On the First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me…
Three well-prepped crafters, two Christmas craft fairs and craft stall insurance for everybody!
There is a particular hush in the town hall just before the doors open on a Christmas craft fair. The tea urn hisses, someone tests the fairy lights, and the smell of mulled wine and pine drifts in from the porch. The sound of carols, carried by the oompah of a Salvation Army band, sets the scene as the doors open to let the people in, and off we go!
For makers, it is a hopeful time of year, the culmination of many hours of painstaking work. Within a much shorter time, all the lovingly created items will find new homes and the day will be over. The stallholders who sell out are almost always the ones who prepared weeks earlier, from their stock and display to their craft stall insurance.
For newcomers starting out this Christmas, and anyone else who wants to make sure they haven’t forgotten anything, this guide walks you through the whole process of setting up for a Christmas craft fair. The main takeaway: being ready is how you win.
Want to sort your cover first? Get a craft stall insurance quote
Why is Christmas the best season to sell handmade crafts?
Christmas is the season to beat all seasons because shoppers are actively looking for gifts with meaning. They don’t want another thing from the high street. They want the hand-knitted stocking, the beeswax candle, or the wooden decoration that will come out of the box every December for twenty years.
Craft fairs help to create the kind of Christmas that many of us remember: paper chains, oranges in stockings and presents someone actually made. A craft fair sells that feeling as much as the object, and buyers happily pay for it.
As well as beautiful handmade gifts that will be cherished year in, year out, other Christmas crafts to sell include:
- wreaths, garlands and dried-flower arrangements
- candles and wax melts in seasonal scents
- knitted, felted or embroidered decorations
- personalised baubles and gift tags
- stocking fillers for under £10
People love to get swept up in the season as they buy gifts for loved ones, and Christmas markets and craft fairs are becoming ever more popular. More people does mean more competition, with every table taken and shoppers deciding in seconds. But the difference between a quiet table and a queue is preparation.
How do you set up for a Christmas craft fair?
You set up for a Christmas craft fair by working backwards from fair day: book, plan stock, design the stall, pack your kit and rehearse.
- Book early and read the small print. Check the pitch size, whether a table and power are provided, and what insurance the organiser asks for. Most require public liability insurance for craft fairs, and many want proof when you book.
- Plan your stock. Mix price points: plenty of small stocking fillers, a middle range of gifts, and a few showpieces to draw people in. Offer gift wrapping if you can.
- Design your display. The best craft stall display ideas add height with crates or shelves, use a cloth that reaches the floor, and keep prices clearly labelled. Warm fairy lights, a sprig of holly and a hand-painted sign bring old-fashioned Christmas charm.
- Pack a fair-day kit. Take a cash float, a charged card reader, bags and tissue paper, tape, scissors, a small first-aid kit and a flask of something hot.
- Rehearse at home. Set the stall up once, time it and take a photo so that setting up on the morning of the fair is calm and quick.
- Arrive early and be welcoming. Smile, chat about how things are made, and collect email sign-ups for next year.
What could go wrong at a craft fair, and are you covered?
Most fair days go smoothly, but one accident can cost far more than a whole season’s takings. A visitor trips over a table leg, or a candle you sold catches fire at home weeks later.
Craft stall public liability insurance covers claims from members of the public who are injured, or whose property is damaged, because of your stall. Product liability covers claims about the items you made after they have been sold.
The usual worries are easy to answer:
- ‘Is it worth the cost?’ Cover is modest compared with the cost of defending even one claim.
- ‘Will the organiser accept it?’ Keep a copy of your certificate on your phone, so you can show it at booking or on the door.
Ready to make this Christmas your best fair yet?
The stall is planned, the stock is wrapped and the fairy lights are tested. The last step is making sure one bad moment can’t undo all that work.
If you need craft insurance for your stall before the season starts, Craft Insurance offers tailor-made craft fair insurance for stallholders, so we only insure you for what you need. We have been doing this for four decades, so there won’t be any of the exclusions you might come across with insurers who don’t understand the craft sector the way we do.
Get your craft stall insurance quote today and spend fair day doing what you love.
