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Accolades of a Successful Holiday Sale!
My daughter Stacy and I had a Holiday Yard Sale a few years back. We had a lot of gently used toys, Christmas decorations, clothes, trinkets and more. Stacy and I had uncovered these treasures while doing some housecleaning at both our homes that summer. We had stored our items, safely saving them for the holidays, which we thought would be the perfect time for a yard sale. Many people are on a budget and around Christmas time they are always looking for a good deal – and we would have them!
With me recently leaving my place employment to help grow my husband’s business and Stacy at the time choosing to be a stay at home mom, the funds in both our households were a little tight. We came up with this wonderful idea to have the Holiday Sale to earn some money to buy Christmas gifts, thereby helping our husbands out with some of the financial burdens of the season.
We discussed our plan of action for several weeks…
1) Make everything look as festive as possible.
2) The house would be all lit up with decorations and lights.
3) We’d post our sale on Craig’s List, Facebook, and on bulletin boards at businesses in the area.
4)We’d make our signs and post them strategically around the neighborhood and at the busiest intersections.
5) When people arrived they would be greeted by happy Christmas music.
6) We would have our cute little granddaughters offer the customers a cup of hot spiced cider.
And...
7) Items would be priced to fly out the door!
All these elements should make the customer feel warm and invited so they would want to spend their money. This marketing plan was sure to be successful and bring in the sales we desired for a nice pay-off! Our plans were in motion and throughout the next couple of weeks we made ready for our mini “extravaganza”.
When the day finally arrived for the Holiday Sale we awoke up to rain that was coming down in a steady drizzle. To our dismay we hadn’t thought of the weather as a potential bust for our Holiday Sale. But, we were undaunted by this slight “hiccup”!
Our plan “B” - We will have the Holiday Sale under the carport!
So we put plan “B” into action and started moving everything that was under the carport out to make room for our sale items.
We spent a couple hours removing cars and tools, and then setting our items up under the carport on tables covered by red and green tablecloths. Similar items were strategically placed together. Toys on one table, decorations on another, clothes laid neatly on another and so on. The cider had just the right amount of spice and the granddaughters were looking as cute and festive as ever. The signs were out and tactically placed. I was in my Santa hat and Stacy in her Christmas sweater. The Christmas song playlist was “shuffling” with seasonal favorites.
I can still see the grand-girls excitement when we opened the Holiday Sale on that Saturday Morning looking their prettiest for our customers. They had practiced what they were going to say to each shopper when they arrived and had a schedule of whose turn it would be to graciously offer the cider to each new arrival. The girls knew we had high hopes of earning a lot of money at this sale, meaning more Christmas presents for them!
All was in order… We were ready for the customers!
By the time the sale was to start the rain was coming down in buckets, but we were dry under the carport and sat waiting with anticipation for customers to arrive. Unfortunately, our potential customers were not as optimistic as we were and we watched as every car that came by slowed down so they could see if there was anything worth getting out for. Once they did a quick analysis of our goods they hurriedly speed off. Some pulled into the driveway, looked around but never got out of the car and left as quickly as they came. It appeared no one saw anything enticing enough to make them want to stop and wade through the downpour to take a look. This was surprising to us as we thought we had all the right elements so carefully planned out.
After an hour or so of waiting in the cold and wet carport, with no customers stopping, our thoughts turned towards the fact that we needed to drive more traffic our direction. Even the cars that slowed down to peruse by weren’t near the amount of traffic our tactical preparations had anticipated. This must be the problem! So, we decided to blow up balloons and place them on all our signs throughout the neighborhood to attract more attention.
To our disappointment, the extra added bling to our signage didn’t bring about the desired number of customers either.
So, Stacy and I sat there for several more hours listening to the same 6 Christmas songs from our playlist, (the projected number of song we thought would equal a customer visit), and filling up on hot cider which the grand-girls continued to make. We finally had one guy stop and spend $6, bartering with us on items that were priced at $10. Then no traffic again.
As the rainy day continued and the customers were few, the grand-girls got cold and went inside to watch from the warmth of the house. But their little eyes never left the window. One of the girls always stood guard in case a customer showed up. Every customer that did stop was in for a real treat as the girls blitzed them with questions about hot cider and showing them the way to the holiday items.
Eventually, a few more cars stopped sporadically, to our delight and the girls excitement. The customers spent a dollar or two, and then went on their “merry” way. Then once again a long break between customers. Finally, after 7 hours of this we closed up shop and ended the Holiday Sale.
Upon counting our revenue for the day; we had brought in $70.50. But, if you subtract the lunch we bought - $21, and the cost of the spiced cider and cups - $7, and the signs, balloons, and ancillary tape and post-it-notes- $5; we netted $37.50, a liberal estimate. Divided between the two of us it yielded $18.50 each. Yikes! All that work…the pricing, and categorizing, and cleaning of trinkets and decorations, the set-up and take down. The hot cider, the playlist…
Our great idea of making money for our Christmas gift fund did not materialize. Our Holiday Sale was a bust and quite unsuccessful in monetary terms.
However, as Stacy and I reminisced about the day’s events we agreed that there were other successes we did achieve that day.
1) We cleaned out a bunch of stuff we didn’t need
2) We had a “free” lunch
3) We broke even on all ancillaries
4) The grand-girls had fun
And… most importantly…
5) We got to spend several hours together enjoying each other’s company, visiting and laughing about our “failed” endeavor.
Our husbands had told us both that the Holiday Sale was going to be a waste of time and that we didn’t have any “big ticket items” to bring in customers to take a look around. They said we had nothing of value to sell and that nobody was going to want any of our junk, (which of course was contrary to our opinion of our stuff). We laughed at how the guys had been “somewhat” right and knew they were going to give us a bad time when they heard how much we had made, reminding us that, “we told you so”.
Yet… success can be measured in many ways. And although our ultimate goal of earning Christmas money for gifts was never realized, there was another precious gift we received…”The best things in life aren’t things”. They aren’t being victorious in seeing our best laid plans come to fruition or even in the achievement of a lofty goal. The best things in life are recognizing your blessings while spending time with the people you love.
In years to come I will have forgotten about the amount of money we made, (or lack thereof). I will have forgotten about the rainy day and the sparse customers. The amount of work it was to put on the Holiday Sale will fade. All the accolades of the day will be a distant and funny memory. But I will never forget the delightful conversation and laughter with my daughter, and watching those little grand-girls as they took their job so seriously. The time spent together was worth more than gold. That is what will be remembered.
It was a slim Christmas that year, but nobody really noticed, as the gift of time spent with those I love was the greatest gift of all.
With me recently leaving my place employment to help grow my husband’s business and Stacy at the time choosing to be a stay at home mom, the funds in both our households were a little tight. We came up with this wonderful idea to have the Holiday Sale to earn some money to buy Christmas gifts, thereby helping our husbands out with some of the financial burdens of the season.
We discussed our plan of action for several weeks…
1) Make everything look as festive as possible.
2) The house would be all lit up with decorations and lights.
3) We’d post our sale on Craig’s List, Facebook, and on bulletin boards at businesses in the area.
4)We’d make our signs and post them strategically around the neighborhood and at the busiest intersections.
5) When people arrived they would be greeted by happy Christmas music.
6) We would have our cute little granddaughters offer the customers a cup of hot spiced cider.
And...
7) Items would be priced to fly out the door!
All these elements should make the customer feel warm and invited so they would want to spend their money. This marketing plan was sure to be successful and bring in the sales we desired for a nice pay-off! Our plans were in motion and throughout the next couple of weeks we made ready for our mini “extravaganza”.
When the day finally arrived for the Holiday Sale we awoke up to rain that was coming down in a steady drizzle. To our dismay we hadn’t thought of the weather as a potential bust for our Holiday Sale. But, we were undaunted by this slight “hiccup”!
Our plan “B” - We will have the Holiday Sale under the carport!
So we put plan “B” into action and started moving everything that was under the carport out to make room for our sale items.
We spent a couple hours removing cars and tools, and then setting our items up under the carport on tables covered by red and green tablecloths. Similar items were strategically placed together. Toys on one table, decorations on another, clothes laid neatly on another and so on. The cider had just the right amount of spice and the granddaughters were looking as cute and festive as ever. The signs were out and tactically placed. I was in my Santa hat and Stacy in her Christmas sweater. The Christmas song playlist was “shuffling” with seasonal favorites.
I can still see the grand-girls excitement when we opened the Holiday Sale on that Saturday Morning looking their prettiest for our customers. They had practiced what they were going to say to each shopper when they arrived and had a schedule of whose turn it would be to graciously offer the cider to each new arrival. The girls knew we had high hopes of earning a lot of money at this sale, meaning more Christmas presents for them!
All was in order… We were ready for the customers!
By the time the sale was to start the rain was coming down in buckets, but we were dry under the carport and sat waiting with anticipation for customers to arrive. Unfortunately, our potential customers were not as optimistic as we were and we watched as every car that came by slowed down so they could see if there was anything worth getting out for. Once they did a quick analysis of our goods they hurriedly speed off. Some pulled into the driveway, looked around but never got out of the car and left as quickly as they came. It appeared no one saw anything enticing enough to make them want to stop and wade through the downpour to take a look. This was surprising to us as we thought we had all the right elements so carefully planned out.
After an hour or so of waiting in the cold and wet carport, with no customers stopping, our thoughts turned towards the fact that we needed to drive more traffic our direction. Even the cars that slowed down to peruse by weren’t near the amount of traffic our tactical preparations had anticipated. This must be the problem! So, we decided to blow up balloons and place them on all our signs throughout the neighborhood to attract more attention.
To our disappointment, the extra added bling to our signage didn’t bring about the desired number of customers either.
So, Stacy and I sat there for several more hours listening to the same 6 Christmas songs from our playlist, (the projected number of song we thought would equal a customer visit), and filling up on hot cider which the grand-girls continued to make. We finally had one guy stop and spend $6, bartering with us on items that were priced at $10. Then no traffic again.
As the rainy day continued and the customers were few, the grand-girls got cold and went inside to watch from the warmth of the house. But their little eyes never left the window. One of the girls always stood guard in case a customer showed up. Every customer that did stop was in for a real treat as the girls blitzed them with questions about hot cider and showing them the way to the holiday items.
Eventually, a few more cars stopped sporadically, to our delight and the girls excitement. The customers spent a dollar or two, and then went on their “merry” way. Then once again a long break between customers. Finally, after 7 hours of this we closed up shop and ended the Holiday Sale.
Upon counting our revenue for the day; we had brought in $70.50. But, if you subtract the lunch we bought - $21, and the cost of the spiced cider and cups - $7, and the signs, balloons, and ancillary tape and post-it-notes- $5; we netted $37.50, a liberal estimate. Divided between the two of us it yielded $18.50 each. Yikes! All that work…the pricing, and categorizing, and cleaning of trinkets and decorations, the set-up and take down. The hot cider, the playlist…
Our great idea of making money for our Christmas gift fund did not materialize. Our Holiday Sale was a bust and quite unsuccessful in monetary terms.
However, as Stacy and I reminisced about the day’s events we agreed that there were other successes we did achieve that day.
1) We cleaned out a bunch of stuff we didn’t need
2) We had a “free” lunch
3) We broke even on all ancillaries
4) The grand-girls had fun
And… most importantly…
5) We got to spend several hours together enjoying each other’s company, visiting and laughing about our “failed” endeavor.
Our husbands had told us both that the Holiday Sale was going to be a waste of time and that we didn’t have any “big ticket items” to bring in customers to take a look around. They said we had nothing of value to sell and that nobody was going to want any of our junk, (which of course was contrary to our opinion of our stuff). We laughed at how the guys had been “somewhat” right and knew they were going to give us a bad time when they heard how much we had made, reminding us that, “we told you so”.
Yet… success can be measured in many ways. And although our ultimate goal of earning Christmas money for gifts was never realized, there was another precious gift we received…”The best things in life aren’t things”. They aren’t being victorious in seeing our best laid plans come to fruition or even in the achievement of a lofty goal. The best things in life are recognizing your blessings while spending time with the people you love.
In years to come I will have forgotten about the amount of money we made, (or lack thereof). I will have forgotten about the rainy day and the sparse customers. The amount of work it was to put on the Holiday Sale will fade. All the accolades of the day will be a distant and funny memory. But I will never forget the delightful conversation and laughter with my daughter, and watching those little grand-girls as they took their job so seriously. The time spent together was worth more than gold. That is what will be remembered.
It was a slim Christmas that year, but nobody really noticed, as the gift of time spent with those I love was the greatest gift of all.
"Have yourself a merry little Christmas. May your hearts be light. From now on our troubles will be out of sight..."
