Seasonal Revenue Ideas: What Products to Sell During Camps, Holidays, and Back-to-School.

Holiday season’s here! And if you run a service-based kids business, you’ve lived this cycle a hundred times.
One month, your camps are bursting, your inbox won’t quit, and you’re squeezing in “just one more kid.” Then, a few months later, it’s oddly calm: fewer bookings, fewer drop-ins, and follow-ups that barely move the needle. It’s not that families stopped caring; their schedules and priorities just shift with the season. And that’s exactly why selling the right products at the right time can keep your revenue steady. 

In summer, parents are hunting for camps and anything that makes summer easier (flex passes, meal add-ons, gear kits). During the holidays, they’re looking for giftable experiences and quick wins (gift cards, mini-camps, party packages, cozy merch). And back-to-school is when families crave routine and invest in tools that support it (starter packs, skill pathways, after-school bundles). 

Seasonal shifts aren’t interruptions; they’re your best opportunities to rotate what you sell. In this blog, we’ll break down smart, realistic product ideas for camps, holidays, and back-to-school seasons so you can earn consistently, even when demand changes naturally.

Camp Season Extras That Parents Love and Kids Remember!

The summer camp industry’s estimated market size is  $4.6 billion in 2025. This means parents are more and more interested in enrolling their kids in interesting and fun camps that could provide the best experiences for their kids. 

Camp season is the peak “busy parent survival mode” season. Where the kids are at home for weeks, and parents are juggling work and dropoffs, making lunch, etc. This is when you can introduce products that will make their days easier and sell them as either add-ons or separate products along with your camp packages, such as - 

1. Lunch and Snack Programs 
2. Camp Merchandise 
3. Early Drop-off & Late Pickup Passes 
4. Themed Take-home Kits 
5. Photo and Video Packs
6. Flex Day Passes
7. Field-trip Upgrade Day

Let’s have a look at these in detail, 

1. Lunch and Snack Programs

Lunch and snack programs are one of those add-ons parents don’t just like; it's something that they rely on! If you’re running short camps or half-day sessions, offering a prepaid lunch/snack option means parents can skip the daily morning scramble of packing food. 

And for you, it’s a steady revenue booster. Even a small per-day fee adds up quickly across dozens of campers. It raises the revenue per child without the need for additional marketing.

2. Camp Merchandise

You can sell merchandise like exclusive themed tees/hoodies, caps, water bottles, wrist bands, etc. You can market it as “camp pride” gear. Kids would like to match these custom camp apparel with their friends, and parents would also consider this a practical souvenir. 

Revenue-wise, merch is a quiet winner. You can price products with a healthy margin, sell them upfront at registration, and boost your revenue per camper. Plus, every kid walking out in your camp shirt is free marketing for your next season.

3. Early drop-off / late pickup Passes

These add-ons can be the ones that busy parents are grateful for. Parents’ days don't align perfectly with parents’ schedule - meetings run late, commutes happen, and they need a little buffer. When you offer extended care as a prepaid option, families can relax knowing they’re covered. 

For your business, it’s a super clean revenue boost. You’re already staffed and open, so charging a small extra fee per day (or as a weekly pass) adds up fast across a full camp roster, raising your revenue inflow.  

4. Themed Take-home Kits

Take-home theme kits are a fun little upgrade that parents and kids both love. Imagine you’re running an art camp, you can offer an optional “Art Adventure Kit” packed with a mini canvas, paints, brushes, and a couple of simple creative prompts. It costs you very little to assemble in bulk, but to families, it feels like a premium bonus because their child gets to keep creating at home. And kids are always excited to bring something home that shows off what they did at camp. Revenue-wise, it’s a great add-on because you can price it with a healthy margin and sell it.

5. Photo and Video Packs

Photo and video packs are one of those products parents don’t even realize they want until they see them. A recap album or a short end-of-week highlight video turns “a fun camp week” into a keepsake they can actually hold onto. Parents love spotting their kid mid-cartwheel or proudly showing off a craft, and kids love rewatching their best moments with their friends. It’s emotional, super shareable, and it keeps your camp feeling special long after summer ends.

6. Flex Day Passes

Offer flexible options such as a “Pick Any 5 Days” pass or drop-in day bundles. Parents can choose camp days that fit travel, work shifts, or changing plans, and you get to sell them as standalone passes instead of squeezing them into a rigid weekly package. Flex passes also help you fill last-minute spots in quieter weeks. Parents who missed early signups can still jump in without committing to a full camp week.

7. Field-trip Upgrade Day

Field-trip upgrade days are a simple way to make camp feel extra special and boost revenue. Add one optional adventure day—like a kids’ museum visit, nature scavenger hunt, indoor play park, or local sports facility trip. Parents love it because their child gets a memorable experience without them planning or coordinating anything. For you, it’s a clean high-margin add-on: price it slightly above your actual cost, and the profit stacks up fast when lots of kids opt in. 

Holiday Products that Fly Off the Shelf! 

It’s found in a survey that a family spends over $2000 during holiday season celebrations - gifts, experiences, outings, and more. For kids activity businesses, this is a signal to lean into selling giftable, experience-based products. Such as 

1. Goodie Bags 
2. Digital Parent Guides 
3. Gift Cards 
4. Limited seasonal Merchandise 

By selling these in your service store either with your programs or as standalone items, you can unlock more revenue inflow for your business, turning this season into one of your most profitable seasons of the year.

1. Goodie Bags 

Goodie bags make the perfect holiday party favor for families hosting events at your center. Instead of clients having to shop, pack, and stress over favors, you can sell a ready-made take-home bag for every child as an add-on. 

For example, you can put together a  “Winter Wonder Bag” with stickers, a snack, a small toy, a mini craft, and a festive badge. Parents will love it because it makes the party feel extra thoughtful and saves them a lot of time in preparation for their parties. 

2. Digital Parent Guides

Digital Parent Guides are honestly one of the easiest ways to add extra revenue without adding extra work. You make them once, put them on your platform, and they can keep selling all season (and next season too), so the margins are great and you don’t need more staff or space to deliver them.

You can offer simple downloadable PDFs or short video packs parents can grab anytime, like: “Holiday Break Survival Guide for Active Kids,” “Screen-Free Snow Day Ideas,” or “Easy Winter Drills to Try at Home.” Because let’s be real, holiday breaks get chaotic fast, and parents are always hunting for fun ways to keep kids busy without turning the living room into a disaster zone. These guides give them ready-to-go activities they can do as a family, so it feels genuinely helpful. 

3. Gift Cards 

As soon as December hits, parents and grandparents start thinking, “Okay… what can I give that isn’t another toy that ends up under the couch in a week?” That’s where your gift cards fit perfectly; you’re basically offering a gift that’s fun and useful. Instead of gifting stuff, your clients can gift experiences.

Also, you get the money upfront during peak holiday spending, and when families redeem the card later, they usually book more than the card value (extra classes, add-ons, upgrades). So one gift card often turns into a bigger future sale, plus a high-value client. 

4. Limited Seasonal Merchandise

You can start selling your holiday-themed merchandise by marketing it as “Limited Editions”. Parents are already in a festive vibe, so provide them something fun, interesting, and timely - something that they can say no to - 

For instance, 

You can roll out holiday-themed goodies like - 

• Christmas cards 
• Christmas sweaters and hoodies 
• Socks 
• Christmas-themed gym or dance apparel
• Pom pom beanies or holiday badges. Etc. 
• Christmas-themed water bottles.

Make it more exciting by offering irresistible holiday-themed kits like 

• Hot cocoa + marshmallow kits
• Gingerbread house kits
• Cookie decorating kits
• Mini plush holiday mascots (reindeer, Santa hats, snowmen, etc.
  

The key is to position these as limited seasonal drops “only available this month,” so parents feel the FOMO. Offer them as program add-ons or standalone items in your store, and you’ll create an extra revenue stream that can really lift holiday earnings.

Back-to-School Season: Ride the “Routine Reset” Wave! 

NRF forecasts a total spend of around $128B in Back-to-School spending for 2025, so yeah, families are absolutely resetting their routines and deciding on the activities they’ll stick with for the rest of the year. And since parents are already buying school essentials anyway, it’s a perfect time to offer a few smart products alongside your programs- things they actually need and will happily grab in one go.

For instance, if you run a kids martial arts program, you can sell simple “new-term essentials” such as headbands, wristbands, grippy socks, and an eco-friendly water bottle will fit right into what parents are already thinking of buying.  They don’t see it as an upsell; they see it as saving a trip to another store. 

Same idea for centers offering language, STEM, or multi-activity classes - a colorful Back-to-School Backpack Kit with notebooks, stickers, stationery, and a planning calendar feels like a thoughtful add-on that solves a real problem. 

These products quietly raise the value of your average sale per enrollment since these are the most common essentials for families to buy during this season. 

Conclusion 

Seasonal shifts are inevitable, but revenue dips don’t have to be! When you decide to sell products, you’re not pushing products; you’re making life easier for parents and making the experience more memorable for kids. And that’s exactly how your average revenue per family climbs without needing extra classes, extra space, or extra marketing.

This is where you can leverage technology; also, with Omnify, you can seamlessly sell your products directly on the service store. You can also sell your merchandise as add-ons with your programs or classes and increase your revenue inflow. 

Talk to us to explore the software and find out if it suits your needs best. We provide a 14-day trial just for you! 

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