By Cameron Meier
SA Editor
It's that time of year again - the season where hundreds of thousands of shoppers flock to holiday-themed craft shows. And while attending a big Christmas show is one of the most enjoyable experiences show-goers and exhibitors can have, it's also serious business, especially for the Northern and Midwestern crafters who rely on the income they make at these events to get them through the lean winter show months. So it's important to get the most out of these events. But what exactly makes a good holiday show? We all take for granted that a lot of the items need to be themed to Christmas or Hanukkah. And a good show would not be complete without food and decorations. But are there other crucial elements that make a holiday show unique?
"You should have music playing to put people in the spirit. You're there to be part of the Christmas season," says Sally Kaczynski, co-promoter of Christmas in the Country in Hamburg, New York, held the first weekend of November. She also says that the exhibitor dress code that Premier Promotions enforces enhances the ambience of not just the Hamburg show, which was ranked as the #2 craft show in the country in the latest SA 200 Best, but also the company's Yuletide in the Country, which is held the first weekend of December.
But those elements are just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, according to Kaczynski and other promoters I spoke to, the entire buying demographic is different at a holiday show. "They come with their credit card and shopping list in hand," Kaczynski says. "This is where they're coming to do their Christmas shopping, [and] even when the economy is down, they don't care."
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