Business Ideas | Small Business Ideas: Christmas Gift

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Christmas Gift | Business Ideas

To truly get your home in the festive spirit, try out some of these ideas for Christmas crafts. Whether you like to knit, sew or do projects with your kids, you'll find tons of ideas for ways to decorate your home for the holidays.

When applying your craft skills to a marketable product, stick to those items that sell the most on multiple auction and craft websites. Keep in mind things people need and use everyday and appeal to that market with your craft ideas. Find a local shop that offers consignment sales to market your crafts locally. Avoid hot and trendy items, as these tend to have a short shelf lives.

Christmas season is the busiest time of the year. It’s also a good time to start a business because people are busy buying for anything from food, clothing, decorations and gift items. People are also busy in planning for their Christmas parties and family reunions. During the holiday, you can expect everyone will spend money just to feel the spirit of Christmas. Many people are looking for unique gifts that will be just right for their family and friends.This makes the right time to find what craft business ideas you can start during Christmas holidays. Listed below are my Top Christmas Craft Business Ideas you can start right at your own home.

Get your home into the festive spirit with these great ideas for Christmas crafts.

Jewelry

Handcrafted jewelry is an evergreen marketable item. What this means is that its demand stays constant and is not subject to sporadic purchases or seasonal buyers. Earrings continue to sell well, whether constructed of beads, silver or cast pieces. Purchase supplies to make pierced or post earrings from an art and hobby store, or alternatively look online and purchase large supplies for bigger discounts.

Baby Items

Handmade baby clothes, blankets and toys continue to sell well at any time of the year. Use auction or arts and craft websites to market your handmade baby items online. Create baby-safe mobiles, sock animal toys, baby quilts or bed buntings to protect the newborn baby while he sleeps. Alternatively, set up a keyword-rich domain name and your own website, sign up with a third-party vendor to accept credit card payments and market your online website. Use flyers to market the website locally.

Personalized Gifts

Personalized gifts that include someone's name on the craft item also sell for birthdays or as holiday gifts. Make jewelry boxes or necklaces that spell out someone's name or offer personalized mugs, T-shirts or other items to consumers. Create various craft items and offer to personalize them for an additional small fee. Market them at a local boutique or consignment shop. Market them online through your own website or various auction and craft websites.

Holiday Crafts

Seasonal and holiday crafts often sell year-round as well. Make Santa centerpieces, homemade Christmas wreaths, craft Easter bunnies or Halloween witches and goblins. Create specialized and personal Christmas ornaments, Christmas tree blankets or nativity or reindeer scenes. Research world holidays and create crafts for different holiday celebrations around the world. Offer reduced prices in the off-season to increase sales. Market local holiday crafts through annual craft shows and local gift stores.

A collection of Christmas craft ideas

Gift-wrapping

Easy-to-make Christmas gift bags- These simple, shimmery gift bags wrap up little luxuries in style.

Make an origami gift box- This origami gift box makes perfect reusable packaging for small gifts – and looks smashing under the tree.

Download our printable Christmas gift tags- Make gift-wrapping a breeze by printing these festive Christmas gift tags on labels using your ink-jet printer.

Digital holiday craft: Greeting cards- Make your own personalized holiday cards with more than 12 editable designs to choose from.

Peppermint candy stick- This easy craft adds a beautiful touch to gift-wrapped packages.

Printable holiday cards- Give the perfect holiday card this season with these pretty printable cards from styleathome.com.

Decorations

A collection of Christmas ornament crafts- Homemade Christmas ornaments make a wonderful gift for family or friends – or for yourself. Here are our favourite Christmas ornament crafts to knit, sew or put together with the kids.

Holiday garland- Bring the scent of the season into your home with this nature-inspired decoration.

Christmas mat (pictured)- A great craft idea to add a festive touch to your floors.

Make a birch reindeer- Bring the spirit of Santa's sleigh into your house with this decorative reindeer project.

Ribbon wreath: Intricate and colorful, this craft makes a stunning addition to any doorway.

4 creative wreath ideas- Make your front door more welcoming this winter with your choice of four wreaths.

Glitter ornament- Make your tree sparkle this season with a pretty glitter ornament.

Miniature berry wreath- Red berries and a snowy white ribbon make this holiday decoration a timeless classic.

Knitting

Gingerbread people- Knit a batch of these delightful Christmas toys.

Knit and felt a Christmas stocking- This homemade knitted and felted Christmas stocking will add a cosy touch to your holiday decor.

Knitted ornaments- Trim the tree with these delightful decorations.

Knitted Christmas stockings- Knit and personalize stockings for each member of your family and hang them for that jolly old elf to fill with goodies.

Family project ideas- Make a Christmas gingerbread village. Why stop at a gingerbread house this Christmas? With a single dough recipe, you can make this charming Christmas gingerbread village, consisting of a two houses, a church, a schoolhouse and a clock tower.

Christmas craft idea: Advent calendar- For a new twist on an advent calendar, make a cookie countdown tree.

Christmas crafts for kids- Decorations, gingerbread projects and more Get your family in the holiday spirit with this collection of Christmas crafts for kids.

Gift ideas

Holiday fire starter kit- A unique and welcome homemade gift for family gatherings and intimate get-together.

Cosy crocheted slippers- Thaw out cold feet in these snug retro slippers. Save paper and send a FREE holiday e-card! Find a variety of pretty options here.

Christmas Craft Business Ideas- Bead Jewelries- Bead jewelry making is a creative and entertaining hobby that not only will have you produce unique, handmade items of jewelry, but will also be a great business and a source of gift ideas for family and friends. Click here for bead jewelry making.

Chip Can Santa Craft- Don’t throw out those potato chip cans, they make great crafts! Try your hand at this cute little chip can Santa craft, a perfect display for your holiday table. Click here for Santa craft guide.

Cupcake Towels- Cupcake towels that “looks so tasty”. These cakes are actually towels that are exquisitely designed to look just like real cakes. Cupcake towels are perfect innovative dessert souvenirs for any occasion. Click here for cupcake towels.

Clay Pot Santa Claus- It makes a nice decoration at Christmas time for the table or window, and when wrapped in a clear foil, can be a nice gift for someone as well. Click here for candy canes guide..

Chenille Candy Canes- Chenille stems make the easiest candy canes and you will be amazed and how happy your child will be after making these easy ornaments. Perfect for any age, this is a wonderful holiday craft. Click here for wreath ornament guide

Scented Candles- Scented candles are very popular item especially for hotels and Spas. They add a warmth and scent to the place that many people desire. Making candles at home can cut the cost, and provide a fun project for those who like to craft. Click here on how to make scented candles.

Puzzle Wreath Ornament- If you have any puzzles that are missing pieces, they can be turned into fun craft projects! Take this cute wreath ornament for example. Turn spare puzzle pieces into a cute ornament for your Christmas tree. Click here for snowman guide.

Never- Melt Snowman- Brrrr! It’s time for building snowmen! Too cold to go outside, or no snow on the ground? No problem! Make this cute textured snowman to decorate your home. Click here for snowflake candle glass craft guide..

Snowflake Tea Light Candle Glass- This is a very lovely way to decorate your holiday table. Create candle glasses such as this one and set them onto iridescent flakes. It has almost a magical look to it when the candles are lit. The snowflakes are sprinkled with extra glitter to add to the look. Click here for Christmas potholder guide

Quilted Potholder for Christmas- There is nothing more wonderful than a hand made, unique gift. This potholder is easy to make, plus it teaches you new quilting skills, as well as how to transfer an image to fabric. Click here for felt Santa guide.

Felt Santa- Use this charming Kunin felt Santa decoration for Christmas trees, wreaths, mantels, centerpieces, stocking stuffers or just to give as a homemade Christmas gift! Click here for reindeer ornament craft guide.

Reindeer Ornament Craft- Make Rudolph ornaments this year for an easy, any age Christmas tree ornament craft. Making this reindeer ornament craft is a real holiday classic- and a fun to do activity with the kids this year. Click here forRibbon Spool Christmas candle guide..

Ribbon Spool Christmas Candle- Candles are wonderful, but this one is safer! This flame lasts forever and will not burn your fingers. It would make a lovely centerpiece on your Christmas dinner table. Click here for beaded crystal wreath guide

Beaded Crystal Wreath- These beaded wreath ornaments are so easy to do that you may want to make a bunch of them to decorate the Christmas tree. Click here for angelic candle holder guide.

Angelic Candle Holder- Our sweet angel will help light your way and would look lovely displayed on a side table, or somewhere near the fireplace, at Christmas time. You only need a few inexpensive supplies to complete this candle holder. Click here for bead angel guide.

Bead Angel- Craft a beaded angel with nothing more than two beads and a little wire-edged ribbon! These bead angels are easy and quick to make, but they make a lovely gift that is symbolic of love and caring. Click here for Christmas cardinal light bulb craft guide.

Christmas Cardinal Recycled Lightbulb- Reuse a burned out lightbulb to make this Christmas cardinal recycled light bulb craft. Of course, tiny blue jays or small Christmas flowers could be substituted as decorations – just use what you have or pick a theme that is personal to you. Click here for Santa light bulb craft guide.

Recycled Light Bulb Santa- Need a small Christmas gift for the teacher or babysitter? This Christmas Santa tree trim is quick, easy and inexpensive to make as the main supplies are a burned out light bulb and craft paint. Click here for beaded star ornament guide..

Beaded Star Ornament- Here’s a beaded star tree trim to add to your homemade Christmas ornaments. So quick and easy to do, you’ll want to make lots of them in different colors. Click here for Christmas greeting card placement guide.

Christmas Greeting Card Placemats- Recycle your Christmas cards, or other greeting cards, to make pretty placemats for your table. This is one way to keep and display some of your prettiest, or most memorable, greeting cards. Next year, you can bring them out for holiday entertaining; perhaps your guests will even recognize their own cards in your selection! Click here for beaded reindeer ornament guide

Beaded Reindeer Ornament- Add a dash of reindeery goodness to your Christmas tree with this Beaded reindeer ornament. This craft is most appropriate for teens and adults. Click here for Christmas gift box guide.

Christmas Gift Box from Used Christmas Cards- These little gift boxes are a wonderful homemade craft for children or anyone who likes to recycle. Use Christmas cards, tie up with Christmas ribbon and they make neat Christmas tree trims that can hold little surprises – although they would be good for Easter or other occasions as well. Click here for wreath Christmas centerpiece guide.

Miniature Wreath Christmas Centerpiece- This Christmas centerpiece craft project is completed within minutes. Especially if your need a quick and easy decoration, this project is ideal. Because of its size, it does not require too much space. Click here for lighted Christmas tree guide..

Lighted Christmas Trees- This Christmas tree decoration is a little time consuming to craft but it is overall very easy to make. After you saw the pieces out, putting it together is simple. The decoration consists of 3 large pieces – 2 trees and a base piece and 10 stars. Click here for snowman centerpiece guide

Winter Wooden Snowman Centerpiece- This snowman is a cute table centerpiece throughout the whole winter. Because it is made two-sided, it can be enjoyed from all sides. The colors of white and blue give it a crisp snowy feeling. Click here for moose and sleigh craft guide..

Moose and Sleigh Advent Calender- This wooden Christmas moose decoration has a sleigh full of presents and is made to serve as an Advent calender, but can be used as a Christmas decoration for the window sill or under the tree as well. Click here for Christmas wall quilt guide

Christmas Wall Quilt / Wall Hanging- Create this lovely country style quilt in one weekend and decorate your walls with it for the holidays. The reindeer, mitten, stocking, tree, sled and star motifs are typical seasonal favorites and the quilt is made using only 3 colors of patchwork fabric. Click here for 2009 Christmas Bazaars List In Metro Manila.

How to Sell your Christmas Crafts

Sell it to your friends, to your neighbors, to students or to offices. Many of these people are looking for unique gifts and souvenirs that they will give to their friends and families. They might also want to buy your Christmas crafts to decorate their homes.
Sell at craft fairs in your area. One of the easiest ways to sell Christmas crafts is by finding a craft fair shows in your place. These are especially popular around the Christmas season, as many are looking for unique crafted gifts. You can also rent a space or booth and set up your crafted items near busy streets or to places where many people are passing by.
Sell your crafts online. One of the best site to sell your handmade Christmas crafts is in Etsy.com, that is, if you want to sell it internationally. There are also several websites that you can sell your crafts locally. In Philippines, you will find many sites that you can sell your craft items like in Multiply or any buy and sell websites. This will allow a wider network to look and browse at any of your specific craft items. If you decide to sell it online, you should have all of your information available, pricing, shipping as well as pictures of the crafts that you are selling.

Reference

Christmas Gift | Business Ideas

No comments:

Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

Pages