There are plenty of ways to raise money at a school Christmas fair, but few give children quite as much independence as an Elfridges Christmas shop. The idea is simple.

Create a little Christmas shop where children can buy affordable presents for mums, dads, grandparents and other family members – without those family members seeing what they've chosen!

For children, it's an opportunity to secretly choose a proper Christmas present themselves. For parents, it can result in some wonderfully unexpected gifts under the tree. And for schools and PTAs, an Elfridges shop can become an enjoyable and profitable Christmas fundraising activity.

But how do you actually organise one?

From choosing the right gifts and setting your prices to organising volunteers and working out how much stock you'll need, here's our complete guide to running an Elfridges school Christmas shop.

What Is an Elfridges Christmas Shop?

If you've never encountered one before, Elfridges is the name often given to a pop-up Christmas gift shop organised within a school.

Instead of selling toys to children, the shop sells gifts for children to give to adults.

That distinction is important.

Children might be shopping for:

• Mum
• Dad
• Grandparents
• Step-parents
• Aunts and uncles
• Carers
• Older siblings
• Teachers
• Other special people in their lives

Parents usually provide the money beforehand, then children visit the shop independently and choose their presents.

At our children's school, we transform the library into Elfridges during the Christmas fair. Adults aren't allowed inside, Year 6 pupils help run the shop, and younger children choose their gifts before putting them into gift bags and writing out their own gift tags.

They leave with presents ready to hide away until Christmas Day.

And the children absolutely love it.

Why Elfridges Works So Well for Schools

There are lots of PTA Christmas fundraising ideas, so why dedicate an entire room to a gift shop?

Because Elfridges offers something slightly different.

A tombola is exciting because children might win. A Christmas fair stall is exciting because they can buy something. Elfridges is exciting because they're trusted to make the decision themselves.

For younger children in particular, buying a present without Mum or Dad standing beside them can feel surprisingly grown-up.

It also turns Christmas shopping into an experience rather than simply another fundraising transaction.

From a PTA perspective, there are other advantages too. You can decide your prices in advance, calculate the potential profit on each gift and control exactly how much stock you purchase.

And unlike some highly seasonal Christmas fair supplies, suitable leftover gifts don't necessarily have to go to waste.

Step 1: Decide How Your Elfridges Shop Will Work

Before buying anything, decide on the basic format.

Will Elfridges operate during your school Christmas fair?

Will each class visit at an allocated time during the school day?

Will parents pre-order a certain number of gifts?

Or will children simply arrive with money and decide what to buy?

There isn't one correct way to do it.

For larger schools, allocated class times can make the event considerably easier to manage. At a Christmas fair, a continuous walk-in shop can create more of a festive shopping experience.

You should also decide whether children will wrap their presents, use Christmas gift bags or simply take them home.

Gift bags are particularly convenient because they're quick, relatively mess-free and easy for younger children to manage.

Step 2: Choose the Right Elfridges Gifts

This is probably the most important part.

An Elfridges gift needs to meet slightly different criteria from an ordinary Christmas gift.

Remember who's choosing it.

A six-year-old might not appreciate the difference between a £3 gift and a £10 gift. They're far more likely to pick something because it's colourful, funny, fluffy, sparkly or because it says "Best Mum" on it.

That means perceived value matters enormously.

Good school Christmas shop gifts can include:

• Mugs and cups
• Socks
• Keyrings
• Candles and fragrance gifts
• Small home gifts
• Stationery
• Jewellery
• Cosmetic and pampering gifts
• Purses and accessories
• Novelty gifts
• Photo frames
• Small games and puzzles
• Gifts specifically for Mum, Dad or Grandparents
• Unisex gifts suitable for almost anyone

The best Elfridges range isn't necessarily the one containing the most expensive products.

It's the one where a child walks into the room and immediately thinks:

"I know who I'm buying that for!"

Don't Forget Unisex Gifts

It's tempting to divide everything into "Gifts for Mum" and "Gifts for Dad".

Have some of those, certainly – but don't make your entire shop work that way.

Families come in every shape and size, and children may be shopping for grandparents, carers, relatives or someone else entirely.

A healthy selection of general and unisex Christmas gifts makes the shop much more flexible.

You could organise the tables as:

Mums | Dads | Grandparents | Gifts for Anyone

Or forget recipient categories altogether and arrange products by gift type or price.

The important thing is making it easy for children to browse.

Step 3: Keep Your Pricing Simple

This is where Elfridges can become either beautifully simple or unnecessarily complicated.

Imagine trying to explain to a queue of excited five-year-olds that one mug costs £2.50, the socks are £3, the keyring is £1.75 and the gift set on the next table is £4.

Now imagine twenty more children waiting behind them.

Simple pricing makes life much easier.

One option is to sell every gift at exactly the same price.

If everything costs £3, for example, a child buying presents for Mum and Dad knows immediately that they need £6.

Alternatively, you could create a small number of clearly marked price bands, perhaps:

£2 Gifts | £3 Gifts | £5 Gifts

The exact prices will depend on what you've paid for your stock and how much you want the PTA to raise.

Whatever system you choose, calculate your individual cost per gift rather than simply looking at the wholesale pack price.

If a pack of 24 gifts costs £24, your cost is £1 per gift.

Sell them for £3 each and the potential figures look like this:

Of course, you'll need to consider other expenses and leftover stock, but working from the individual gift cost makes comparing products much easier.

Step 4: Work Out How Many Gifts You'll Need

Don't just count the number of children in the school.

Count the likely number of presents.

If you have 250 pupils and each child is allowed to buy two gifts, your maximum requirement could theoretically be 500 presents.

But not every pupil will participate and some children may buy one gift while others buy three or four.

Pre-orders can make stock planning much easier.

For example, parents could indicate beforehand:

Child's name: __________

Number of gifts required: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Money enclosed: £__________

You then know roughly how many gifts are required before ordering your stock.

Always allow some spare.

Running out of Dad gifts when another three classes are still waiting to visit isn't ideal!

Step 5: Make It Feel Like a Real Christmas Shop

You don't need to spend a fortune decorating Elfridges.

A few inexpensive touches can completely transform an ordinary classroom or library.

Try:

• Christmas tablecloths
• Tinsel
• Battery-operated Christmas lights
• Paper decorations
• Christmas music
• Elf decorations
• Clearly labelled gift sections
• Christmas gift bags
• A simple checkout area
• A gift-tag writing station

You could even have an elf greeting children at the entrance.

The goal isn't to create Harrods.

It's to make walking through the door feel different from walking into the same room on an ordinary school day.

That's where much of the magic comes from.

Step 6: Recruit Your Elfridges Team

You don't necessarily need dozens of adult volunteers.

In fact, older pupils can be brilliant at helping younger children shop.

Possible roles include:

• Greeters – welcome children and explain how the shop works.
• Shopping helpers – help younger children find suitable gifts without choosing for them.
• Checkout team – take payment or record prepaid purchases.
• Gift bag team – put purchases into Christmas bags.
• Gift tag helpers – help younger pupils write names on their tags.
• Stock team – replenish the tables as products sell.
• Queue manager – an extremely important job once thirty excited children appear at the door!

Giving older pupils some responsibility can make Elfridges feel like a whole-school activity rather than simply another PTA stall.

Step 7: Don't Let the Grown-Ups In!

This might be our favourite rule.

Obviously schools need appropriate adult supervision, but where possible, keep parents out of the actual shopping area.

The whole point is that children get to choose.

Yes, Dad may receive something he'd never have selected for himself.

Grandad might receive another pair of socks.

Mum might unwrap something pink, fluffy and covered in hearts.

That's part of the fun.

The present has been chosen by the child, rather than selected by an adult and handed over for them to give back.

And that's what makes an Elfridges gift special.

Step 8: Have a Plan for Gift Bags and Tags

Wrapping dozens – or potentially hundreds – of presents individually can quickly create a bottleneck.

Gift bags make the process considerably easier.

Set up a station containing:

• Christmas gift bags
• Tissue paper if required
• Gift tags
• Pens
• Stickers
• Tape

Most importantly, make sure the recipient's name is written on the gift before the child leaves.

Otherwise, two mysterious identical gift bags arriving home can cause problems!

For younger pupils, volunteers or older children can help write the tags.

Step 9: Think About Leftover Stock Before the Event

No matter how carefully you plan, you may have gifts left.

That's normal.

The advantage of choosing general gift lines rather than highly specific products is that leftovers can potentially be reused.

Depending on the products, they might work for:

• Mother's Day
• Father's Day
• Teacher gifts
• Future PTA events
• Raffles
• Tombolas
• Staff gifts
• Next year's Elfridges shop

Keep a simple record of what sold particularly quickly and what was left.

That information is incredibly useful when planning next year's event.

Common Elfridges Mistakes to Avoid

A few things can make a school Christmas shop much harder than it needs to be.

Too many different prices
Keep the system simple enough for younger children to understand.

Not enough general gifts
Don't assume every child is shopping for a traditional Mum-and-Dad household.

Buying on pack price rather than unit price
Always calculate what each individual present actually costs.

Too little variety
Twenty different products will usually create a much more exciting shop than hundreds of identical gifts.

Forgetting bags and tags
Buying the presents is only half the job!

No stock buffer
Allow for popular categories selling faster than expected.

Making every decision for the children
The magic of Elfridges is letting children choose.

An Example Elfridges Shopping Journey

Sometimes the easiest way to plan the event is to see it through a child's eyes.

Imagine Sophie arrives with £6 to buy two £3 presents.

She enters Elfridges and is greeted by an older pupil.

She browses the Mum table and chooses a small gift she thinks Mum will love.

Next she looks through the general gifts and finds something for Grandad.

At the checkout, her £6 is collected or her prepaid order is marked off.

Both presents go into separate Christmas gift bags.

Sophie writes "Mum" on one tag and "Grandad" on the other.

She leaves the shop with two secret presents ready for Christmas.

Simple.

But for a seven-year-old, that's a pretty exciting shopping trip.

Elfridges Planning Checklist

Before opening your school Christmas shop, check that you've covered the basics:

• ✓ Decide when and where Elfridges will run
• ✓ Decide whether parents will pre-order gifts
• ✓ Set your selling price or price bands
• ✓ Calculate your maximum cost per gift
• ✓ Estimate how many gifts you'll need
• ✓ Choose gifts for different recipients
• ✓ Include plenty of unisex options
• ✓ Order Christmas gift bags and tags
• ✓ Recruit volunteers and older pupil helpers
• ✓ Organise gift tables and signage
• ✓ Create a checkout system
• ✓ Allow some spare stock
• ✓ Decide what you'll do with leftovers
• ✓ Keep notes to make next year's Elfridges even easier

Frequently Asked Questions About Elfridges

What is Elfridges?

Elfridges is a school Christmas shop where children choose and buy affordable Christmas presents for parents, grandparents and other family members. It's commonly organised by schools and PTAs as a festive activity and fundraising event.

What should you sell at an Elfridges school shop?

Good Elfridges gifts include mugs, socks, keyrings, candles, stationery, jewellery, accessories, pampering gifts, small home gifts, novelty products and gifts specifically designed for mums, dads and grandparents. Include plenty of general or unisex presents too.

How much should Elfridges gifts cost?

There is no fixed price. Choose a selling price that's affordable for families while leaving sufficient margin for your PTA fundraising target. Keeping all gifts at one price can make the shop particularly easy for younger children to use.

Where can schools buy Elfridges gifts in bulk?

Wholesale suppliers such as Risus Wholesale allow schools and PTAs to purchase suitable gifts in larger quantities at wholesale prices. Buying in bulk can help keep the individual cost per present low and leave more room for PTA fundraising.

Is Elfridges a good PTA Christmas fundraising idea?

It can be. The PTA purchases gifts at wholesale prices and sells them to pupils at an agreed price, with the difference contributing towards fundraising after costs. More importantly, it creates a Christmas activity children can genuinely enjoy taking part in.

Do Elfridges gifts have to be Christmas themed?

Not at all. In fact, many of the best Elfridges gifts aren't Christmas themed. The present is being given at Christmas, so everyday gifts such as mugs, socks, keyrings, stationery, accessories and home gifts can work perfectly and may be easier to reuse if you have stock left over.

What can we call our school Christmas shop?

Elfridges is one popular name, but schools use lots of different names. You might choose Elfridges, The Christmas Gift Shop, Santa's Secret Shop, The Elf Shop or create your own festive name. The basic idea remains the same: children get to secretly shop for the people they love.

Ready to Create Your Own Elfridges Shop?

An Elfridges Christmas shop doesn't need to be complicated.

Start with a suitable room, choose a varied selection of affordable gifts, keep the pricing simple and give children the freedom to shop.

Done well, it can raise money for your PTA while giving pupils something even more valuable: the excitement of choosing, buying and giving their own Christmas presents.

And when Christmas morning arrives, Mum, Dad, Grandma or Grandad gets to discover exactly what their little shopper chose for them!

Explore the Risus Wholesale Elfridges Gift Range for affordable wholesale gifts for school Christmas shops, PTAs and Christmas fundraising events.

You can also browse our PTA Prizes & Gifts, Wholesale Christmas Gifts, Gifts for Mums, Gifts for Dads and Christmas Gift Bags for more school Christmas shop ideas.