Ever been to a Pampered Chef, Tupperware, or Silpada party? I've been to many over the years, and have a number of friends who are "home show" consultants. In the past, I've held Pampered Chef shows where the consultant donated a part of the proceeds (usually totalling $50-$100) to my Relay fundraising. Last year, however, I took it up a notch...

I hosted a "super home show" at my house, featuring consultants from Silpada, Arbonne, Tupperware, and Tastefully Simple. Although my actual event was very poorly attended (admittedly, only 1 person who was neither a team member or consultant showed up!), my event still netted $300 for Relay! How did I get that much in donations after such a small turnout? Most people could order online... and I made sure to follow up with people who were "no shows" at the event, or expressed interest in ordering. I also handed out fliers and hosted a Web site for more information (evite has a limited number of characters that you can post, so putting in all the vendor information "overloaded" my space.

This year, taking it up a notch. Here are some logistics/ideas/lessons learned that might help you, should you decide to do something similar:

+ Hosting at a local government center--the community room was free for local organizations (and I don't have to get my house cleaned first!)

+ 11 vendors participating (donations range from 10%-40% of sales)

+ Collecting doorprizes from vendors, Freecycle, etc. to "draw a crowd"

+ Still hosting a Web site (www.topsitesforyou.com/RelayParty.html) for ordering information (81 hits since I set up the site)--everything links to this site

+ Posted an "open" Facebook event, and invited all my FB friends who weren't on the evite

+ Posted to local calendars and Yahoo groups (including my mommies' group)

+ Fliers distributed at daycare

+ Possibly posting to Craigs' List

+ Hoping to get out to my Relay community

I'm hoping it will be a really big fundraiser for us. Steal my idea--happy to share!