Christmas in August: When to Start the Holiday Push?

by Barbara.
(Ontario, Canada)

I sell at a weekly farmer’s market and on Saturday 4 August I sold necklaces to two ladies who told me they were buying the items for Christmas presents.

One of my strategies is to separate out a board or display from the “noise” of my table to attract attention to those item(s). To this end, I have one of those rectangular black velvet easel-back necklace display boards with lots of notches along the side, and I put just two or three large, striking pendant necklaces on that with lots of room around them and it sits up higher, at an angle, in the corner by the earring carousels where everyone gravitates anyway. The first lady bought both necklaces that were displayed there by 9 a.m.

I use a hand-towel rack for necklaces, and I have now dedicated that to necklaces I am not carrying anymore or that have been around for too long and I have marked down to 1/2 price.

These are my lower end “market table” items that sell under $20 anyway, and at 1/2 price they are a very good buy.

This rack is right up front where normally I lay things flat, and people are constantly riffling through it now.

I will be interested in hearing what people say about how early they start advertising for Christmas.

I’m hesitant because everyone I know (including myself) is sick of retailers aggressively pushing the season with full Christmas departments as early as late August and yet we’re all out there keeping an eye out specifically for Christmas gift-giving items if for no other reason than most of our families and friends live in other parts of the country.

Or maybe it’s us who lives in another part of the country. In any event, I have usually bought all my gifts by mid-September… wrapping, packing and shipping to get them there by Christmas is a whole ‘nother matter.

I wonder if humour would be the better route to go, with a discrete sign saying “Secret Santas shop early here” or……

Barbara
Artefaccio
Artefaccio Blog