A Christmas market can account for a significant share of a maker's annual turnover. It's also one of the rare moments when your customers can see, touch and smell your creations before buying them. To prepare your selection, explore our collection for making your own scented poured and moulded candles.
But between choosing the market, working out how much to make, setting your prices, designing your stall and planning the logistics, a weekend of selling takes several months to prepare. The difference between a successful market and a disappointing one rarely comes down to the day itself: it's decided well beforehand.
Here's everything you need to know, step by step.
When should you start preparing for your Christmas market?
This is the first mistake many stallholders make: leaving it until October. For the most sought-after markets, applications close as early as the summer.
The golden rule: scout your markets 5 to 6 months ahead, and plan for active preparation to start 3 months before.
- 6 to 4 months before: scouting, contacting organisers, applications and registration.
- 3 months before: product selection, pricing, quantities, start of production.
- 2 months before: ordering everything that needs to be printed or personalised: packaging, labels, business cards.
- 1 month before: finalising your stall and your payment equipment.
- 2 to 3 weeks before: starting to spread the word.
Our complete guide turns this countdown into a tick-box checklist, right up to the big day.
Choosing the right market
The “best” market isn't necessarily the biggest or the busiest. A market with plenty of visitors is still the wrong choice if its crowd doesn't match your products, or if the pitch costs more than you can reasonably sell in two days.
So start by being clear about what you're there for: selling, getting your name known or testing a new range. These three goals don't call for the same markets. For a first experience, a smaller local event is often a better place to learn than a big tourist market where pitches are expensive and competition is fierce.
Before committing, get the following from the organiser, the town hall or the tourist office:
- dates, opening hours and set-up days;
- the fee and the exact dimensions of the pitch;
- what equipment is or isn't provided (chalet, table, lighting, electricity);
- visitor numbers from previous editions;
- the market rules: lit candles, speakers, diffusers, pack-down times.
This last point is often overlooked and can ruin a display you've spent weeks preparing: many organisers ban naked flames or restrict amplified sound.
Also think about the documents you'll need to supply: proof of business registration, a professional liability insurance certificate and photos of your creations. If your business isn't registered yet, make that your top priority.
What to sell, how much and at what price?
The aim isn't to bring your entire catalogue, but to offer a selection of creations designed for the occasion. An overloaded stall is hard to take in; a tighter selection often sells better.
A balanced range usually combines four categories:
- Your best-sellers, which give you a predictable baseline of sales.
- Your Christmas creations: shapes, colours and fragrances designed for the season. They're your reason for being at this market.
- Small gifts, affordable and easy to give, which trigger impulse buys.
- Original or premium pieces, which give your stall character and push up the average spend.
Plan for at least three price points. At Christmas, not every visitor has the same budget, and a stall with just one price range inevitably misses out on some sales.
How much stock should you take?
There's no one-size-fits-all formula, but there are two solid benchmarks: ask the organiser for visitor numbers from previous editions, and remember that selling out at the end of the market costs less than unsold seasonal stock that's hard to shift in January. That said, always keep back-up stock under the table: a stall that empties loses its pulling power.
Making sure the market pays off
Your market prices aren't your online prices marked down “because there's no shipping”. Add up all the costs of the event: pitch, transport, accommodation, equipment, packaging, raw materials, then divide by your margin rate: that gives you the minimum turnover you need to break even.
And don't forget to factor in your working time. It's the cost most often left out, and the one that stops a market that's profitable on paper from actually paying off.
In the complete e-book: you'll find a ready-to-fill budget forecast table that works out your break-even point, and a sales tracking table to use during the market.
Setting up a stall that makes people want to stop
You have just a few seconds to make a visitor slow down. Your stall is the first glimpse of your world, before you've even said a word.
Three principles are all it takes to turn a table into a professional display:
- Don't lay everything flat. Play with height and volume (upturned crates, small shelves, display stands) to create depth and guide the eye.
- Prioritise. Showcase your flagship products and your Christmas creations; the rest plays a supporting role without competing.
- Give it room to breathe. An overcrowded stall looks messy. Group your products by range, fragrance or price.
Add clear signage: your brand name visible from a distance and easy-to-read prices on every product. A visitor who has to ask the price of every item often walks away without buying.
As for decoration, stay consistent with your visual identity: the aim isn't to turn your stall into a Christmas grotto, but to create a setting that showcases your products without stealing the limelight. For a first market, be careful not to spend a disproportionate share of your budget on it. Before every purchase, ask yourself one question: can I reuse it at other markets?
Finally, don't neglect the senses. A discreet playlist enhances the atmosphere without drowning out conversations, and smell makes all the difference if you sell candles or fragranced creations: letting visitors smell a fragrance helps them picture it in their own home and makes the decision to buy much easier. One rule, though: don't use too many fragrances at once. Too many scents in one space quickly blur into one another.
Remembering everything for the big day
This is what causes the most stress the night before. The answer: list everything well in advance and tick things off as you go. Six categories to cover:
- Packaging and sales: bags, tissue paper, ribbons, price tags, business cards.
- Furniture and merchandising: table, tablecloth, display stands, risers, lighting.
- Atmosphere: decorations, battery-powered fairy lights, a way to let people sample your fragrances.
- Payments: charged card terminal, change, power bank, something to record your sales.
- Emergency kit: sticky tape, scissors, double-sided tape, string, clips. This is what saves a display that won't stay put.
- You: warm clothes, comfortable shoes, a flask, snacks. A Christmas market is physically demanding, and it's hard to keep up a warm welcome when you're exhausted and frozen.
In the e-book: you'll find the complete checklist for these six categories, nearly 45 items to tick off, ready to print.
Promoting your market before, during and after
A market doesn't start on opening day. The idea isn't to be everywhere, but to choose the right channels and use them at the right time.
Before the Christmas market
Announce that you're taking part two to three weeks ahead, giving the venue, dates and opening hours, then share your preparations as the big day approaches. Posters and flyers left in local shops reach people who don't follow you online yet.
During the Christmas market
Keep posting: setting up, the atmosphere, the people you meet. You bring the event to life for those who can't make it in person. On your stall, a clearly visible QR code lets people go from physical to digital in an instant.
After the Christmas market
This is the most neglected step, and probably the one that pays off most. A visitor you meet at a market can become a regular customer, as long as you stay in touch. If you've collected newsletter sign-ups, write to them in the days that follow, while the memory of your stall is still fresh.
Welcoming, chatting and selling
At a Christmas market, you're not just selling a product: you're telling the story of your world and your craft.
There's no point learning a sales pitch by heart; in fact, it's counterproductive. Instead, prepare a few lines and questions that let you strike up a conversation naturally. The approach that works best: take an interest in the visitor before talking about your products. A simple “Are you local, or just passing through?” is often enough to start a conversation that soon leads on to your creations. Stay approachable and smiling without constantly pitching: say hello, then let people browse.
One last, essential point: make paying easy. Many visitors no longer carry cash, and accepting cash only will cost you sales. Have a card terminal and a back-up solution in case of technical or network problems, check it's charged before you leave, and clearly display the payment methods you accept on your stall.
Finally, in the week that follows, take an hour to note down, while it's still fresh, what sold, what made people hesitate, what was missing, and what you actually earned once all costs were deducted. These notes are worth their weight in gold for your next market.
And if you're still wondering whether the candle market is accessible and offers real opportunities, read our article on how the candle market is evolving.
Get your complete e-book
Our e-book covers everything you need to prepare your Christmas market, including a budget forecast table, a sales tracking table and a special Christmas market playlist.
To download it, simply click on the pop-up that appears on screen. If it no longer appears, clear your cookies, then refresh the page: it will show up again.
