Thrifting for the Booth, Holiday Version

Thrifting Tips for your Holiday Antique Booth. Unpack my thrift haul with me and get selling tips for your vintage booth. Simple antique booth ideas that will make you earn more!

We have entered the busiest time of year if you sell vintage, and it’s time to be well-stocked with fun, unique finds that customers will want. I’m dusting the cobwebs off my selling brain, since it’s been 10 years, and lighting a fire to get ready for the seasonal rush. I’ve hit several church sales, garage sales and thrift stores to hunt down Christmas items. Hope you’re inspired with this Thrifting for the Booth, Holiday Version.

Thrifting for the Booth, Holiday Version

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Stock Up on Medium Items

Yes, it’s good to have a few anchor pieces in a booth, so it doesn’t look cluttery, but you should have plenty of medium pieces that you can stack on other pieces, slide under and sit things on. They’re also an easy sale; people can plop them anywhere in their house and can grab and carry to the checkout easily.

Examples: Footstools, plant stands, suitcases, crates, small side tables.

For Halloween-Thanksgiving I thrifted scrolly black iron items. I scrub them with THESE and then give them a spray of THIS to up the patina.

The bench ends, above, had an upholstered seat and the wood was cracked. We cut a routered edged piece of old wood and I stained it to revive the look.

I scooped up this large vintage gathering basket when I spotted it under one of the tables at a church sale. I scrubbed off the spider webs and gave it a quick spray of poly to deepen the color.

Thrifting Neutral Colored Items and Basics

Neutral colored items can work for any season and are well liked by many. Ironstone dishes and crocheted linens are perfect for Fall into Winter decor. I usually wash linens before bringing to my booth; love that fresh laundered freshness letting customers know all this old stuff is clean;)

Metallic gold accents are a perfect welcome to the holiday season. Love adding copper and brass pieces to the booth this time of year, too. I’m keeping the blue enamelware kettle; it matches my collection and I’ve never seen them in this larger size:) {see my collection in “10 Styling Ideas That Make Glass Front Cabinet Displays Beautiful”}

Embroidery hoops and wood frames are basics I love to have on hand for crafting and framing vintage scenes, like these fun old advertisements.

Framed art is a great seller. I always have to remind myself to look at the frame section when I’m thrifting. I always head to the dishes first;) Needlepoint is so popular right now; whenever I can find a framed needlepoint, I’m so excited. I picked up this Family paper cut frame and pretty floral and popped them in the booth.

Thrifting Seasonal Textures and Colors

I love my vintage booth to embrace each season and switch it up often; it inspires the customers and keeps them visiting often to see what’s new! Seasonal foliage, textures and linens are a great way to showcase each season and introduce the holidays to come.

Rustic decor spheres in bag and thrifted finds.

Rustic, natural spheres are a great decor filler to have on hand. I separate them out and price individually. This awesome bark vase will get evergreen sprays and a few fall leaves to bridge the holidays.

I’ll be kicking off the Christmas season in the booth in a couple weeks with a Christmas crafting theme. It will be super colorful and have retro calico fabrics like you see on these handmade denim stockings. The grouping will surround a vintage yellow metal parts bin I have in the booth now.

I also always pick up ribbon and other embellishments when I’m thrifting. Adding a ribbon bow will set apart your vintage item from the other plain ones in the store;)

Yes, not everything here is vintage. I’ve found tucking a few “newer” thrifted finds in with my mostly vintage booth keeps things looking fresh, not antiquated. In most people’s homes there is a mix of old and new, and I want to keep all the customers coming back often.

Sometimes Add, Sometimes Take Away

I talk a lot about “Potential” around here. I encourage you to have vision. If something catches your eye, but you’re hesitant, there’s probably a way you can reinvent it. Look at the item and ask yourself what you like and what you don’t like. How can you change it to make it more appealing?

This funky handmade arrow thingy…what do you call it? It caught my eye and I loved how each arrow was made with foraged feathers. It was probably a boy scout project. But I didn’t like the seat belt sling. So I cut it of. So much better! It goes perfectly with the Thanksgiving theme in the booth.

Vintage Christmas colored thrifted finds

I thrifted all of these items for their Christmas and winter colors. I could pop them in the booth like this. But they will be so much more appealing with a little “extra”. The green enamelware is missing it’s glass top, so it will get candy canes sticking out the top. The red and white coffee pot will get evergreen sprigs. The red lantern will get old fashioned candy cane chunks inside and probably a bow. They’ll all be ready to be plopped in a customers home; instant gratification!

The red apple basket is asking for pinecones and red berry sprigs and the ribbed silver container will get birch bark chunks with juniper. The aqua handled sifter will join other baking items in a Holiday Baking theme with plenty of old cookie cutters and tart molds (and that awesome white cake pan).

Hope you enjoyed seeing all the items I’ve been thrifting lately! To see how it all comes together in my booth, follow my Instagram, HERE.

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Thrifting with the Gals

My Thrifting with the Gals friends are joining me today. See how Ann, Rachel and Robyn are decorating with their thrifted finds from Vermont and Maine, North Carolina, and Florida!