Hey frugal friends! This week I am sharing my Canton First Monday Trade Days Tips and Haul! My husband and I recently took a much needed weekend getaway to Canton, Texas. I thought I would show y’all what I found at the world’s largest flea market. While I’m at it, I thought it might be helpful to give y’all some tips to make your next visit to the Trade Days your best treasure hunt yet!

Canton First Monday Trade Days Tips!

1.) GO EARLY!

This is especially crucial for two reasons: east Texas is HOT! You will definitely want to beat the Texas heat and humidity! The second reason is that you will want first dibs on all the cool stuff, of course!

First Monday Trade Days actually starts on the Thursday BEFORE the first Monday of the month. It’s confusing, I know. If you can make it on Thursday and Friday, of course you will have first access to all the treasures. However, if you shop on Sunday, you might get a REALLY good deal because vendors are motivated to get rid of their stuff!

2.) BRING CASH!

They say cash is king, and that is certainly true at a flea market. It makes it so much easier for the vendors and gives you some leverage if you find yourself haggling for a good deal. Of course, you want to honor the time and effort of the vendors, so keep haggling to a minimum. Every vendor we visited offered a price cut, so if you are kind and respectful, it goes a LONG WAY!

If you arrive to the Trade Days and realize you don’t have cash, no worries! They have several ATM’s throughout the park.

3.) IF YOU LOVE IT, BUY IT!

Unfortunately, I have learned this the hard way…several times. If you come across a treasure you really like, go ahead and buy it. That item will NOT be there when you have mulled it over, weighed the pro’s and con’s, over-analyzed, and circled back to buy it. Trust me… =(

Starla has 18 Tips to Find the Best Stuff While Thrifting that will very much come in handy for your next trip to the Canton Trade Days. She has a wealth of wisdom for any of your future treasure hunting adventures, so definitely check it out! 

4.) WEAR COMFY SHOES/CLOTHES!

This place is huge. Like, insanely huge. The Canton First Monday Trade Days location is 500 acres of vendors, food vendors, pavilions, tents, booths, tables, and everything else you can think of. There’s even a camp grounds on site. You will absolutely need to wear comfy shoes, and of course, if it’s summer time, dress cool!

The sun was super intense while Chris and I were there. I was seriously considering kicking it Edwardian style with a parasol (umbrella) to block the sun. If you need a break from the heat, visit the civic center. It’s on the west side and is easily identifiable by the royal blue tin roof. It’s air conditioned, so when walking through those doors, you might actually hear an angel choir singing, it feels so good! AND, it’s where I got most of my treasures!

So, definitely plan on staying cool and keeping hydrated!

5.) CANTON FIRST MONDAY TRADE DAYS PARKING! 

Chris and I have always parked at the West gate, but this trip we tried the East gate side. We thought we would explore the other side of the park and see some new stuff, and we did! The parking was cheaper at $5 for the day, but we had to do a lot more walking to get to all the good stuff.

I HIGHLY recommend parking at the WEST GATE! It was a little more expensive at $10 for the day. However, they have a trolley to pick you up and take you to the gate. Which means they’re also gonna get you a lot closer to your vehicle after a long, hot day of shopping and walking as well. At the gate, there is a nice (CLEAN!) restroom with an ATM as well.

About The Iconic First Monday Trade Days Shopping Carts:

A LOT of people purchase or rent little shopping carts at the Canton First Monday Trade Days. For some weird reason, they were stupidly expensive on the East Gate side. I saw some priced at $90. Which, I’m kinda like, this cart better have a seat and a motor attached for 90 bucks! CRAZY! We saw some of those same carts on the West Gate side for $25.

Of course, you can always bring your own as well! Lots of people bring wagons or garden carts.

West Gate Wins for Me!

I also really love all the vendors in the west gate area. I have made several purchases from the 6000 building, which is near the west gate entrance. Also, there is a wooded area with all kinds of tents/tables set up with antiques and endless treasures! The civic center (with a/c!) is nearby as well!

BONUS TIP! You can print a MAP of the Trade Days from their official website! Then you can plot your course for the day…or remember where you got all the best treasures!

My Canton First Monday Trade Days Haul:

Michoacana Mexican Pottery

While walking from the parking lot to the East gate, we passed several shops that were selling Mexican pottery. They were SO beautiful, but this blue and white, hand panted flower pot caught my eye immediately. It was kind of a splurge item at $50, but it’s such a stunner!

Here’s a little tidbit you might not know about me: I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish. I LOVED learning Spanish in high school, and I ended up getting a scholarship from the foreign language department at ULM. Of all the Spanish speaking countries I studied, Mexico was always my favorite. I have been collecting Mexican pottery for several years now, and I absolutely love it!

Vintage Table Linens from Mistress of Junk! 

The best part about entering the park on the East side was finding a vendor called Mistress of Junk. She had so much good stuff and everyone was really sweet. I sadly walked away from a vintage chenille bedspread, two pristine le creuset cast iron enamel pans, and a vintage medicine cabinet. However, I did buy two vintage table linens. One is ivory lace, and the other is vintage linen with lace and embroidery. They are so pretty! Don’t miss out on this wonderful shop full of treasures! 

Target Tea Towels from Overstock Joe’s

Overstock Joe’s was a huge building full of huge amounts of buyout stuff. You could spend HOURS in there. But it was super crowded and we were super hot and tired, so we did not spend a lot of time in there. However, I did find these tea towels from the Target dollar spot for $2 each. I think they are $5 at Target. I actually like to use them as napkins for a pretty table setting. They could also make some really DARLING tea towel cafe curtains as well!

Vintage Round Table Cloth and Monet Print

I paid $5 each for a lovely yellow round tablecloth and Monet print. They were both originally marked $10 each, and the lady in the booth cut both prices in half. She was located in the wooded area near the West gate. It was nice to hang out in the shade and search for treasures.

Antique Linen Summer Duvet

I would say this is the prize of the entire trip to the Canton First Monday Trade Days! There is a very large booth in the civic center where there are rows of tables covered in quilts and blankets. Also, to my delight, there are carts filled with all kinds of vintage textiles. One cart was filled with nothing but vintage calendar tea towels, another had crocheted items, yet another had aprons.

I pulled this vintage linen summer duvet from a cart full of hand embroidered items. I wasn’t even sure what it was at first. I thought it might be a table cloth, which seemed to be the theme of my finds. But it only had embroidery on one side, so then I thought it was a sheet. It was only $7.50, so I didn’t really care what it was. I just knew it was LOVELY! When I checked out, the lady told me it was a summer duvet! 

Vintage Linen Pillow Cover With Crochet Details

I visited with a really sweet woman in the civic center and she had some of the most incredible vintage linens I have ever seen! I wanted to buy all the things in her booth, but I settled for this sweet little pillow case. It is so delicate and it has exquisitely hand crafted details.

I watched a really cool video by Rajiv Surendra and he talks all about the craftsmanship that went into making antique bed linens. It’s a fascinating video about how he prepares for having guests in his home. I’m really happy I was able to add one small piece to my own vintage linen collection.

Wrapping Up My First Monday Trade Days Haul:

Alright y’all, that’s all my treasures that I got on our trip to the Canton Texas First Monday Trade Days. I would LOVE to hear about any treasures you have found there! If you know of any other flea markets we should check out, we would love to hear about those as well! I can’t wait to share more flea market finds with y’all soon! God bless! 

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