Holiday Bazaar Fundraiser

In its lifetime, McDonogh’s Christmas Bazaar became the Holiday Bazaar and evolved to meet the interests of the students and the greater School community. The first Bazaar was held in 1930 as a Mother’s Club fundraiser for a student who was hospitalized. Five years later, the Bazaar also included a dance in the Trustees Lounge, two one-act plays, a McDonogh table, a sand table, a grab-bag booth, a country store, and special sales of plants, candy, and cakes. Later Bazaars featured carnival games, booths selling homemade items, soft drinks and ice cream, a student variety show, and a full-course Christmas dinner in the dining hall with mothers waiting on the tables. Eventually, the event became the Club’s largest fundraiser, and from 1971-1980, it also included an annual fall fashion show as a preview for the Bazaar. As time went on, it became more difficult for parents to commit to volunteering to coordinate the labor-intensive event. The last Holiday Bazaar was held in 2015.