How to set my crops apart, would love your thoughts!

Do you live in a "crafty area"? Is there a store(s) crafters support? Where do the croppers stay? Do they come in for just 1 day because they live 30+ miles away?
For multi-day crops you need security so people can leave their stuff until the next day. Tear down and set-up takes time away from the "fun". Maybe set aside an hour for a class on something. Don't limit to paper crafters. Get the word out. Meet-up could be a good way to go.
You could buy up some unique chairs and offer Chippendales.

I go to a 3-4 day crop a few times a year. It is held at a retreat center. All meals are provided. We have so much fun and seriously, it’s like a mini vacation! My CM lady works with the owner/manager as far as dates offered, meals, etc. She has some basic supplies available and also brings her tools or us to use. We go Friday through Sunday at 4:00. The fourth day comes in if Monday is a holiday. If the weather is nice we eat outside. There’s a lake and path to walk around. We eat, talk, laugh and crop...no cooking or cleaning, the weekend is for us!

It sounds like your crops are more like mini day retreats (that I would love!), so maybe advertise them that way. Even if people go home at night, it doesn't matter. You could even consider a round the clock type of thing from Fri to Sat or Sat to Sun. Make sure to offer as much table space as possible, the best lighting you can and the most comfortable chairs. If the chairs are not comfy, maybe invest in some chair pads to offer those who want them. I know people can bring their own but it's a nice thing.

At the retreats I go to there isn't much variety for the meals. If you don't eat meat you are pretty much out of luck. I do eat meat but my friend doesn't. So offer a nice salad with meals. Many people bring their own snacks but I don't think you can go wrong having some really nice snacks - gourmet chips, bakery cookies or anything homemade, fresh fruit, some fresh veggies, and some cute plates and napkins just to make it really nice. I went to a crop where mid way through the afternoon they wheeled a cart around with grapes and cheese in a little plastic cup and offered one to everybody.

Have drinks available also. It's nicer if you can even have tea or ice water in pretty pitchers instead of just the large bottles they come in. Get one of those lemon infuser things to have fresh lemon water! Cheap and elegant!

I'm not possibly suggesting all of this but if you want to charge for your crops and make people feel like it's a little retreat, some of these things might work.

One retreat I go to always has a masseuse giving neck and shoulder massages. She charges but she is always booked up.
There are also small vendors who usually give a class that they charge for but again, usually lots of takers. Now this is a crop with 30 to 50 people so consider that accordingly.

I hate games no matter what, and I even hate the page contest. How is an 8.5x11 page going to complete with a 2 page 12x12 with mosaic moments templates? Or people that use kits and put their own twist on it? Forget the page contest.

Have a drawing for a free crop and include everyone who attended. I also hate grand prizes where one person gets a cameo and everyone else gets nothing. Just put that money toward something everyone can enjoy.

I think that what you do depends on your intended clients/participants.

There may be some people who could come every month for a one day event, but could not commit to a whole weekend that often. There may be others who could commit to say 3 or 4 full weekends per year, but not to even one day every month.

Some people attend for the party atmosphere and like lots of fun and games, contests, classes, activities. Others just want a quiet space they can spread out and just create pages or cards in their own way.

Do you want to attract newbies or people who want to build their skills? You may want to think about a couple of weekends in the year when you focus on card making classes and card creation, and then maybe a couple where you offer classes for scrapbookers?

You may need to advertise and organize different ways for different groups.

I'd ask those that are already coming what they'd like. And look for local Facebook groups to advertise. Maybe play it as a moms night or day out. Charge a little more and put together a small kit they can play with.

For me I just want a good amount of space and a power outlet. And the ability to make sure I sit with my friends if we're coming as a group. Coming solo I always bring headphones so I focus on my projects.
I don't want a goodie bag unless it's something I'd use on a layout.
I'd also prefer not to have food provided. As someone with allergies and food intolerances I tend to go pickup or doordash my own food.

There are a lot of great ideas here. The only thing I’d like to add is please be sure there’s enough space between tables. I’ve been to,crops where you can barely get out of your chair let alone navigate through the aisle. Some people pack a ton of stuff and jumping over a Crop ‘n Style XXL isn’t fun. I think you’re on the right track and please give us an update on how things go.

I would poll people at your next crop.

I'm not aware of crops any more in the area I am in, and rarely went to them, so I am NOT the best judge of what people might want. But I can speak for the small group of women I do get together with is:

1.) Just about everyone has some dietary restriction, so a meal included would not be appealing--in fact all of us would be unlikely to pick a "food provided" crop. Drinks and basic snacks ranging from healthy to junk would be much more appealing. No one loves having a food restriction, it can be easier to avoid food situations than feeling left out, having to make your own separate plans, and/or paying for something you can't utilize.

2.) Not everyone has paper crafting stuff ready to work on every time--so being open and welcoming to other crafting--knitting, organizing photos, quilting, or anything would be key to getting our group to come.

3.) Cost really would matter. We would probably pick the "low-cost, low-frills" option because it would be most likely to work for everyone.

4.) Gift bags would matter little to not at all. Stuff like plenty of space (not just to work, but enough room for the very social AND for the more quiet types), comfy chairs, the free swap table would matter a lot more.

Just my feedback from my little group.

OMG I am such an idiot.. I was like what are Chippendales... must be some new product... OMG I am dying.

Liz, you're scaring people here.

I love attending crops and retreats! I don’t go to no-frills crops because I can get that experience when our group of scrappy friends get together at one of our houses. I want to show up, have plenty of space, decent lighting, good food, and minimal interruption from the hosts. I also like to shop any vendors (scrappy or otherwise).

A crop I most frequently attend is $35 for the day, 9am-9pm (but we can start setting up at 8:30 usually). If you want to share your table (usu. w a child), it’s an extra $15 to cover the food.

I know others have posted that they didn’t want food, but to me that seems covered in the no-frills crops already available. For me, the food is a must. I want a day (or weekend) away to focus on scrapbooking or other project I bring and don’t want to have to worry about food or leave to go get it. The crops I pay to attend provide 3 meals, 2 snacks and a dessert w dinner, plus water and tea (and sometimes lemonade). There is always the option of either having someone mark their food restrictions on the sign up to see if you can easily accommodate, or providing a discount ($15) for those not eating for whatever reason. It could be handy for you to include the menu for the day/weekend with the registration sheet so people could decide.

Masseuse is great - the one at our crop is always busy and I gladly pay a dollar a minute (honestly it’s one of the things I look forward to most).

Vendors - you can either charge them for the booth space or ask them donate a set amount of their product/gift certificate to give away as door prizes or raffle. I like the idea as mentioned above to give everyone a ticket and let them pick which prize to enter their ticket for, that way they have a chance at winning something they truly like. The only time I ever seem to win is when the prize up for drawing is something I don’t like or want. You could give everyone one ticket with registration and the option to buy additional tickets at $1 each or 6 for $5.

Goodie bags: if you do them, keep them generic and useful. There was a thread here a while back with lots of great ideas for goodie bags like adhesive, black pen, cardstock, post-it pad, chocolate, etc. People’s tastes are so different that it’s hard to please if you get too specific.

I don’t care for games. I came to scrap and socialize. I also don’t like contests. They usually are either who scraps fast (I don’t, or often I’m batch processing something and not actually “completing” layouts) or who has the most friends there. Orvthey require me to make something that is NOT what I brought to work on.

Free/for sale table: attendees love this - it’s a chance to purge some supplies (and possibly make a little spending money back) and to pick up items free or cheap. This doesn’t ever seem to stop people from shopping with the vendors (often the people selling items take that money and buy new stuff on site!)

It’s also a nice perk if you have tools you can bring for community use - die cut machines (manual and electronic), punches, dies, large paper trimmer, etc. so people can try new things or avoid lugging it all with them.

Electric access is a must, but have people bring their own extension cords - you provide the duct tape to avoid tripping hazards.

Having assigned tables with your friends works much better than first-come first-served - you can get the group spacing worked out better and once you have your regulars, they can sit in the same spots.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

I attend a couple of crops a year. They are totally different but I like them both!

One is a "no-frills" day crop held at a Senior Center. We pay about $10 for the day & everyone brings a snack to share. There is a CM consultant there usually but there is no pressure to buy from her or scrap the "CM" way. No games, just a day of getting projects done & hanging with friends. This one is about 5 min from my house & is held about 5-6 times a year. I like to go there because it's close & cheap and gets me out of the house away from distractions!

The second crop is a 3-day retreat held at a hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and it is about 50 minutes from my house. It is about $250 per person but includes all meals from Friday dinner to Sunday breakfast and includes 2-night stay at the hotel. Starts at 10:00 Friday until 4:00 Sunday. My bestie & I go to this one about 2x a year & it is truly a getaway and good for some "me" time! At this retreat, the gal running it has basically a full-on store there that she sets up (carries lots of current product as well). She also has a CTMH rep that comes & sets up a store. I love this as I can quickly grab something if I forgot the perfect paper for the project I brought to work on. She runs a tab & you pay at the end of the weekend. There is always fresh water, tea and snacks throughout the weekend & the meals are good (hot meals provided by the hotel). The hotel also assign one person to our group & if we need something (fresh water, more/less air-conditioning, etc) he is able to get it done for us. We all get a 6 foot table with electricity. She does give us a "goodie bag" upon arrival with a nice selection of papers, stickers, etc and some candy. It's not the "latest & greatest" paper but I always find something I can use & my bestie and I trade papers as well. It's free so I don't complain about it! In the past, she has had some people come in to offer optional classes, massages, vendors like Mary Kay and Oragami Owl. None of this interested me as I was there to get my projects done but others did take part & enjoyed these. We do one game - Bingo on Saturday night. Last time, I didn't even participate in the game as I find it goes on too long & I'm just thinking about all the scrappin I could be doing BUT others there love it! The crop room is kept open until 1:00 am and lots of us stay the full time crafting and drinking wine The host & the CTMH rep offer specials & sales during the weekend so they are making money that way as well. They have good deals and I've done some shopping while I was there. They do have a community table as well if you want to leave some things for free that you no longer want/need. She also provides a Cricut with cartridges, Big Shot, Cuttlebug, etc (although many of the ladies bring their own Cricuts). She plays music but sometimes this causes some disagreement among the croppers. Not everyone likes the same type of music. My friend & I are on the "younger" end of the group (and we're in our mid-40's)! We prefer 80's music or something upbeat but many of the other ladies there prefer other types of music (like really old country music that is depressing & sad! I wear my headphones!!) Usually they will do the country during the day then 80's later in the evening. This crop is held 3x a year and about 35 people attend each time.

For me, I really prefer the 3-day retreat and I love that all meals are provided. When I'm there, I don't want to leave or waste time preparing meals. I want to work on my projects so having everything included is a big PLUS for me! I'm willing to pay the extra money to have it all-inclusive so to speak I get soooo much done at the 3-day retreat but it's a luxury for sure.

Since you said most of the crops in your area are no-frills then I think you should do more of the retreat style crops (which it sounds like you are on your way). I think what makes the 3-day retreat work for the gal that does them is that she has the CTMH partner and she does the store. She makes a good deal of money from the store sales over the weekend. She does other day crops around the area as well but the 3-day is my favorite. If I'm going to lug all my junk to a crop I really want it to be for more than one day!

Hope this helps & good luck!!