School fete novice - what should I volunteer to do?

[MrsFogi]

I'm going to help at dd's school fete in summer. What should I volunteer to do that doesn't require any skill on my part and also won't cost me (as cash is somewhat tight since I've been made redundant)?
Also what should I avoid volunteering to do?
It's a small pre-school fete btw.

oh yeah, you have to be polite to people for ages while they hang around your table making a mess.

Guess the... they are there for 12 seconds then they're gone

yes, very good point

and you get to sit down

the only issue with 'guess the' is you get lots of smart alec kids so you just have to be prepared for persistent annoying toe rags and that's it really

I like guess the marbles in a jar

ah but The List deals with smart alecs.

You have a list or a grid with numbers on it. Choose a number, write your name and class down, bugger off, no cheek.

You could do it all without speaking at all

I was a story teller in a tent last year. No customers at all. Not one. They rushed past me to get to the bouncy castle. I felt very unloved.

you can tell you're a teacher lol

I had to man the coconut stall a few years ago and was overwhelmed with smart alecs who spent most of the afternoon arguing that my coconuts had been glued on

no no seeker

you weren't unloved, you were SPARED

rofl @ seeker

I can imagine

Gosh so many answers whilst I put the dds to bed! Sounds like I'll be volunteering for the "Guess the..." stall!

It takes you 4 hours to put the dc to bed?!

Avoid the lucky dip at all costs. You will be clearing up straw or polystyrene long after everyone else has gone to bed. Ditto any sort of cutting/sticking activities.

Also avoid the barbecue. You will be sweaty, redfaced and nauseous within five minutes of stepping behind it - and nobody will remember to come and relieve you - funny that.

oooh Seeker - me too!!

There I was in all my glory in an African outfit for our 'Out of Africa' themed fete in the story telling tent.

Fellow PTA member had 2 under 5's for her Handa's Surprise Story for the first hour and then I said I would do the next hour.

It started to rain and I had a tent full of .......................15 and 16 year olds!! I was mortified but they paid their money, settled down on the bean bags and I had to read to them!! LOL but

The only person who came for a story was my own ds because he felt sorry for me....oh, and he needed money for the bouncy castle!

Don't touch the barbecue - it's not safe for women to barbecue, it's men's work.

Cake stall is brilliant because it's always the first to sell out - but risky because then you might become a "floater" and be asked to take over other people's stall while they "grab a quick cup of tea" and you'll be there for the rest of the day. Particularly if they've seriously screwed up the Tombola. Like the time the Head forgot to put the winning tickets into the bucket.

oh seeker , you have had such miserable experiences

I know. Poor, poor me!

Just to clarify, the barbecue comment is a maxim to live by, not something that was said to me by a macho dad!

pointydog - not four hours to get them to bed thank goodness. But about that to make dinner, give them dinner, bath, stories, settle in bed and the big one....tidy up before getting back to mn.