Bake Sale Tips

We do an annual garage sale each spring and the girls love to set up a little bake sale along with a cooler of pop. Jordan prepared the marketing items for her and Josey's bake sale so I thought I would share some tips for bake sale success.

Make a cute sign that is colorful and glittered. Jordan used my Copic Sketch markers to list the items and their prices, matching the colors of the basket liner they used for the treats. She also used glitter on the sign which looked totally cute. And even though the sign is clearly displayed, be prepared for each garage sale goers to ask, "How much are your cookies?" Advise bake sale workers to not answer, "Duhhhhh, can't you read people?" Good customer service is key.
You must have a functional money box, preferably with a closing lid. Be sure to have some starter change in there, mostly quarters. Also, put a sticky note in the box listing how much starter change there is and who donated that starter change. That ensures that no one gets ripped off of their original starter money. Trust me, every bit of money is divided equally, down to the last penny! Require bake sale workers to count back change, it's good for their math skills.

Be prepared to pay bake sale workers full price for each and every brownie and pop that you want, even if you bought the pop and bake sale ingredients for the bake sale workers. These bake sale workers mean business!This is a mock set up, but have the bake sale workers set up a cute display. We always have a card table set up with an old quilt or tablecloth. The sign is neatly displayed and a Longaberger basket holds all the goodies. Be prepared for garage sale goers to ask if the Longaberger basket is for sale. Instruct bake sale workers to reply, "Not on your life, lady."

It doesn't hurt to have cute bake sale workers either. With combed hair, clean clothes and brushed teeth. I don't care if it is just a garage sale, no one wants to buy brownies from some crusty eyed kid with morning slobber on their mouth, messy hair and wrinkled pajamas. This is a real job people, you gotta dress the part!

Next, have your food items packaged in good sized, 50 cent portions. The girls helped make no bake cookies, brownies and chocolate chip cookies. You'll be amazed at how many people don't make homemade treats. They love the homemade stuff. Individually wrap the items with plastic wrap or put in plastic baggies. Also, have one of each kind of pop you're selling setting out. The garage sale goers get thirsty so make sure your for sale items are visible! Keep the rest in an ice chest. Dump lots of ice on top to make sure they're frosty cold. Although we've had requests by garage sale goer husbands, we don't recommend selling beer at your garage sale. This is a family event, people. Besides, I don't think 10 and 11 year olds can get liquor licenses for bake sales. We checked.

Next, presentation is everything, as I've said a million times here on the blogaroonie. My fine Pine friend gave me some good ideas in her blog post about pricing items for her vintage sales. So we took her lead and made some cute tags to clip on our goodie basket, using clothespins. We got lots of comments on the cute display. And we sold out of goodies on the first day so business was good. It doesn't hurt that Grandpa came home for lunch and purchased 8 cookies.

Here's what we did for the tags. Jordan stamped a circle tag image from Papertrey's Trademarks stamp set onto Rustic Cream cardstock using Ripe Avocado ink. She punched out the tags using a scalloped circle punch, punched a hole and added some Spring Moss Satin Ribbon. Jordan used a brown marker to write each cookie name on the tags. Good ol' clothespins were used to attach the tags to the basket. Then all the cookies were lined up behind each corresponding tag.

We have a lot of fun at our garage sales and bake sales. They've become a family tradition of sorts and we always look forward to making a little extra spending cash. Plus, the girls will have lots of sales experience to put on their resumes when they go looking for real jobs. They can even use me as a reference for their supervisor.

I hope you're having a blast with your kids this summer! Anything can be turned into a fun event, especially if you use a little creativity!! Have fun......wanna buy a cookie?