For Christmas markets

Stalls picked by October. Not the week before.

A Christmas market lives or dies on its stalls. Ticket Folk takes every stall application in one place, keeps the paperwork with it, and gives you a clear yes or no to send back. Volunteers and tickets sit right beside it.

How it’s usually done

• Two hundred stall applications for sixty pitches, in a shared inbox
• Hygiene certificates and insurance in attachments nobody can find
• Turning people down one email at a time
• Volunteers for the lantern parade on a separate spreadsheet

One form for every stall.

Crafts, food, hot drinks and charity stalls each answer the questions that fit them. Every application lands in one list with a short summary, so you can read a busy year in an evening and pick the best mix.

• Stall and catering applications side by side
• Food hygiene and insurance kept with each one
• A short summary of each application

A clear yes or no.

Approve, decline with a note, or ask for something you’re missing. If you’re not sure, book a quick call first. Every stallholder hears back, and nobody is left wondering.

• Approve, decline or ask for more
• Book a call before you decide
• A toast the moment someone applies

Tickets for the busy nights.

Most markets are free to walk round. If you run a ticketed late night, a Santa’s grotto or a carol concert, sell those tickets here too, with limits so you never sell more than the space holds.

• Ticket types with their own limits
• Held while people pay, so nothing oversells
• Tickets that arrive by email, nothing to print

How the year goes

1. August: Open stall applications with one link. Ask for insurance and food hygiene certificates up front.
2. September: Read the summaries, book calls with the stalls you’re unsure about, and approve your mix.
3. October: Fill the volunteer jobs: stewards, the lantern parade, setting up and packing down.
4. December: Grotto and late-night tickets checked in on volunteers’ own phones.

Questions

Can stallholders upload their food hygiene certificate?

Yes. Ask for any document you need, like a food hygiene rating, public liability insurance or a gas safety certificate. It’s kept with that stall’s application.

Can we take pitch fees online?

Not yet. Approve stalls here and take pitch fees the way you do now. We’ll update this page when that changes.

Our market is free to get in. What does it cost us?

Nothing. We only charge when a ticket sells. If you never sell one, you never pay us.

Can someone else on the committee help review stalls?

Yes. Invite a team leader for the stalls. They see and decide on stall applications, and nothing else.

What does it cost to sell tickets?

Free for founding organisers while we’re starting out, with every feature, and for a year, 12 events or 1,000 tickets after our fee starts. Then 2.5% an order, never more than £2.50.

Also running

• Farmers’ markets: Producer applications, certificates kept with each stall, and next month’s market copied in a click.
• Autumn and harvest festivals: Day tickets, apple-pressing workshops, food stalls and the volunteers who make it all happen.
• Village fêtes: Stalls, teas, the tombola rota and a dog show. Free to run if you don’t sell tickets.
• Every kind of event we’re built for