Wreath, tree, and poinsettia sales are a holiday tradition at many schools and PTOs. Families want the products anyway, the sale fits naturally into the season, and many buyers come back year after year. The hard part is usually the paperwork: order forms in backpacks, cash and checks in envelopes, a spreadsheet someone builds late at night, and a pickup day that depends on getting all of it right.
Moving the sale to an online store takes most of that work off volunteers. This guide covers what to sell, a week-by-week timeline, how to set up the store, and how to run a smooth pickup day.
In This Guide
Why Holiday Sales Work
Families are already planning holiday purchases by the time most school fundraisers launch. The National Retail Federation's annual holiday survey shows how early that planning starts:
Source: National Retail Federation 2025 holiday consumer survey of 8,247 adults, released October 16, 2025.
In NRF's 2025 survey, 42% of shoppers planned to start holiday browsing and buying before November, most often to spread out their budget (54%) or avoid last-minute stress (41%). Shoppers planned to spend an average of $890.49 on gifts, food, decorations, and other seasonal items. A school sale that opens in October lands right in that planning window, and it gives families a way to put part of that holiday budget toward their school.
What to Sell
The strongest holiday products are things families already buy every year. Offer a short list with a few clear options for each:
| Product | Options to offer | Fulfillment |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh wreaths | Size, decorated or plain | Pickup or local delivery |
| Poinsettias | Color, pot size | Pickup |
| Christmas trees | Height range, variety | Pickup or local delivery |
| Garland and centerpieces | Length, style | Pickup |
| Holiday cards with student art | Pack size, design | Pickup or shipping |
| School-branded ornaments | Design, year | Pickup or shipping |
Fresh greenery and plants usually come from a fundraising supplier or a local nursery that delivers to the school in bulk. Cards and ornaments are easier to ship and can stay on sale longer. For year-round product ideas, see our list of 25 nonprofit merchandise ideas. If you're still choosing a platform, our roundup of the best nonprofit ecommerce software in 2026 compares options side by side.
A Week-by-Week Timeline
Most school holiday sales follow the same arc: open in October, close orders in mid to late November, and hold pickup in early December. Work backward from your supplier's order deadline.
Early October: choose products and a supplier
Confirm pricing, minimums, the final order date, and the delivery date. Ask what happens if a product sells out at the supplier level.
Mid-October: build the store
Add products, options, photos, pickup and delivery choices, and inventory limits. Test a full order from a phone before you announce anything.
Late October: launch to families
Announce the sale by email, newsletter, and a take-home flyer with a QR code that links straight to the store.
November: promote and remind
Share progress, run a class competition, and send a reminder a few days before orders close.
Mid to late November: close orders and place the supplier order
Export final totals by product and option, and send them to your supplier by their deadline.
Early December: pickup and delivery
Sort orders, staff the pickup window, and sell any extras on site.
Setting Up Your Holiday Store
An online store replaces paper order forms, cash envelopes, and manual tallies. When you set it up, focus on these details:
- Product options. Set up size, color, and style as options on a single product, so families pick a 22-inch decorated wreath without scrolling through a long list.
- Pickup and delivery. Offer pickup at school as the default, and add local delivery as a paid option if you have volunteers to drive.
- Inventory limits. If your supplier caps quantities, set matching limits so the store stops selling an item when it's gone.
- A class or teacher field. Add a product option for the student's teacher or class so you can run a class competition and credit sales correctly.
- Payment options. Accept credit cards and PayPal online so families don't need to send cash or checks to school.
- Sales tax. Rules for school and PTO sales vary by state and product. Confirm your obligations with a tax professional or your state's department of revenue before launch.
Our step-by-step guide to setting up a nonprofit online store covers pricing, product photos, and payment processing in more detail.
Run Your Holiday Sale Online
Soapbox Engage Shop handles seasonal products with pickup or delivery.
Promoting the Sale
Holiday sales depend on reaching families more than once. A simple plan covers most of it:
- Launch email and newsletter. Lead with the products, the order deadline, and the pickup date.
- Take-home flyer with a QR code. Paper still reaches families who skim email, and the QR code takes them straight to the store.
- Class competition. A small prize for the class with the most orders keeps students talking about the sale at home.
- Neighbors and local businesses. Encourage families to share the store link with relatives and neighbors, and ask local businesses whether they'd like wreaths for their storefronts.
- Deadline reminder. Send a final reminder three to four days before orders close, for families who meant to order and haven't yet.
Running Pickup Day
Pickup day is where the sale succeeds or stalls. A little preparation keeps the line moving:
- Print the order list sorted by last name, with each family's products and options, and keep a copy at every station.
- Pre-sort orders before the window opens, grouped alphabetically or by class, with labels on larger items.
- Schedule enough volunteers to unload the delivery truck, sort orders, and help families carry trees and larger items to cars.
- Plan for a few extras. Suppliers often send overage, and families who missed the deadline will show up.
Sell extras on the spot. With Soapbox Engage Onsite, volunteers can sell remaining wreaths and poinsettias from a phone using QR code, tap-to-pay, or cash, drawing from the same inventory as your online Soapbox Engage Shop store, so you don't sell an item twice.
After the Sale
- Thank families within a week, and share the total raised and what it will fund.
- Record what sold by product and option, so next year's supplier order is easier to estimate.
- Note what to change while it's fresh: deadlines, pickup timing, volunteer coverage, and products to add or drop.
- Keep your buyer list for spring sales and next year's holiday launch. Repeat buyers are the easiest to reach.
If your school foundation or PTO tracks families and donors in Salesforce, orders from Soapbox Engage Shop sync there in real time, so holiday buyers sit next to donation and event history. Our post on syncing nonprofit ecommerce to Salesforce covers how that works.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should a school start a holiday fundraiser?
Most schools open holiday sales in October and close orders in mid to late November, depending on the supplier's deadline. Starting in October matches when many families begin planning holiday purchases.
What are the best holiday fundraiser products for schools?
Fresh wreaths, poinsettias, Christmas trees, and garland are long-standing favorites because families buy them every year. Holiday cards featuring student art and school-branded ornaments are easy additions that can ship or stay on sale longer.
Can families pay online for a school wreath or poinsettia sale?
Yes. An online store lets families order and pay by card or PayPal, which removes cash and checks from backpacks and gives organizers an accurate order list for the supplier and pickup day.
Do schools and PTOs have to collect sales tax on holiday fundraiser sales?
It depends on your state and what you sell. Confirm your obligations with a tax professional or your state's department of revenue before the sale opens.
Set Up Your Holiday Store
Soapbox Engage Shop takes orders online and sells extras at pickup.
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