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Yard Sale and Holiday Fair 2023

Shoppers in the Parish Hall browse through aisles of folding tables covered with yard sale items such as bags, umbrellas, kitchen appliances, and artificial Christmas trees.BIG Yard Sale - Saturday, October 28, 2023, 9:30am - 1:00pm, First Unitarian Universalist Society, 1326 Washington St., Newton, MA 02465, www.fuusn.org - Toys and games, household linens, art, collectibles, kitchen gadgets, electronics, pet items, tools, office supplies, crafts, luggage, frames, baskets, and more!!! Low prices!The Yard Sale will be set up on Thursday night and all day Friday, October 26 and 27. We will open to the public on Saturday, October 28.  We will take donations (no books until the fair) at FUUSN from after service on October 22 through Friday afternoon, October 27.

The Holiday Fair will be set up on Thursday night, November 30 and all day Friday, December 1. We will open to the public on Saturday, December 2.  Donations of books and other fair items will be accepted from after service on Sunday, November 26 through Friday, December 1.

These events have been so successful because everyone has donated, volunteered and spread the word.  We will be sending out specifics on what and when to donate, how to sign up to setup, sort, sell and clean up.  We particularly need volunteers for the Silent Auction, crafts, publicity and selling Fair Trade items.  Contact us for more information.  If you need to donate ahead of the FUUSN drop off dates, call us and we will try to figure out an alternative.

Flyer on a snowy background reads, "FUUSN Holiday Fair, Saturday, December 2nd. First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton. Time: 9:30am-2pm. Address: 1326 Washington Street, West Newton, MA 02465. Website: www.fuusn.org. Sponsor: FUUSN. Visit Our FUUSN Holiday Fair. Holiday Shopping with Heart. Stalls and tables spill forth with treasures new and old. Items include handmade gifts, toys, jewelry, gifts/collectibles, homemade baked goods, jams and jellies, books, decorated wreaths, ornaments, Silent Auction, Raffle Quilt, and trees!Denise Bousquet, Connie Stubbs — Yard Sale Co-Chairs
Barbara Schmitt, Kit Ryan, Sandy Jones, Ruth Comstock, Laurel Farnsworth —Holiday Fair

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What to Donate – and Please NOT Donate – to the Yard Sale

We are excited to be holding both the yard sale and the holiday fair again!  We need your donations to make these a success.  However, there are a couple of things we’d like you to keep in mind about donations:
  1. If you have items that are appropriate for the yard sale, please get them to FUUSN before October 27. See below for suggestions about what kinds of items belong in which category.
  2. Please, please, please don’t donate things that are dirty, moldy, incomplete, broken, chipped or unsaleable.  We have to throw them out – and since FUUSN pays for trash removal, these donations actually cost FUUSN money. 
  3. Books are sold at the holiday fair only. We don’t have room to store them, so please don’t bring them in with yard sale items.
So, what are some examples of items that belong in what category?  The following list should give some guidance (and if you still have questions, feel free to contact me):
  • Yard sale: everyday kitchen items (working small appliances, measuring cups, pots and pans, odd plates and bowls, coffee mugs with logos on them…), usable linens, tools and hardware, office supplies, basic holiday decorations, clean yard/garden items, and gently-used toys/games, handbags/backpacks, and decorative items. Please, no large sports equipment (skis, bikes, etc.) and no large electronics (tv’s, computer monitors, etc.). Note that many larger items can go to the Swap Shop on Rumford Ave.
  • Holiday Fair: items that someone could give as a gift.  Sets of pretty mugs, sets of placemats and napkins in like-new condition, unopened cocktail napkins, boxed cards, like-new decorative items, like-new silk scarves, nicer holiday decorations, unopened toys and puzzles, items with some value (artwork, sets of china, silver items…) – and of course, jewelry and books.
  • Inappropriate donations (please don’t make FUUSN pay to dispose of these):  anything that is dirty, moldy or stained (including moldy books).  Anything that is chipped or broken, no matter how nice it is otherwise. Anything that is obsolete (cassette tapes, VHS tapes, old computer/phone cables, old travel guidebooks, etc.). Anything that is incomplete (puzzles/board games that are missing pieces, appliances that are missing cords or necessary accessories…).
With your help, we can make this a wonderful yard sale and holiday fair!
  • Piles of boxes and bags are carefully organized with labels on yellow paper reading,
  • Volunteers begin setting out items on long folding tables and empty shelves in the Parish Hall.
  • Volunteers arrange items such as bags and books on folding tables in the Parish Hall.
  • Two children climb the steps up to a stage where two adult volunteers are sorting items for the yard sale.
  • In the Parish Hall, folding tables and temporary shelves are fully laden with items for the yard sale.
  • Viewed from above the Parish Hall, four rows of folding tables are covered in items for sale. Shelves line one wall of the hall and pews the opposit walls, laden with further selections. The stage at the far end has been largely cleared. All is ready for the sale.