Recent Posts

• Attracting Families to Expos and Events

  

  A recent expo at the Portland Convention Center offered free rides on Thomas the Train for kids. As a result, the place was packed with families. Of course, it did not hurt that the expo was full of model trains either.

  For any event to be successful, it has to attract people. If no one turns up to participate in the event, there really isn’t any point in having it. Vendors need to sell their products and services. If there is a charge for admission or ticket fee, someone has to pay.

  Attracting families to an event is a great way to increase attendance. After all, it is not unusual for adults to go to activities by themselves. Children, on the other hand, pretty much always travel with a parent or guardian, which at least doubles your attendance. Consider then that many families include more than one child and more than one adult, and your head count increases dramatically. Another great benefit to attracting families to your event is many adults who won’t buy much for themselves have a hard time saying no to their children. For instance, the booths selling Thomas the Train toys at the expo did brisk business throughout the event.

  So how do you attract families to your event. If your event is kid friendly to begin with, that helps, but adding kid friendly amenities and attractions is a good way to get families in the door whether or not the event would otherwise be a family function. You can pick  attractions that fit your event, like the fishing pond at a recent outdoor show, the Thomas ride at the train show, or pony rides at a horse expo. You can also pick attractions that suit any kids, whether or not they are interested in the theme of your event.

  

  Inflatables are a great family attraction. Kids love bounce houses and slides and if your event is outdoors, large inflatables serve as their own billboards as they are visual from a long distance away. Some events charge extra for kids to play in the inflatables while others include it as an added incentive for families with kids to attend.

  Having live entertainers, like clowns, magicians, or musicians is another way to attract families to an event. Some entertainers even provide additional promotional services by contacting their own fans.

  Another way to encourage families to attend an event it to offer discounted or free admission for children or family admission packages. Offering coupons is also a good way to encourage families to attend. The Expo Center further encourages people to come in groups by giving car pool discounts for parking cars with three or more people in them.

  When advertising your event, be sure to promote your family friendly features. Advertise in family publications and promote the event with fliers and other promotions where families are likely to hear about it. Get your event added to as many calendars of events as you can, such as the online calendars for Metro Parent and NW Kids.

• Planning a Yard or Garage Sale

  

  Need to get rid of some stuff? Whether you are cleaning out the garage or just getting rid of items that you no longer need, a yard or garage sale is a fun way to get rid of the clutter and make a little money in the process.

  Most people hold yard and garage sales at their own house, but if you live in a quiet neighborhood, you may consider having your sale at another location. It is much easier to have a successful sale on a busy street because people driving and walking by see your wares from the street. If you have any friends whose yard would make a better locarion, see if you can hold the sale in their yard instead. Perhaps they might want to join you and sell some of their own stuff as well. Another good option is to hold your sale during a neighborhood block sale since shoppers will be in the area already.

  Check with friends and see if any would be interested in sharing your sale with you. The more stuff you have to sell, the more attractive your sale will be to shoppers. If you are sharing your sale, you can also split the costs and work involved. Just make sure that items are tagged and sales are tracked so everyone selling stuff gets their share of the profit, or have an agreement for how the money will be split.

  Advertise your sale as much as possible, using the local newspaper, social media, and online posting sites. Craig’s List is a wonderful resource (and it is free). List some of the items that you have in your sale so people looking for those things specifically will know to come. Along with placing an ad for your sale, pick some of the bigger items and make individual ads for them as well. Be sure to include photos with the ads. When people inquire about an item, arrange for them to come look at that item during your sale. Ads for free items tend to get a lot of responses, so if you have any items you want to give away, put ads up for them as well.

  Early on the first day of your sale, place posters around the neighborhood with directions to your sale, being sure to place them on the closest busy streets. Make the posters large, colorful, and easy to see. You can use poster board or big pieces of cardboard.

  Make sure your sale is easy to see from the street. If you are having your sale in a garage that sits in back of your house, put some items in the front yard to attract attention. The more people can see from the street, the more likely they will see something that will make them want to stop. If there is a chance of rain or if the day is really sunny, consider getting a tent. Not only will the tent help protect you and your merchandise from the weather, but it will also make your sale more visible. If you have stuff you want to give away, put a large clearly marked free box in front so people will stop to take a look at what you are getting rid of (and hopefully decide to shop too while they are there).

  Make sure all of the items are clearly marked and be ready to bargain. Many garage sale shoppers are looking for a deal. Remember that at the end of the sale, you’ll be stuck with whatever is left, so if you don’t want to keep items or try to sell them after the sale, be negotiable and price them to move.

  Consider selling beverages and treats. If you have kids, this is the perfect occasion for them to set up a lemonade stand. You can also sell other edible goodies like popcorn, sno-cones, ice cream bars, or cotton candy.

  Be careful when you are having your sale that items you don’t want to sell are not accidentally parted with. Don’t let strangers in your house to use the bathroom (or if you do decide to let people in your house, watch them closely and make sure valuables are not in plain site). Put the more valuable items that you are selling where you can keep an eye on them, especially if they are small, like jewelry. While most people won’t take stuff, it just takes one bad apple to ruin a pie. If you do need to leave your sale unattended, make sure that any small valuable items are not where people can grab them.

  I have had sales that were slow, so I just worked inside and came out when I had a customer. When I was not nearby, I left a note to leave money in my locking mail box if they wanted anything, and amazingly enough people did. However, I was not worried about any items getting stolen in that particular sale because everything that did not sell was going to be donated to Goodwill anyway.

  Have plenty of change for your sale, but don’t keep it in plain view. If you have a cash box, keep a limited amount of change in your cash box, and have another spot (perhaps in the house) for extra change in case you run out. Don’t leave cash unattended.

  There will always be items left over after a sale. If you have enough items, you can plan another sale. You can sell some of the more valuable items on Craig’s List or eBay. Consignment shops are another option. If you just want rid of the stuff, you can donate it to a thrift store. In fact, some charities will even come pick up your left over items for you after a yard sale. Another benefit to donating items is you can write off donations on your taxes.

  Good luck on your sale. Hope it is a huge success!

• Planning an Animal Party

  

  Animals in the wild, at the zoo, and at the circus fascinate children. What little boy or girl does not want a puppy or a kitten? An animal themed party is sure to be a hit with pretty much any kids. The party theme can be based around all animals, a group of animals like ocean animals or birds, or a particular kind of animal such as a horse or a dog.

  Perhaps the easiest way to hold an animal themed party is to have the party at the Oregon Zoo. The zoo not only showcases a wide variety of exotic animals, but also includes a farm where kids can pet goats, rabbits, and other farm animals.

  Several farms in the Portland area also have party space and animals for kids to see and pet. For instance, Kruger Farm on Sauvie Island offers birthday party packages and a petting zoo.

  Want to bring the animals to your party location? Consider having a petting zoo, a reptile zoo, or pony rides at your party. Having a face painter who can paint animal faces on the kids is another fun party entertainment idea.

  Along with having real animals at your party, you can get animal themed inflatables and play equipment for your party. Inflatables like the Lion Bouncer and the Gorilla Bouncer feature are perfect for an animal themed party.

  You can pick up animal invitations, decorations, plates, cups, party favors, games, and toys at dollar or party stores. Buy or make a cake with decorations to match your theme as well. One simple way to decorate a cake is to use plastic animal figures on top of a simple frosting job. You can also get cake pans that are shaped like animals, or frost an animal face on a circle shaped cake.

  Kids are wild about animals so your animal themed party is sure to be a wild success. Have fun!