2016 Holiday Bazaar Craft Sale Guidelines

Purpose

The Hopkins/Minnetonka Girl Scout hosted Holiday Bazaar was reinstated in 2011. Groups are invited to sell crafts and earn money for their troop activities while also connecting with other scouting groups in the area as well as the community as a whole. Participation is optional for all groups.

The most important purpose of the sale is to provide scouts with the opportunity to develop financial literacy and entrepreneurship. By participating in the sale they can learn about budgeting, cost, pricing, marketing and profit.

Sale Guidelines

Date/Time and Schedule

The Bazaar will be held from 12:30pm to 3:30pm on Sunday, November 13th at Eisenhower Community Center, 1001 Hwy 7 in Hopkins. Online registration will open mid-May and is first-come, first-served. You can also register by mail using the forms under FLYERS and FORMS. Contact us if you have questions.

Check-in and set-up will begin at 11am. Please do not arrive earlier than that as we will be very busy getting the location ready for your groups.

Upon check-in, a packet will be provided which will include a sign for your table, an evaluation form for both scouts and adults, tickets to collect any table(s) and chair(s) if ordered and tickets for Pizza lunch if ordered.

Pizza lunch will be served 11:30am to 12:30pm. Food is not permitted in the gym so lunch will need to be eaten in the hall where there will be a few tables and chairs available.

Entertainment slots will begin at 1:00pm and go through 3:30pm. Timeslots will be in 15 minute increments. You may sign up for more than 1 time slot if you wish.

Offered again this year is the Lead a Craft session. Craft session leaders decide on the craft, set the price and collect the fee. Each session leader must provide all materials needed to teach their craft. We have six 50 minute slots available. First come-first served. Setup, execution and cleanup must be complete within 45-50 minutes to allow for session changeover. We may add another table for three more sessions if there is enough space, so there will be a waiting list. There is a $5 charge per session to cover the cost of the tables and chairs. Showcase your craft at the Holiday Bazaar!

Registration

Online registration will open mid-May with a 20% Early Bird discount if you register prior to July 1, 2016. Use Code EB2016. You can register by mail using forms under FLYERS and FORMS.

You may opt to rent table/chairs or you may bring your own, but you are registering for one 10 X 10 space and your table(s) and chairs must fit within this space. The space immediately in front of your table must be kept clear of items and people so as not to disrupt flow for neighboring spaces.

Registration for the Pizza Lunch, Entertainment and Lead a Craft session will take place at the same time.

Girls Scouts - Be sure to fill out a Troop Money Earning Project Approval Form (copy on theForms and Flyers page) if you think you will earn $100 or more. It is required by Council.

Participation

Because scouts 3rd grade and under are a bit too young to make quality items that will sell well, we ask that only scouts 4th grade and up make and sell crafts. However, younger groups can pair up with older groups in order to get a start on some of the simpler financial literacy ideas. They can also participate by taking part in the entertainment and attending a craft session.

The venue will be crowded so please schedule to have only 3-4 scouts manning a table at one time.

Groups must stay for the entire Bazaar and are responsible for providing all table decorations and coverings, bags, cash box, and cleanup of their area.

Adults are welcome to assist the scouts during the sale.

Behavior

Scouts are strongly encouraged to wear their uniforms.

Scouts should be on their best behavior, following and demonstrating the Scout Laws and Codes of Conduct.

Remember, Scouts leave a place better than they found it. Each group must throw out their own trash and put away their own tables and chairs as well as help clean up the facility.

Crafts

Scouts may assemble crafts from purchased kits and may sell food “gift” items, however, food is not allowed in the gym so the items will need to be sealed. Scouts need to let customers know that food is not permitted in the gym but may be eaten in the hallway.

No reselling of items and no "services" are allowed. This as a sale where handmade crafts are sold so scouts should do something creative to make the crafts their own.

Raffles, drawings and games of chance are not appropriate money-earning activities and are NOT allowed.

Ways to Participate

Ways To Participate

Scouts 3rd Grade and Under

As mentioned earlier, scouts 3rd grade and under are too young to make items that will sell well without adult help, so we will be bringing back the entertainment piece for the younger scouts. They can perform at the bazaar including singing, playing an instrument, performing a skit or puppet or magic show, etc.

Sign up for a time to perform during registration or by email using the form under FLYERS and FORMS. Timeslots will be in 15 minute increments. You may sign up for more than 1 time slot if you wish.

Make copies of the flyer, make posters and distribute or display at least two weeks before the sale. Ask local businesses, schools and churches to display posters and flyers.

Girl Scouts - Be sure to check Girl Guides to see if performances fit the requirements for a badge.

Shop at the Bazaar!

Attend a craft session and learn a new craft!

Scouts 4th Grade and Up

Girl Scouts - Complete and submit Troop Money Earning Project Approval Form at least 30 days prior to sale. The form can be found online at the River Valleys website.

Sell crafts by signing up for table(s) online, at leader meetings or by replying to Joy Burkhart Dean at joybdean@gmail.com. Assume you will have only one table. If extra spaces are available, leaders will be notified.

Sign up to lead a craft session during registration, at SU meetings or by emailing Joy Burkhart Dean at joybdean@gmail.com.

Sign up for a time to perform during registration, at SU meetings or by emailing Joy Burkhart Dean at joybdean@gmail.com. Timeslots will be in 15 minute increments. You may sign up for more than 1 time slot if you wish.

Make copies of the flyer, make posters and distribute or display at least two weeks before the sale. Ask local businesses, schools and churches to display posters and flyers.

GIrl Scouts - Be sure to check Girl Guides to see if the crafts/performance fit the requirements for a badge.

Crafts

Scouts should sell things that they have made themselves and they should be prepared to talk about how they made their crafts. Well-made crafts sell well!

Recommendations

Sell more than just one kind of item. Make things that complement each other. People like lots of ideas and variety!

You can use them as inspiration, but do not copy other groups’ crafts or craft ideas that you have seen or heard of in the past. If you are unsure if an item was available in the past, please ask the Holiday Bazaar chairperson. Of course, there is a chance for duplication, but don't purposely set out to do so.

Check out craft books, Pinterest, other craft sales and online.

Consider making gifts for boys, men or pets. There are rarely items for males at craft sales.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle! Try to use free, give-away or throwaway items in order to keep costs down.

Watch for sales when purchasing supplies and check out wholesale craft businesses and online.

Estimations on the amount of a craft to make can be determined by how much the scouts like them and want them for themselves. You can also estimate by asking others who have taken part in past craft sales.

Check out various badges to see if your item can be used to fulfill requirements.

Pricing

Price items so they will sell - generally between $3 and $10. Prices should cover costs (materials plus time) and make some profit. Check out other craft sales to get a feel for pricing or ask friends/parents what they would be willing to pay for a particular item.

Remember there are young children buying gifts too! Please try to have at least one item priced at $1 or less.

Other

Keep in mind that most customers will be other Scouts and their families.

Leaders and parents, be sure to follow adult-scout ratios, etc.

Crafters What to Bring List

Crafters "What to Bring" Suggestions

Cash box with start-up change (have plenty of $10, $5, $1 and quarters), calculator

Tablecloth, display stand, centerpiece, price sheets

Lunch bags to put gifts in so children can surprise parents.

Extension cord, masking tape

Advertising

Posters and flyers are our main source of advertising for the sale. Please help us advertise for a successful sale by encouraging every scout to hang 2 posters in the community (libraries, grocery stores, restaurants, community boards, etc.)

If you have ideas, we are also looking for ways to more widely publicize this event yet keep within the guidelines set by Girl Scout Council in Volunteer Essentials (Ch. 5):

"A business or organization may not advertise a troop’s money-earning project and paid

advertising is prohibited. A troop can advertise its project with signs, word of mouth or

flyers."

*Thank you to Wayzata Service Unit Holiday Bazaar for providing a guideline template.