At a Glance: How to Price Handmade Christmas Ornaments
- Know your floor before you batch. Add materials, your time and a share of the table fee, then double it.
- Time ten, then divide. Your first ornament is always the slowest one.
- Sets do the heavy lifting. Three for a round number gives shoppers an easy reason to take more.
How to price handmade Christmas ornaments comes down to one sum you do before you make the batch: materials, your time and your share of the table, doubled and rounded to a whole dollar. Want the math first? Jump to the steps or see the worked example.
If pricing feels like the hardest part of selling, you’re in good company. It’s easy to spend an evening making something lovely and then freeze at the tag. You don’t need a business degree for this. You need a pencil, a timer and about ten minutes.
And here’s the good news. Once you’ve done this sum for one ornament, you can reuse it for every design on your table.
Blank kraft tags with twine make your prices look neat and match the ornaments on the table. Look for a blank pack, so you can write the price yourself. (paid link)
- Durable Kraft Gift Tags: Includes 150 tags (50 each in Black, White, and Brown), made from...
- 100 Feet Natural Jute Twine: Perfect for tying gift tags, decorating boxes, and adding a rustic...
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What do you need to price a batch of ornaments?
Works for any small handmade ornament
- Your supply receipts. Or a rough total of what you spent.
- A kitchen timer or your phone. You’ll time a small batch.
- Notebook and pencil. You’ll write six numbers.
- The fair’s table fee. Plus what you’ll spend on gas and parking.
- Tags and twine. One for every piece on the table.
Quick tip: Count your tag, hook and any little box as materials. They’re cheap one at a time, and they add up fast over fifty ornaments.
How do you price a handmade ornament in 5 steps?
Five steps, in this order. Do them before you buy the extra supplies.
1. Add up the materials for one
Take what the supplies cost and divide by how many ornaments they’ll make. Add the tag, the hook and the packaging. For a small yarn tree, that could be about $1.50 each. That’s a planning estimate, so swap in your own receipts.
2. Time ten and divide
Make ten in a row with a timer running. Divide the minutes by ten. Your first ornament is the slowest, and your tenth is close to your real pace.
3. Pay yourself a real rate
Pick an hourly rate you’d be glad to get. Then multiply it by your minutes per ornament. At $15 an hour, six minutes works out to $1.50. That rate is an estimate too, so use the one that feels fair to you.
4. Give each ornament a share of the table
Add the table fee, gas and parking. Divide by how many you truly expect to sell. A $40 table and $10 of gas, spread over 50 ornaments, is $1 each. That’s an example, not a promise of 50 sales. Card readers take a small cut too, so check your rate.
5. Double it and round to a whole dollar
Add steps 1, 3 and 4. That total is your floor. Double the floor for your table price, then round to a whole dollar. Whole dollars keep your change simple and your table moving.
Worked example
- Materials, tag and hook: $1.50
- Six minutes of your time at $15 an hour: $1.50
- Share of a $50 table and gas day: $1.00
- Floor: $4.00
- Doubled: $8.00 on the tag
After materials and your time, an $8 ornament leaves $5. So $50 of table cost is covered after ten sales. These are planning numbers, so run yours the same way.
Prefer to watch? This short video from Sparks of Joy Studio walks through more pricing ideas for handmade sellers.
What if the price feels too high?
Don’t shave your hourly rate without saying so to yourself. Change the ornament instead. Simplify a step, cut a color, or make a smaller size. Many sellers see simple ornaments around $5 to $10, and detailed pieces closer to $25, according to this craft fair ornament guide. Use that as a rough check against your own floor. If you can’t get your floor under the market, pick a different design.
What about sets?
Sets give shoppers an easy reason to buy more. Using the $8 ornament above, try three for $20. You’re still well above your floor of $12, and one sale clears three pieces.
What two mistakes cost crafters the most?
Pricing only the supplies. Materials are the small part of a handmade ornament. If your time isn’t in the sum, you’re paying the shopper to take your work home.
Pricing after the batch. Do the sum on ten, not on sixty. If the math doesn’t work, you’ve only made ten.
What does it cost to get your prices ready?
Planning estimates for the tags and signs:
- Under $5: Cut tags from a paper bag and write prices by hand.
- About $10: A pack of kraft tags with twine and a good marker.
- $20 to $30: Tags, a small chalkboard sign for your set deal and a simple display.
When should you get outside help with pricing?
For a table at a local fair, this sum is plenty. Selling regularly, though, can bring in sales tax and business rules. Those vary by state, so ask your state tax office or a tax pro. If a shop wants to carry your ornaments, expect it to buy at about half your table price. That’s a rule of thumb, so ask. Run your floor against that number before you agree.
Here’s your test. Hold up one ornament and say the price out loud. If you can say it without flinching and it covers your floor, you’ve got it.
Looking for more to make? Try these easy DIY Christmas ornaments, or browse 20 crafts to sell at holiday markets for your table.
You’re ready to write the tags
Now you know how to price handmade Christmas ornaments before the glue dries. Add the sum, double it, round it. Your tags will say what your work is worth.
Tell us how your table went
Show us your booth on Facebook, save this for your next fair on Pinterest, and find more easy holiday makes on Instagram.
A few helpful answers
How to price handmade ornaments FAQs
Prices, sets and sales tax.
Add materials, your time at a fair hourly rate and a share of the table fee. Double that total and round to a whole dollar.
Start from your own floor, not someone else’s tag. Simple ornaments often land around $5 to $10, and detailed ones can reach $25. Treat that as a rough check.
Time ten ornaments, divide the minutes by ten, and work one sum for one design. After that, you only change the numbers for each new design.
Yes, if the set still clears your floor. Three for $20 on an $8 ornament gives shoppers an easy reason to take more than one home.
It depends on your state and how often you sell. Ask your state tax office or the fair organizer before your first sale, since the rules vary.
Should a craft fair price pay the maker for every hour?
Pay yourself for every minute, and some ornaments cost more than shoppers will spend. Price to what sells, and you may work for very little.
Which way do you price? Vote, then tell us in the comments what your best-selling ornament cost.
