The first Christmas that my son was old enough to write a wish list, it had only a few items on it, including paints, paper and a new box of crayons. By the next year, he was asking for Lego. The year after? An Xbox, a laptop, and a pony. As kids get older, their wish lists get more expensive. To help teach my kids the value of money (and to keep from going broke ourselves), we are encouraging our kids to find ways to earn their own money to pay for some of their many ‘wants.’
When I heard the Royal City Farmers Market was testing a children’s craft market, I asked my kids if they wanted to try selling some handmade items at the market. Both my seven-year-old and my five-year-old were very enthusiastic to try, so we applied to be vendors.
I thought hard about what sellable items young kids might be able to make, and came up with a list of crafts to try. Not everything worked out as intended (the veggie-stamped tea towel project went a bit off the rails, and we didn’t get around to some of the other ideas I had in mind), so in the end, our offerings included Perler Bead ornaments, ceramic dishes painted with craft paint, some pet rocks my four-year-old dreamed up, and a bunch of homemade playdough that the kids and I made with my stand mixer. Other kids at the market sold hand-sewn monster stuffies, pretty barrettes, Rainbow Loom creations and painted canvas wall art.
How did it go? Better than expected, actually. When we actually laid out our items on the table, I realized that we didn’t make as many items as I thought. It seemed like a lot at home, but looked thin on the big table we were given. I also forgot to make signs or even bring a tablecloth, so our booth was pretty sparse. But we arranged everything as prettily as we could, and my son wrote out a price sheet with smelly felts and construction paper, and we waited to see how it would go.Loading
Kid vendor market #2! Kids are selling sparkle playdough, earrings and pins, sun catchers & paper fans until 7pm today.
Everything we made was fun for the kids, and I didn’t push them to do more than they wanted to, so I figured the fun we had was worth the trouble no matter what we sold. I also was sure to prepare them that not everything would sell. I needn’t have worried though: we sold out of playdough before the market was halfway through, and by the end of the day we’d even sold my daughter’s quirky little pet rock pebbles for 10 cents each. The kids were thrilled, and felt very proud.
Was it a financial success? Well, let’s just say the Farmers Market is full of wonderful things. By the time we paid for the face-painter, lemonade and dinner at the market, as well as the crafts the kids wanted to buy from the other kid vendors … at least we didn’t lose money.
We learned a lot from our first day as market vendors. For our second market, we upped our game with more product, and new crafts to sell. In addition to the suncatchers and playdough, the kids made earrings and pins out of Perler Beads and buttons to sell. We also decked out our booth so it looked nicer, and packed some of our own snacks instead of buying everything on site. Instead of allowing the kids to spend the money they made right away, I gave each of them $5 to spend however they wanted, and split the earnings after the market.
Regardless of how much we actually earn on market day, I feel like the skills the kids are practicing are priceless. By helping the kids to earn their own pocket money, rather than just giving them an allowance, I hope to empower them to see opportunities in the future for them to create their own work to complement or replace a typical job. With so much uncertainty in the labour market and economy, I think it’s never a bad thing to know how to start a side business to pay for the extras you want – and I think it’s never too early to start.
Tips to spruce up your booth:
At our first market, it didn’t occur to me to bring decorations, signage or even a tablecloth for our booth. A few little touches have spruced up our booth, and it has definitely helped attract more buyers and make the kids feel more ‘official:’ We brought:
- A tablecloth to cover the table. A vivid, solid colour or subtle pattern will help your products stand out.
- A three-tiered cake stand to display small items. It provides some height and visual interest, and also lets us display more items within a smaller area.
- A mirror, in case anyone wants to see how the children’s jewelry looks on them.
- I sewed a banner for the table, and used small picture frames to display prices.
- Clothespins, tape and a pen. We used clothespins to dangle our suncatchers from the market tent and tape to secure paper from flying away. A pen is a good idea in case you need to change prices or mark a product as sold out.
Briana Tomkinson is a New Westminster mom, freelance writer, and Editor in Chief of www.TenthtotheFraser.ca