Girl Scout cookie booth advice

[minnie1012]

Consumer here - We usually stock up on quite a few boxes from the girls from our church, so when I see the booths, I'm not inclined to buy more. However...if they have an option to purchase a box for donation to the local family shelter or fire house, or something like that, then I will purchase.

Thanks! I'll make sure we have a box for donations at the booth! That reminds me I have to start making signs. It will be here before I know it!

 

[nskjerven]

Venting: ) So I'm the one that started this thread asking about booth sale advice and thanks again to everyone that responded. It looks like it will be just my daughter and I doing it! Not one parent has volunteered to help or to have their kid come. No one has responded at all! I was like you have to be kidding me! These parents don't want to help with anything. The troop leader will ask for coats, old blankets etc for different things the troop is doing and no one brings anything.

Thanks for listening!

You might find that you like to do the booth alone with your DD. Mine is 12, this is her 7th year of scouting 6th year of cookie sales (didn't get to sell as Daisy's before This is time that we bond. My daughter is a huge cookie seller her goal this year is 1500 boxes.

Thing to be concerned about:

• carrying supplies from the car to the sale spot (will your DH help?) & return trip
• bathroom breaks - can't leave money cookies or child alone (have a plan or helper)
• boredom - make sure you have some paper & pencil along to fill the quiet time with tick tack toe
• have extra change (triple what you think you will need)
• have some bags (plastic grocery store kind) for customers who want more than a handful of boxes)
• for the little girls it's nice to have a pre-made cheat sheet with math completed for the busy times (otherwise have them do the math, it's a good real life learning spot
• I like to have the girls learn to make change - it's a life skill that many kids don't get now with technology at their finger tips
• Molly's advice to your daughter is to smile and don't be afraid to ask for the sale

And bring a camera you WILL want to look back on this time of your life

 

[minnie1012]

You might find that you like to do the booth alone with your DD. Mine is 12, this is her 7th year of scouting 6th year of cookie sales (didn't get to sell as Daisy's before This is time that we bond. My daughter is a huge cookie seller her goal this year is 1500 boxes.

Thing to be concerned about:

• carrying supplies from the car to the sale spot (will your DH help?) & return trip
• bathroom breaks - can't leave money cookies or child alone (have a plan or helper)
• boredom - make sure you have some paper & pencil along to fill the quiet time with tick tack toe
• have extra change (triple what you think you will need)
• have some bags (plastic grocery store kind) for customers who want more than a handful of boxes)
• for the little girls it's nice to have a pre-made cheat sheet with math completed for the busy times (otherwise have them do the math, it's a good real life learning spot
• I like to have the girls learn to make change - it's a life skill that many kids don't get now with technology at their finger tips
• Molly's advice to your daughter is to smile and don't be afraid to ask for the sale

And bring a camera you WILL want to look back on this time of your life

Thanks! I asked my husband to take off that day so he can help.

 

[PatriciaH]

Can you GS moms ask someone higher up that they stop putting high fructose corn syrup in the cookies?! I went to buy a bunch of them and all of the boxes had HFCS in them-gross. Even the shortbread ones. Cheap mercury filled filler. What is wrong with just normal sugar?

 

[mickeyboat]

We had our booth sale on Saturday and sold 550 boxes in 6 hours! I don't think we need to have another booth sale.

 

[mom2grace]

Can you GS moms ask someone higher up that they stop putting high fructose corn syrup in the cookies?! I went to buy a bunch of them and all of the boxes had HFCS in them-gross. Even the shortbread ones. Cheap mercury filled filler. What is wrong with just normal sugar?

The cookies out of Little Brownie Bakers have NO HFCS, I checked each type except for Samoas, I sent all of those to my cousin in Afghanistan!

 

[minnie1012]

We had our booth sale on Saturday and sold 550 boxes in 6 hours! I don't think we need to have another booth sale.

Congratulations that is great!

 

[PatriciaH]

The cookies out of Little Brownie Bakers have NO HFCS, I checked each type except for Samoas, I sent all of those to my cousin in Afghanistan!

Great!

 

[andersonfamily]

Just wanted to thank you guys! I'm about to place my first planned order for my troop and it's our first booth sale. We drew the prime slot (super busy grocery store, first sunday booth from noon to 2 and I had no idea how many extras to order. Like some others, at our council we don't get to return what we don't sell (unless you have to get extras for a booth sale in the last two weeks). So I google "how many extra cookies to order for cookie booth" and of course it takes me right to the DIS boards.

So I'm thinking we'll get three cases of thin mints and carmel de lights, an extra 2 cases of Peanut butter patties, and maybe just make due with the extras from our initial order on the other kinds. We're also planning to accept donation cookies for a neighborhood preschool for homeless children - thanks for that great idea from one of the posters above. Do you think I'll be okay with that many cookies?

 

[LoserMomma]

Just wanted to thank you guys! I'm about to place my first planned order for my troop and it's our first booth sale. We drew the prime slot (super busy grocery store, first sunday booth from noon to 2 and I had no idea how many extras to order. Like some others, at our council we don't get to return what we don't sell (unless you have to get extras for a booth sale in the last two weeks). So I google "how many extra cookies to order for cookie booth" and of course it takes me right to the DIS boards.

So I'm thinking we'll get three cases of thin mints and carmel de lights, an extra 2 cases of Peanut butter patties, and maybe just make due with the extras from our initial order on the other kinds. We're also planning to accept donation cookies for a neighborhood preschool for homeless children - thanks for that great idea from one of the posters above. Do you think I'll be okay with that many cookies?

First sale of they year, you should do very well. Remind the girls....cute and polite= big sales!

 

[happygirl]

We did cookie booths last year and sold.

We made it very casual. Each girl took a two hour shift, with another girl and each girl had one adult with her.

WE kept it very causal made sure the girls said please and thank you. try to make sure they don't get the same customers twice coming and out. We sold out. They day we had our turn.

The only thing we took was a table a table cloth a cash box, that only the parents would get into and chairs.

 

[emma'smom]

As a meeting activity we had the girls make a couple of "cookie trays" that they actually could wear around their necks/shoulders showing the different kinds of cookies available (in boxes) (ala a cigarette girl style from the 40's...but we didn't tell them that =). Anyway, they took turns standing near our table wearing the cookie tray and their uniforms...and I'll tell you-- people stopped to see what kinds of cookies we were selling.....

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

If anyone is stuck with leftover cookies from boothing put them in a wagon and have the girls 'walk' the neighborhood selling them. This works great where we live and last year I ordered about 150 for my daughter to sell door to door vs. doing presells. I did understand however if we didn't sell them I was stuck with them but this was not a problem at all. People even driving by pulled over to stop us and buy cookies...

 

[TB'sWidow]

Venting: ) So I'm the one that started this thread asking about booth sale advice and thanks again to everyone that responded. It looks like it will be just my daughter and I doing it! Not one parent has volunteered to help or to have their kid come. No one has responded at all! I was like you have to be kidding me! These parents don't want to help with anything. The troop leader will ask for coats, old blankets etc for different things the troop is doing and no one brings anything.

Thanks for listening!

Yep the troop we are in is exactly like this but our troop leaders are duds as well making things very difficult. My Dd is a junior and it always seems like we & another parent are doing everything. This is my last yr I can't take this so uninvolved group anymore. Best of luck to you. Mary

 

[ButterflyJen]

Thank you thank you thank you, all, for your tips! First time Brownie troop leader, wasn't even planning on doing booth sales this year, but some of the moms said they'd be interested in working it. So - here we go

Still no idea how many extra cookies to order, we'll just have to play it by ear! Thanks for all the awesome tips, you all rock!!