Cindy Valdez of MAM in Houston TX, shared this idea that she used last Valentine’s Day. On the NFP Facebook group, she said, to her fellow shopkeepers,
Customers who spent $10 or more guessed how many candies and the closest guess won! It was a big hit and didn’t cost much just some candy, 2 movie passes and donated container and ribbon.
Her Facebook post to the public last year to accompany this photo was
Guess how many candies in the vase and win this candy bouquet just in time for Valentines !!! Come on in and check it out and make your best guess!!!
What I love about this? The object of the contest and the prize were one and the same. Talk about simple… and stunning! Kudos to Cindy! (For more brilliant ideas from fellow resalers, check out our Kudos posts!)
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Several years ago for Lincoln’s birthday we did something similar.
We had a large vase filled with (Lincoln) pennies. Customers guess how many and the one with the closest guess without going over won that amount in store credit ($130.00). A 4 year old girl won!
I have not repeated it only because I do not want to count the pennies again…last time the grandkids did it! 🙂
How cute! Whatever did you do with the 13 thousand pennies afterwards? 🙂 (If other shopkeepers like this idea, remember: pennies come in rolls of 50, so only your last, partial roll would need to be counted!) Thanks for sharing, Connie!