Guide to Planning Your Christmas Markets, Fairs, and Events
With the festive season approaching, it’s time to gear up for a busy and rewarding period of trading. But with so many markets, fairs, and events to choose from, it can be tricky to keep track of everything.
From booking your spots to ensuring you have enough stock, planning well is essential to a successful season. To help you along the way, we’ve created a simple guide with tips, along with a downloadable calendar to make your event planning easier.
Step 1: Create a Master List of Events
Start by listing out all the potential markets, fairs, and events you’d like to attend this Christmas season. To make this easier, you can check out the lists . For example, here’s a breakdown:
Check out Christmas markets
Or by month
When exploring markets, consider key factors like the location, the target audience, and the size of each event. This will help you identify which markets are best suited to your products or services.
Once you’ve found events you’re interested in, click the heart icon to save them for later, and add them to your ‘Your Favorites – Saved Events’ folder. This is your personal shortlist of markets you’d love to attend.
Now that you have your list of potential markets, it’s time to take the next step: plan your schedule on a calendar to track all your dates. This will help you identify any overlapping events or potential clashes.
Step 2: Track Your Bookings and Confirmations
Managing Event Conflicts
It’s common to apply for multiple markets on the same date, especially when you’re unsure which ones will confirm your spot. But once you start receiving confirmations, the real planning begins.
Let’s say you applied to five different markets on December 1st and received confirmations from three. Now you need to decide:
- Will you do all three? (can you do all 3 ? do you have staff, stock, multiple insurance, etc…)
- Or will you choose just one? (but witch one ?)
To make that decision, ask yourself:
- Which event is expected to have the highest footfall?
- Which market is more aligned with your target audience?
- What kind of space as they offering?
- Which event requires less travel or lower costs?
Once you’ve chosen the best option, make sure to cancel your spot at the other two markets promptly. This is crucial because it frees up space for another traders and keeps you in good standing with market organisers.
Repeat this process for each date in your calendar as you receive confirmations.
Step 3: Stock Planning and Inventory Management
One of the biggest challenges is knowing how much stock to prepare. Over-ordering could leave you with excess products, while under-ordering could mean missing out on sales. One of the most important (and sometimes tricky) aspects of planning your Christmas markets is knowing how much stock to prepare. This can be especially challenging if you’re new to trading and don’t have past sales data to rely on. But with a bit of strategic thinking, you can make sure you’re well-prepared without over or underestimating your needs.
Here’s how to plan effectively:
Estimate based on past sales: Look at what sold well last year, if possible, and adjust for expected demand. If you’ve traded before, look at what sold well last year or in previous events, especially during the Christmas season. Use this as a starting point to plan:
- Identify your bestsellers: Were there products that consistently sold out?
- Adjust for trends: Are there new product trends or holiday-specific items you should focus on this year?
- Consider the market: Different markets attract different types of buyers. Adjust your stock for more family-oriented events versus craft-focused ones.
If You’re New to Trading: Stock, Costs, and Break-Even
If this is your first time trading, stock planning can feel overwhelming, but here’s a simple method to help you make decisions.
A. Calculate Your Total Costs: To start, you need to know what it will cost you to participate in the market.
Here’s a breakdown:
- Stall fees: How much are you paying to rent your space? Some events may charge extra for larger spaces, prime locations, or special features (e.g., electricity).
- Stock costs: What is the cost of goods sold (COGS)? This is how much you’re spending to buy or produce your items.
- Example: If each product costs you €10 to produce, and you’re bringing 50 items, your stock cost is €500.
B. Set Your Sales Target to Break Even: Once you know your costs, you can figure out how much you need to sell to cover them and, ideally, make a profit.
- Add up your total costs:
- Example: Stall fee €100 + Stock €500 + Travel €50 = €650 total cost.
- Set your break-even point: To break even, you need to make back €650. Look at your product prices:
- If you sell an item for €25, then you would need to sell 26 items (€650 ÷ €25) just to cover your costs.
C. Plan Your Stock Accordingly: Now that you know your break-even point, you can estimate how much stock to bring.
Here’s how to think about it:
- Bring enough stock to cover your costs and make a profit. In the example above, selling 26 items will cover your costs, so aim to bring at least 30–40 items if you expect reasonable demand.
- Consider a variety of price points: Having a mix of lower-cost items and higher-priced ones can help you appeal to a broader audience and maximize sales.
D. Assess the Event’s Sales Potential:
- Footfall: How busy will the event be? Ask the organisers about expected foot traffic.
- Target audience: Will the people attending be interested in what you’re selling? If you’re selling handmade crafts, for example, a local artisan market may offer better opportunities than a general fair.
By understanding your costs and planning your stock to break even and beyond, you’ll set yourself up for success at your Christmas markets, whether you’re a seasoned trader or just starting out.
Download Your Free Calendar
To help you stay organised, download our Christmas Market Planning Calendar. This customizable, fillable calendar will allow you to:
- Track event dates
- Mark down deadlines and confirmation
[Click here to download your calendar]
With a little planning, this Christmas season can be your most successful yet. Stay organised, enjoy the festive spirit, and make the most of the opportunities out there.
Happy trading!
Grainne & Greg