference in transforming a space.

We string giant foil balloons shaped like Christmas lights back and forth across the entire room, hang snowflakes, and add other decorations overhead.

And we have a little secret weapon that makes hanging things from our ceiling incredibly fast: a pole and magnet tool!

I've already written a tutorial explaining how we use it, so I won't get into all the details here: How We Decorate Ceilings Using a Pole and Magnets.

Wrap the Doors Like Presents

The decorating starts before students even walk in. We wrap the doors to the shop in Christmas wrapping paper so they look like giant presents.

It's inexpensive, takes very little time, and instantly tells every class walking down the hallway that something special is happening inside.

Turn Built-In Shelving Into a Gingerbread Village

Our room has built-in shelving along the wall. It's not exactly festive, but it's too big to hide, so we made it part of the decor.

We covered the shelves in brown craft paper and painted gingerbread designs on them, so the whole wall looks like it's made of gingerbread.

Then we topped the shelving with polyfil to look like a thick layer of snow, and tucked Christmas lights into it so the "snow" glows.

It completely transformed one of the least attractive parts of the room into one of the most festive.

Borrow Pipe and Drape If You Can

We're fortunate that our school's music department has pipe and drape that we're able to borrow.

The black curtains create a clean backdrop around the room, and we add Christmas lights and decorations to make everything feel festive.

Even better, they hide our extra inventory!

Instead of having stacks of merchandise boxes visible to shoppers, we can keep everything tucked out of sight until it's time to restock.

Wrap Empty Boxes for Displays

Another favorite trick is wrapping empty boxes like Christmas presents.

We use larger wrapped boxes throughout the room as decorations, and smaller ones on merchandise tables to create different display heights.

It gives everything a more polished, retail-style look without spending a fortune on display equipment.

Use Spinning Racks for Small Items

Some of our most popular gifts are also the smallest: hair clips, scrunchies, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and keychains. Spread out flat on a table, those little items get buried, tangled, and knocked on the floor in about five minutes.

Our solution? Spinning display racks.

We hang hair accessories and jewelry on spinning display racks, so kids can spin the rack and see everything at once. They take up much less table space, keep everything organized and off the floor, and make restocking quick for our volunteers.

And honestly, the kids just love spinning them!

For hats, we use wig stands to display a light-up kids' hat and our Dad hats, so kids can see how they look worn instead of digging through a pile.

Use Festive Table Skirts

We use red and green table skirts to dress up our merchandise tables.

They make the room feel cohesive and festive, but they're also practical because they hide all those extra boxes and bins underneath the tables.

My Favorite Decorating Secret: INFLATABLES!

Okay, this one might sound a little crazy.

We use outdoor Christmas yard inflatables INSIDE our holiday shop!

And they are fantastic.

We even hung a flying Santa sleigh inflatable from the ceiling!

We added several other Christmas inflatables throughout the room, and they're such a fun way to create big, impressive decorations without having to build everything from scratch.

A few of our favorites: the flying Santa sleigh, our gingerbread inflatables, and a giant polar bear.

Want to see it all come together? Here's a quick walkthrough of our 2025 holiday shop:

 

And because our school mascot is a husky, we also created our own giant stand-up Santa Husky decoration. It's nearly six feet tall!

It's a fun way to personalize your shop with your own school's mascot, and I share exactly how I made it in my tutorial on how I make giant foam board props for school events and parties.

How We Schedule More Than 1,300 Students to Shop

Our holiday shop runs for five school days.

Each teacher signs up for a designated shopping time for their class, and parents are notified of their child's shopping day in advance.

If a student happens to be absent on their assigned day, their teacher can send them to shop individually at another convenient time.

For our first two years, we operated Monday through Friday.

This year, we're trying something a little different.

We're opening on Thursday and running through the following Wednesday.

That gives us two days of shopping before the weekend.

By Friday afternoon, we'll have enough sales data to identify categories or price points that are moving much faster than expected.

Then we'll have the weekend to shop locally or place Amazon orders to replenish inventory before the final three days.

I'm really excited about this change because it gives us a little more breathing room than trying to solve every inventory problem overnight.

A New Plan for Leftover Inventory

One thing we've struggled with is balancing two competing goals.

We don't want to end the week with an enormous amount of leftover merchandise.

But we also don't want the last classes to have a poor selection.

Our first year, we ended with less than $2,000 in carryover inventory, and it was a little too close for comfort.

Our second year was better, with approximately $4,000 in merchandise carried over, but we still wanted more choices available toward the end.

So this year, we're planning to purchase more inventory.

We're also trying something new!

Our school has an event called Holly Jolly Hallways on the Thursday evening after holiday shop ends, when families will already be in the building.

We're inviting parents to visit our holiday shop, see the space, and purchase any remaining merchandise.

Hopefully, this will help us move some additional inventory while allowing us to keep a fuller selection for students throughout their shopping week.

I'll have to report back on how well that works!

Shopping Lists Make a HUGE Difference

Before holiday shop begins, we send home a shopping list for parents to complete with their children.

It includes spaces to write down everyone the student should shop for, along with an approximate budget for each person.

We give families examples of potential recipients so they know what kinds of gifts are available.

Mom, Dad, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, teacher, friends, dogs, cats... we've got a little something for just about everybody!

These shopping lists make a tremendous difference once the students arrive.

Our volunteers can quickly see who the student is shopping for and how much they have available to spend on each person.

They're especially helpful for our youngest shoppers, who might not quite understand how to divide their money among several gifts.

Most students arrive at checkout having found something for everyone on their list and having spent nearly their entire budget.

Our Checkout Process: Four Stations and Lots of Volunteers

We have volunteers throughout the shop helping students make selections, calculate prices, and keep track of their shopping lists.

At checkout, we have four tables staffed by PTO board members.

One of the things that works really well for us is having the same volunteer handle the entire checkout and gift-wrapping process for each student.

Before completing the transaction, we review their shopping list to make sure they haven't forgotten anyone.

If a student gets to checkout and still needs gifts, we always have an additional volunteer ready to take them back into the shop and help them finish.

Once they've found everything, we ring up the purchases, package the gifts, and add their to/from tags.

The Best Checkout Improvement We've Made

Our first year, we used brown paper bags in various sizes.

We would put the gifts inside, staple a bow to the bag, and handwrite a gift tag for each one.

Honestly, those brown bags were a compromise. With more than 10,000 gifts going home, we knew there was no way we'd have time to actually wrap everything, but we didn't want the kids taking home unwrapped presents either. Brown bags were fairly inexpensive and got the job done.

But stapling all those bows was still incredibly time-consuming.

The following year, we switched to Christmas-print poly mailer bags in four sizes.

GAME CHANGER.

They look so much better, just like actual wrapped Christmas presents, and all we have to do is put the gift inside, peel off the adhesive strip, and seal the bag.

No stapling bows. No tape. No complicated wrapping.

They were faster than the brown bags and bows, looked better, and actually came out slightly cheaper too!

Bubble Wrap for Breakables

Not every gift is shatterproof. Mugs, ornaments, candle holders, and glass picture frames are some of our most popular gifts, especially for Mom and Grandma.

So we keep bubble wrap at every checkout table. Anything glass or fragile gets a quick wrap before it goes into its gift bag, so it makes it home in one piece, even after riding in a backpack.

And the best part? Our local UPS Store donated a huge roll of bubble wrap for us to use!

Send the Gift Tags Home BEFORE Shopping Day

This might be one of the simplest changes that saved us the most time.

Our first year, checkout volunteers had to ask students who every gift was for and then write each person's name on a tag.

If you've ever tried to get a kindergartner to spell their cousin's name while a line of other children waits behind them, you understand why this took forever.

Last year, we tried something new.

We sent home five to/from gift tags with each student's shopping list, asking families to fill them out ahead of time and send them back.

I was a little nervous that nobody would return them and we'd end up wasting money on hundreds of extra tags.

But most families actually did!

It saved SO much time.

And once again, the data taught us something.

Our average student purchased approximately eight gifts, meaning five tags weren't quite enough.

So this year, we're sending home 10 tags per student.

Sometimes the biggest improvements don't require spending more money or completely redesigning your process.

Sometimes they just require thinking about where you're wasting time.

Our Spreadsheet Even Helps Us Order Gift Bags

When we purchase merchandise, we select a bag size for each product in our inventory spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet automatically totals the quantity needed in each of our four bag sizes.

We use those totals to estimate how many bags to order, then add a little extra for last-minute merchandise.

We also found a local pediatric dentist willing to sponsor our gift-wrapping expenses!

Which brings me to another important part of our holiday shop...

Get Local Businesses Involved!

Our PTO is very fortunate to have supportive local businesses, and we've found several opportunities for sponsorships that don't involve asking someone to sponsor the entire event.

For example:

• Gift wrapping: A local pediatric dentist covers the cost of our Christmas gift bags and wrapping supplies.
• Packing supplies: Our local UPS Store donated a huge roll of bubble wrap so fragile gifts make it home safely.
• Teacher hot cocoa bar: We set up a hot cocoa station so teachers can grab a warm drink while their students shop, generously sponsored by a local car dealership.
• Student shopping assistance: This year, our fundraising chair secured a business sponsor to help ensure every student can participate, regardless of their family's financial circumstances.

These are relatively specific sponsorship opportunities with a meaningful benefit, and they help our PTO keep more of the holiday shop proceeds available for our school's needs.

Making Sure EVERY Student Gets to Experience the Magic

Our school serves a relatively affluent community, and we have a fairly small percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price meals.

But that doesn't mean every family is financially comfortable.

Families experience challenges for all kinds of reasons, and the holidays can be an especially difficult time.

One thing we feel very strongly about is that we never want a child to feel excluded from holiday shop because their family can't afford to send money.

If a teacher identifies a student who needs assistance, we discreetly provide that child with an eWallet loaded with a set amount to use in the shop.

The student gets to choose gifts for their family, just like everyone else.

Last year, our PTO sponsored shopping for a small number of students.

This year, thanks to our fundraising chair, we've secured a local business sponsor to cover these expenses.

And I'm so grateful for that.

Because here's the thing.

The magic of holiday shop isn't about the gifts the children receive. It's about the gifts they get to GIVE.

Every child deserves the chance to experience that.

The Biggest Surprise From Our First Year

I have to tell you one of my favorite stories from our first holiday shop.

When we were purchasing merchandise that first year, we bought a LOT of kid-friendly items.

Toys, stuffed animals, little gadgets, and all kinds of fun things.

We knew students would be shopping for siblings, cousins, and friends.

But we also assumed that plenty of children would want to spend a little extra money on themselves.

I mean, they're kids, right?

Surely some of them would see a toy they loved and decide to buy themselves a Christmas present.

Well, those kids surprised us.

After personally helping check out more students than I could possibly count, I was genuinely shocked by how few purchased anything for themselves.

They were shopping for Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents, friends, teachers, and even the family dog.

But very, very few were buying anything for themselves.

Even when we told them they had extra money left over, they would often add a new person to their list or go back and upgrade the gift they'd picked out for a family member.

We still needed plenty of children's merchandise because so many of their recipients were other kids, but it completely changed how I thought about the experience.

These children were genuinely excited about finding something special for someone else.

For many of our youngest students, this was the very first time they'd ever been able to go shopping and choose gifts independently.

Of course, our volunteers help them calculate their budgets and make sure everything adds up.

But the children are the ones making the decisions.

They're deciding what Grandma would like, whether Dad would use a certain gift, or which toy would make their little sister smile.

And watching that happen is just incredibly special.

Where Do We Store All This Inventory?

I'll admit, we have a pretty significant advantage here.

Our school provides our PTO with two offices: a regular PTO office and a separate room that we use for holiday shop storage.

Throughout the year, we stack tubs and boxes full of merchandise, already priced and ready to go.

Remember that clearance haul from earlier? Here's that same storage office once everything was priced, organized, and packed away.

But even with that space, storing enough inventory for 1,300+ students is a challenge.

So beginning in September, we rent an offsite storage unit for four months.

And here's another money-saving tip: Ask storage facilities if they offer nonprofit discounts!

We were able to negotiate a reduced rate because our PTO is a registered charitable organization.

I realize not every school has dedicated storage space available, but if you're planning to run your own holiday shop, think about inventory storage early in the process.

Especially if you're going to take advantage of those incredible after-Christmas clearance sales!

A Few Things I'd Tell Anyone Starting Their Own Holiday Shop

If you're considering running your own holiday shop rather than purchasing a premade program, here are some of the biggest lessons we've learned:

1. Don't underestimate how much students will spend. Our first-year projections were wildly low, and we had to scramble to survive the week.
2. Track everything you can. Inventory by price point, recipient, merchandise type, eWallet spending, and actual sales. That information becomes incredibly valuable when planning future years.
3. Don't aim to sell out. Your goal should be to offer a great experience to every student, including the very last class.
4. Protect your lower price points. A child with only $2 to spend still deserves options.
5. Make checkout as simple as possible. Prewritten gift tags and self-sealing Christmas bags saved us an enormous amount of time.
6. Shop clearance all year. December's holiday shop planning starts the previous December!
7. Use your volunteers strategically. Having enough people to help younger students shop and budget makes everything run more smoothly.
8. Find sponsors for the extras. Gift wrapping, packing supplies, teacher treats, and assistance for students who need it can all make wonderful local sponsorship opportunities.

And most importantly, remember why you're doing it.

Why Holiday Shop Will Always Be My Favorite PTO Week

Over the past two years, our holiday shop has generated more than $84,000 in sales.

That's pretty incredible for an elementary school event!

And the proceeds from those two years contributed to our PTO's larger goal of raising $172,000 to improve our school playground and replace the tire mulch.

We reached that goal, and I'm so proud of what our PTO and school community accomplished.

But when I think about holiday shop, the money isn't the first thing that comes to mind.

I think about the kindergartner who is so excited to find something for Mom that they can barely contain themselves.

I think about the older students carefully budgeting their money to make sure they have enough for every person on their shopping list.

I think about children proudly carrying home their little Christmas packages, excited to put them under the tree.

And I think about how many of those students are experiencing the joy of giving for the very first time.

Don't get me wrong. The fundraising is fantastic. And being able to use my financial background, creative skills, and love of spreadsheets to help make something like this happen is pretty darn rewarding.

But the students are what make it magical.

It's a fundraiser that doesn't really feel like a fundraiser.

It's an experience.

It's a chance for kids to practice budgeting and decision-making without realizing they're learning.

It's an opportunity for them to think about the people they love.

And it's a chance for our PTO volunteers to witness hundreds of little moments of pure Christmas joy.

By the time it's over, we're all completely exhausted.

And somehow, every single year, I can't wait to do it again.

Download My FREE Holiday Shop Inventory Spreadsheet!

Want to plan your own holiday shop?

I'm sharing both a sample of my actual inventory spreadsheet and a blank version with the formulas already built in.

Whether you're planning for 100 students or 1,300, I hope it helps you avoid some of our first-year mistakes and create something wonderful for your own school.

Have questions about running your own holiday shop? Leave them in the comments! I'd love to share what we've learned and hear how other PTOs handle their shops.

More PTO Projects

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• How I Make Giant Foam Board Props for School Events and Parties
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