At our carnival the K-1 grade teachers run all the games (this year the PTO helped get them volunteers to do 30 Min's stints), Games included, ring toss, cake walk, jail (had to pay 50 cents to get out) a live fish walk (like the cake walk but you win a live fish, musical chairs, fishing pond etc. If you won you got 1 nice prize in you didn't win you got a consolation prize. The 2nd grade does the food,all from donations of business also, pizza, hot dogs chips/cheese etc. They get the money from all of that. The PTO has the BINGO, it cost us nothing, but time gathering donations and putting it together. We also bought us a helium tank and you had a chance to drop a quarter into a pickle jar if you didn't make it you got a balloon, if you did you got a balloon and a prize, we also had a "mailbox" (like a 3x3 box with a lot of doors) for a quarter you got to pick a door and open it for your prize we couldn't keep the holes filled. The carnival was held on saturday's, last year we did it on a tuesday 5-7:30 and PTO made $1320.00. This was the most ever made by PTO at this event. And I can't stress enough ADVERTISE...... send flyer's home a lot, add to newsletter, and if you have something special, like we had a huge bugs bunny 5-6 foot. I carried him around school and the car rider line, while passing out flyer's, to come have fun and dinner with us. Get mom out of the kitchen etc. The teachers also made that night a no homework night.
We have had a great Halloween carnival for the last 6 years! We get 1 person to over see it, she holds a seperate info./helpwanted meeting, at the meeting parents are seperated into grade levels. Then each "gradelevel" has to come up with a chairperson & idea for their booth. (We usually keep the old booths & pass them down.) For some reason parents come to this meeting & volunteer I think because it is at the beginning of the year before they are burned out!
Anyway.... By the end of that 1 meeting we have 6 booths planned.
Then to take the pressure off the main lady each chair is asked to send out a flyer to their grade level asking for parent help at the carnival. Parents & their student take 30 min. shifts working the booths!
We also have asked a local pre-school that is accross the street if they want to handle the food booth they serve corn dogs drinks and make a little money for their small school too.
The day of the event the main lady sets up a haunted house, and the parent chairs set up their booths. That way no one is stuck with all the work. This year we are going to also sell carmel apples.
We only let the school staff (secretary) handle all the cash. She and 1 other staff sell tickets. People pay 25 cents for each ticket. Each booth casts 1 ticket to play
We have set up a photo booth for once again tickets- 8 tickets! And last year had pumpkins donated from a grocery store and sold them- 8 tickets.
I think this is our most successful event and no one person is stuck with all the work. I love the tickets that way money is not floating around. Oh Yea we do a candy drive for 2 weeks before. 2 years ago the principal dressed as a student and wore a back pack filled w/ candy. He kept refilling the booths. We also buy small prizes, little snakes, tattoos etc.. and every booth gives out a prize.
And we do a huge cake walk!! Examples of grade level booths are- basket ball, ring toss, fishing, facepainting, maze, cake walk, apple bob, and more hope I was helpful!!!!!!!
