Cathy Herrold (in back), co-owner of Graci’s Flowers & Gifts, supervises while one of her best customers, County Commissioner Peggy Chamberlain Roup, helps her grandson decorate a stocking during Santa Fest, an annual tradition in Sellinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
Piggybacking on local holiday events can be a great way to get a bump in your holiday traffic without having to create an event from scratch. Graci’s Flowers & Gifts in Sellinsgrove, Pennsylvania, participated in the local Chamber of Commerce’s annual Santa Fest, Saturday, Dec. 5, a major event that included a 5k race, a pet parade and an evening concert. The event had a dual purpose of building camaraderie in the community and raising funds to provide food for children who qualify for free or reduced lunch at school and may not get a good meal on weekends or school breaks.
For Santa Fest, owners George and Cathy Herrold invited area children to decorate muslin stockings, which the kiddos took door to door for local businesses to fill with candy. (Think of it as trick or treating in December — without the costumes, of course.)
The Herrolds were hoping for 35 kids and ended up with 50. It was hectic “but lots of fun helping the kids and seeing how proud they were of their stockings,” Cathy Herrold said.
The promotion generated a lot of free press. “There was a lady from one of the local radio stations and a reporter from the county’s weekly newspaper, which is free and delivered to everyone — so that write up will go far,” Cathy Herrold said. Additionally, the man who manages the city website attended with his daughter and took lots of pictures, she said.
Along with a treat for the child, the Herrolds slipped a coupon card in each stocking. One little girl, too young to read, asked what it what the piece of paper said. “My daughter, Lindsay, told her it was a discount and maybe she could have her daddy bring her back and she could buy her mommy a Christmas present. Her mommy said she was really happy with that idea,” Cathy Herrold said. “We hope that dad took the hint!”
