How to Sell Out Your Christmas Show

Why Christmas shows sell differently

Your Christmas show isn't just competing with your show last year, it's competing with other nativity plays, work parties, pantos and late-night shopping. Families plan December weeks in advance, and once the calendar fills up, it stays full.

The good news is that most of your festive shows have a built-in audience. Grandparents travel, aunties and uncles want to come, and a lot of people see a Christmas show as a family tradition. The schools that sell out are usually the ones that open ticket sales early and make it easy to say purchase.

Here's how to do that, starting now.

1. Open bookings six weeks ahead

Six weeks is a good minimum for a December show. It gives parents time to check dates with family and gives you time to spot slow performances before it's too late to fix them.

If you run more than one performance, open them all at once. Parents will spread themselves across shows if they can see every option.

How can Stage Stubs help? You can set up your event in under 10 minutes, so there's no reason to wait. Not sure how many performances you need? Our free venue capacity calculator shows whether you have enough seats or should add another show. And with weekly payouts while tickets are still selling, early sales help cover costumes and venue costs before the big day.

2. Reward people who book early

An early bird price with a clear end date gives families a reason to book this week rather than "at some point". Keep the deadline short, two to three weeks, and tell parents when it's about to end.

You don't need a big discount. A quid or two off a ticket is often enough to get people moving.

How can Stage Stubs help? Create discount codes for early bird deals, referral rewards or social media offers, all set up for your event. If you want to test different price points, try our free tiered ticket pricing calculator.

3. Make family bookings easy

Christmas shows bring out the whole family, so think about how a group of six books together. Family tickets or group prices help, and so does a booking page that lets one person buy all the tickets in one go.

If you have allocated seating, let families pick seats together. Nobody wants Grandma sat three rows away.

How can Stage Stubs help? Our team builds your seating plan for you, free of charge, with tiered pricing and ticket variations to suit your show. Families choose their seats on a visual seat map, so they can see exactly where they're sitting together. Checkout takes minutes, with Apple Pay and Google Wallet for even faster booking.

4. Tell parents more than once

One email won't do it. Plan a short run of reminders:

• Launch: dates, times, prices and the booking link
• Early bird ending: a simple nudge a few days before
• Costume or rehearsal news: a natural reason to mention tickets again
• Last chance: a week or so before each show

Use every channel you already have: email, your parent WhatsApp groups, social posts, posters in the studio and a note in class. Parents who miss one message will catch the next.

How can Stage Stubs help? Our free parent communication timeline plans your ticket and costume emails backwards from show day, so nothing gets missed. For the studio noticeboard, the ticket poster generator creates a printable A4 poster with a QR code that takes parents straight to your booking page.

5. Get your dancers excited

Your students are your best sales team. Share rehearsal clips , a countdown to show day and sneak peeks of costumes. When children come home talking about the show, parents and relatives book.

How can Stage Stubs help? Your event gets its own booking page, ready to share alongside every clip and countdown. If a rush of families all try to book the moment you post, the virtual waiting room gives everyone a fair chance at the best seats. Still choosing your theme? Browse our show themes and songs for festive ideas.

6. Sell tickets as Christmas gifts

A ticket to see a grandchild dance makes a lovely present. Mention this in your November posts and emails, and suggest parents buy tickets for relatives who are hard to shop for.

How can Stage Stubs help? Add merchandise at checkout, like show T-shirts or keepsakes, so relatives can pick up a stocking filler with their tickets. You can also sell advertising space on your tickets to local businesses, which is a handy extra at Christmas when shops want to reach families.

7. Plan show night now

A smooth show night is what makes families come back next year. Before you open bookings, decide:

• How tickets will be checked on the door
• Who's running front of house, and how many helpers you need
• What time doors open, and where parents drop off performers
• Whether you're selling raffle tickets, programmes or refreshments

Share the key details with ticket holders a few days before. Fewer questions on the night means a calmer start for everyone.

How can Stage Stubs help? The Stage Stubs app for iOS and Android scans QR tickets on the door, and you can add helpers so several people scan at once. You'll see attendance in real time. To plan the rest of the night, use our free volunteer rota builder, intermission length calculator and dance recital planning checklist.

Sell your Christmas show tickets with Stage Stubs

Stage Stubs is a free ticketing platform built for dance and performing arts events. You can set up your Christmas show, share your booking link with parents and keep track of sales in one place, without paying to use it.

If you're comparing options, read our guide to ticket booking fees for dance studios to see how the costs stack up, or see how Stage Stubs helps dance schools sell out every show.

Ready to get your festive show on sale? Create your free Stage Stubs account and open bookings this week.