Christmas market

Outdoor: weather matters

Stallholders pay for a pitch at an evening or weekend market; the host also runs food and a raffle.

Typically raises

$4,000

$1,500–10,000 per eventest.

About $53 per organiser hour

Is it right for us?

Money: $2,000–10,000
Work: A team for weeks
Helpers: 7–15 people
Lead time: 2–4 months
Red tape: A fair bit

Fairly common: a popular seasonal event in many towns

People: 10-25
Organiser time: 50-100 (estimate)
Lead time: 3-4 months
Up-front cost: $200–$1,500. Advertising, lighting, power, toilets.
Risk: Low. Stall fees are paid in advance.

Suits: Primary or intermediate school, Church, Community group, marae or service club

Less usual for: Kindy or early learning, High school, Charity

When: Summer (Dec–Feb), Spring (Sep–Nov), Christmas

How big a job: A small team for weeks, 7–15 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Take about $4,800, pay about $800 of costs, and you keep about $4,000 per event: the typical result.

From the typical figure on this page. Your result will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

Estimate. No NZ benchmark found.

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

Book the date early (December fills fast).
Set stall fees and conditions.
Recruit stallholders.
Promote heavily to the public.
Plan the layout, power and safety.
Run food and a raffle yourselves.
Pack down and report.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Families to bake, give stock or take a shift on the stall.
Ask people to buy: People to come and buy on the day.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 6–8 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.
Facebook events and what’s-on listingsMake a Facebook event people can say they’re going to, and list it on your council’s or town’s what’s-on page.
Community newsletters and magazinesResidents’ newsletters, village magazines and other churches’ bulletins often run community notices free. Small ones close early.
Other groups sharing itAsk the school, kindy, church, sports club or marae down the road to share it in their newsletter or page. Offer to share theirs back.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: NeededYour own grounds or hall
Landowner’s permission: Not needed
Council permit: CheckCheck with your council
Food rules: CheckNo registration if you sell food to fundraise for a good cause up to 20 times a calendar year. It must still be safe and suitable, and your council may need a stall permit
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: NeededClass 2: prizes up to $5,000 and all tickets printed worth up to $25,000. Run by a club or society, with the money going to community or charitable purposes. Prizes at least 20% of ticket value; sold in person only, every ticket numbered (our rule: on paper). Prizes over $5,000 need a Class 3 licence
Health and safety: CheckA simple risk check and briefing
First aid: NeededA first aider and kit on site (recommended)
Insurance: NeededPublic liability cover (councils often require it)

Your own stalls use the fundraising exemption, but food stallholders need their own registration. A market on council land or a street needs an event permit, and any road closure needs a council-approved traffic management plan.

Make more from it

Raffle on the night
often $300-1,500 (estimate)
the crowd is already there with cash or cards out
Santa photo booth
often $300-1,000 (estimate)
families pay for a photo
Christmas tree sale on site
often $500-2,000 (estimate)
same buyers, same weekend
Sausage sizzle or food stall
often $200-800 (estimate)
people on site for hours get hungry

Stack it: on its own, about $4,000. With the 4 priced add-ons above, roughly

$7,300est.

What you can get donated

Venue, Santa, lighting, raffle prizes.

Tips

Stall fees cover costs; your own food and raffle are the profit.

Watch out for

Too few shoppers, so stallholders do not return next year.

Also pairs with: Food stalls, Raffle, Carols

Free tools for this

Event budget and break-evenCover site hire, stall costs and floats before you count a profit.
Cash float and takings counterGive each stall a counted float, then cash up in pairs at the end.
Checklist for any ideaBefore, on the day and after, built from this idea’s own steps and rules.

Typical rules

Food: community groups selling food for fundraising fewer than 20 times a year are exempt from Food Act registration (MPI), but councils may still require a stall or fundraising permit in public places.
Stallholders selling food more often than the exemption allows need their own registration.
Venue and council: events on council land or roads usually need a council event permit, traffic management plan and public liability insurance; rules differ by council.
Raffle on the night: a lottery under the Gambling Act 2003. No licence if total prizes are $5,000 or less and turnover is $25,000 or less (Class 1: both $500 or less; Class 2: run by a society). Alcohol, tobacco, firearms and some other items are illegal prizes, so no wine hampers as raffle prizes.

Check the details

Sources

Researched October 2026. All fundraising ideas

* General fundraising information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Money figures are examples and estimates, not promises. Check current official requirements before you commit. About this guide