ideas for school Christmas fair please

[Hightechlowbudget]

Has anyone been to a school fair or similar event, where a particular stall or activity blew them away?

We are trying to re-boot a tired School Christmas fair and would welcome any ideas.

Especially keen on food ideas, any inspiration beyond mince pies and mulled wine, hungrily received.

Thanks

OK - not blown away but a big money maker at our school fair is candy floss. PTA bought a candy floss maker, sticks and bags and after that it's just pure sugar. Sold at £1 bag/stick and you get LOADS of candy floss from just 1 bag of sugar.
The school fair cafe does lovely meals - pulled pork, curry, chilli, all cooked in advance and kept warm in slow cookers by the cafe crew.

Fun little game, kids pay an amount, draw a card from a pack of cards. On the table, face up is another pack of cards, spread out, with a little toy etc. on every one. Kid gets the toy that is on the card they drew. Prize every time but lots of prizes tiny eg. Sweets, with some better ones in the mix

Not blown away but for us the choc tombola and the decorated/filled jam jar tombola are always very popular with the kids and free ish money!!

Hightech I have been helping at pta for a few years now. We have pretty much transformed the Xmas fayre so I'll see how I can help. The key we work on is a lot of activity, very small outlay and lots of profit. We don't do much change, kids come for the same stall every year and moan when it's not there!! So,

1. Santa grotto, get a grandad volunteer and an eager local photography student. Use local photography firm offers us a bulk rate and free inserts.
2. all raffles/ tombolas should be parent donation or writing for prizes, again pure profit.
3. very popular ask parents to donate unwanted gifts, books, CD, DVD. We have a secret Santa room, kids pick and wrap presents for mum and dad. Be warned you get to open some odd stuff on Xmas day ??
4. lots of games for kids, hoopla, skittles, beanbags, nail s, tattoos, decorate a biscuit, they love the stalls, keeps everyone there for longer, sweet prize every time
5. last year our new introduction was hiring reindeers from a local firm. Quite high outlay but it was the blown away stall and went down a treat!!

Sorry foodwise we only do Turkey rolls (veggie option available), mince pies and mulled wine. Again it can't be changed, it's expected!!

In terms of food, I think pigs in blankets would be a popular choice, They're small, easy to make, yet excessively popular and pretty tasty too! Mulled wine is an excellent choice, but you could also offer something similarly fruity for the children (minus the alcohol of course).

You should definitely have a volunteer Santa handing out free gifts for the kids. Last year, I also remember seeing some Reindeer on display along with Santa, which was a really cool addition and the kids simply loved it. I wouldn't know where to start in getting some though!

You could also raise money for charity. A good friend of mine brings a selection of Christmas cards to our local fair each year and sells them on, with all funds going directly to different organisation every year. Most charities are very happy to help with this too; cancer charity Christmas cards for example are usually available from the charity itself if you intend to sell them on at an event. As an example:

shop.bloodwise.org.uk/shop/christmas-cards
giftshop.cancerresearchuk.org/christmas/christmas-cards.html

Apart from this, creating a jovial atmosphere is what it's about! I'm sure you can manage that

A facepainter doing reindeer, Santa or elf facepaint would be fun.

Could you get a local choir to come and sing some carols for free? I know it doesn't really bring in the moolah but it would add to the festive mood. Friends and family of the choir would most likely come along to support (therefore spending money at the fair).

Have a look on Pinterest - It's a hive of amazing festive food. I'd say that things that are easy to pick up will sell best as they can be munched as people wander around the stalls. Few foodie ideas to get you going:

Choc cake with christmas hats on

Various reindeer cookie options

Chocolate covered strawberry Christmas trees