Everyone has a few dollars to spare when it comes to homemade cookies, loaves and squares sold at a bake sale.

While the homemade treats themselves are naturally irresistible, Canadian Living has a few bake sale tips to help your community event maximize the success of your event:

Time your bake sale to suit your location
If surrounded by offices, a midweek lunch-hour sale will attract more people. Be sure to have lots of individually wrapped items for eating on-the-go such as muffins, brownies, cookies and squares.

Set your stage like a bakery
A fresh-looking bake sale table will attract more people than an overly decorated one. Set up with plain white butcher paper underneath your homemade goods, accented by just a few seasonal decorations. The white paper will also help your baked goods pop off the table.

Contributing? Make it easy for the sellers
If you're just contributing, bring everything already wrapped to minimize handling (germs!) and mess. If you decorate your packages with a bit of ribbon or coloured paper, they will likely sell even better.

Be clear about pricing
Guessing customers are more likely to walk away. Label everything clearly with the price. If something is too small to lable, set out a card with the price nearby.

Have all necessary tongs or pie servers ready
Pull out cookies with tongs; lift brownies with pie servers. Keep a stack of napkins or paper towels on hand. Have or provide the serving utentils needed to minimize handling.

Keep allergen-free goods completely separate
More and more Canadians have sensitivities to nuts, wheat, citrus, eggs and dairy. Avoid cross-contamination by keeping anything allergen-free on a separate table with clear labeling and separate serving utensils.

Have items children can purchase themselves
Kids love to buy treats for themselves. Small popcorn bags decorated with stickers or gingerbreads hanging from ribbons are great ideas for kids.

Best bake sale recipes
Banana Loaf recipes
No-Bake Lime Cheesecake Squares
Double Chocolate Brownies
Cran-Raspberry Shorty Squares
Rainforest Brittle
Hazelnut Mochaccino Fudge
Gingerbread Cookies
Gluten-Free Cardamom Shortbread
Our best muffin recipes

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