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During the holidays, there are a lot of events: Yankee Swaps, Christmas cocktail parties, concerts, and services of all kinds. While throwing a party involving hitting up thrift stores might sound odd, the idea is taking hold with vintage fans. Planning the route, a theme, and the logistics can be challenging, but the result is a rocking good time finding some precious vintage items—and maybe even getting some gifts for those hard-to-please friends and family members.
THE THRIFT CRAWL BASICS
So, most people have heard of a pub crawl, but a thrift crawl? Well, it’s similar, but instead of acquiring drinks all night, the goal is to score some vintage finds. But that’s just the beginning. A theme for your thrift crawl is essential; it’s like a scavenger hunt, but the possibilities are endless.
One of the more popular ways to throw a thrift crawl is “The Thrift Store Challenge.” Sometimes, couples organize them together as a date night idea, but any group of people can participate if they pair off. The goal is for each person to find an outfit for their crawl partner under a specific spending limit. Then, the pairs meet at the end of the crawl to share their finds and have well-deserved snacks and beverages.
A thrift store challenge doesn’t have to mean shopping for clothing. Scavenger hunts are popular, and some parties end with a photo session to show off clothing or other finds, so guests take home thrifted treasures and the memory of a unique party.
While the fashion challenge is fun, anything you can think of will likely work. During the holiday season, it could be about scoring a vintage Christmas ornament or an “ugly sweater” with embroidered reindeer and a sequined Santa. Still, a thrift crawl could be the perfect antidote to the post-holiday blues if your holiday season is too busy.
PLANNING YOUR THRIFT CRAWL ROUTE
This part of a thrift crawl can be difficult but not impossible to organize. To ensure an ample supply of stores and merchandise to sort through, plan your event in an area with more than a few stores. This could mean starting in a restaurant or other venue near some thrift stores or vintage shops.
Having a guide, or at least a designated driver, is also a good idea. Someone who knows the area can be an excellent source for finding the best buys. Many locally owned thrift stores and vintage shops will offer these events, so it’s good to check social media and follow your area’s stores and vintage sellers.
LOOK FOR ORGANIZED EVENTS
Planning a thrift crawl can be daunting, with sending invites, finding transportation, and planning routes, but many local shops host their own gatherings. Goodwill, which operates over 4,200 thrift stores in the United States, celebrates National Thrift Shop Day, which falls on August 17 every year, with organized thrift crawls.
Pickers, resellers, and vintage enthusiasts have gathered at their Goodwill centers, where chartered buses took them to area shops. Goodwill employees gave shoppers a behind-the-scenes look at the organization of the stores and how the employees sort and price the donated items.
Goodwill CEO Jim Gibbons said, “During National Thrift Shop Day, thrifters not only celebrate the values of the sustainable and discount aspects of thrifty fashion, but by shopping at Goodwill, they can have an even greater impact and play a role in putting their neighbors who are unemployed or underemployed back to work. Last year, Goodwill placed more than 313,000 people in jobs and provided services to more than two million people to help them advance in their careers and build their career and financial assets.”
THRIFT STORE MAKEOVER
If finding an outfit for your partner isn’t your vibe, and you aren’t looking to add knicknacks to your home, another popular thrift store event is called a “Thrift Store Makeover.” Guests choose an item, often a painting, and change it up. It’s just as fun—not only for the thrill of the chase hitting up a store for old art prints or décor items but also for working on your craft skills to upcycle your treasures. Thrift store makeover paintings are a niche collectible for some vintage fans, so you never know what you could earn on a thrift store art that someone altered into something different.
ADVICE FROM A SHOP OWNER
Thrifters and pickers are just one part of the equation in a thrift crawl. Shop owners who stay in touch with their community and promote their stores on social media will often participate in a crawl or even host a private evening as a “sip and shop.”
Kathleen Doyle, the owner of Sistas Consignment, a vintage clothing boutique in Marblehead, Massachusetts, told WorthPoint that a thrift crawl depends heavily on location.
“Where my shop is, there aren’t a lot of other vintage places around, so a crawl would be hard to do, but I have had events that include wine or snacks, and I find that they bring in sales, but also, they contribute to the community.” Doyle said. “Many times customers will be trying on something, and another customer will weigh in on how it looks. Some customers even help each other shop, and that’s not even at an event or a group of friends. There is a camaraderie in vintage shops, even among strangers.”
Doyle says shopowners who want to host an event should avoid weekend evenings. Friday and Saturday nights can be busy with date nights, dinner, movies, and other parties, but a sip and shop or crawl works well on a Wednesday or Thursday night.
While it’s hard to imagine a shopping trip—especially at the holidays—could be a fun social event, in the vintage space, thrift crawls are a way for friends to gather and share an experience that’s “out of the box” while they socialize. Whether you come home with some artwork or a new outfit styled by your thrifting partner, a thrift crawl might just be the next hot happening.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
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