Angel House Christmas Bazaar

The 2020 Angel House Christmas Bazaar has been restructured into a Virtual Christmas Sale. Shoppers may preview items on facebook or on our website. The sale will take place online only from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., December 5. Buyers will make selections, have the option to pay securely online by credit/debit card, or pay in person at pickup the day of the event, at Tipp City United Methodist Church, Third and Main Streets, Tipp City. 

In its fifth year, the transformed event is sponsored by TCUMC to support Angel House Children’s Home in Tanzania, Africa. Planning for the 2020 event was on target with most of the previous year’s vendors having registered.  Then COVID-19 reared its ugly head, and the Bazaar Team was back to the drawing board.

“We considered sponsoring a fully virtual bazaar,” said co-chairwoman, Gina Duncan, “but, determined we didn’t have the specific skill set or adequate time to develop an effective retail outlet for our loyal vendors.” 

The Virtual Christmas Sale will consist entirely of items donated by church members and friends as well as vendors. All proceeds will benefit the Children’s Home in Tanzania. “Our vendors have been extremely generous in their support,” co-chairwoman, Judy Riesser said. “A number of them donated their prepaid registration fees; plus, we have received a wide variety of items to sell.“

The church typically participates in the annual Community Garage Sale, which also generates significant funds for Angel House. Once that sale was canceled, it became more urgent to devise a means to maintain the support TCUMC had provided in previous years. 

The 2020 goal is to raise $8,000 to provide funds to help complete the kitchen/dining hall at Angel House. According to Associate Pastor, Bonita Ritchie, the ministerial staff also decided in the spring to designate the 2020 Gift of Advent Offering toward this goal.

The community is invited to participate in the alternate format and is also encouraged to support the vendors who have donated items. Contact information will be listed on the site.

Items for sale will include: Celtic art, wire-wrapped and fused-glass jewelry, totes for wheelchairs, novels by a local author, Christmas décor, hand-sewn items, trivet sets handcrafted from siding removed from the Bear’s Mill in Greenville, and more.

The Bazaar Team looks forward optimistically to safely reinstating the in-person bazaar in December, 2021.