Hey guys! We did this last year in conjunction with our Fun Night and we did not use "baskets" really. The stuff we used to hold the items tied into the items, like the movie basket idea was put into 3 of the very large plastic popcorn bowls, the beach one was in a little kids wading pool, the chocolate one was in two great bags sewn by one of the moms with a chocolate themed fabric and one was one of those big metal washtubs. That made the "baskets" even more appealing in my opinion, everyone loved this part of the night!
Deb
In the short time the elementary has done this some of the teachers have gotten creative too. I guess it was the first year my son's teacher's husband (got that) was going to make wooden sleighs because her theme was "Winter Wonderland" or something like that.
I like the teachers sending a list out to all the parents like they do because it is hard to find people that have time to get out and get donation and this way everyone gets to help out if they can. The way the lists are made it doesn't feel like it is something you have to do. Budget is really tight right now but the theme we have because it is winter and I love buying that stuff. For the most part it is small affordable stuff that you can pick up anywhere.
We use the big wicker laundry baskets for our Gift Baskets. Last year I got them at Big Lots for like $2.50 each. I allowed each room 2 baskets to be bought by the PTO after that they had to purchase them. We also furnish the cellophane but, the classroom provides the ribbons and a list of the contents.
Just ask around. People always have baskets that they want to get rid of. We wrap our "baskets" in sturdy boxes with wrapping paper and have used new laundry baskets, big flower pots etc. Just think outside the box .. no pun intended! Good Luck!
Lisa, you auction basket goddess, could you please email me your auction information so that I can pass it on to our chairperson? (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) I LOVE your themes, and your idea to ask every classroom for a basket donation is OUTSTANDING! Why not? I ask myself. We'll do that next week!
I do have one question: Do you presell tickets to all parents and staff? If so, how do you get them into the right bucket? Is there room for a number, name and phone number? As we will be doing this in conjunction with another event, North Pole Family Night, I can safely say that only about 1/3 of our families will attend. Is there a way to presell tickets so that everyone can purchase? If the ticket has their name on it, we can leave the baskets for pick-up in a storage room by the office.
During North Pole Family Night, for and the past two years, we have simply gathered kid friendly prize donations, sold auction tickets 4/$1.00 and hoped that all of the kids had their name called to pick a prize from the table by the end of the night. This is a break even event that features crafts that the kids can make and give as gifts during the holidays.
This year we are stepping it up a notch and calling the raffle portion a fund raiser. Donations have been pouring in, but we could always use suggestions on who to contact at big businesses. I have asked a gal that's new to the school to chair a chinese auction. She has gathered donations for another local school in the past, and has already gotten going on this project. Since this is sorta new, I am putting together a binder to help her out and track what works for next year. That should get done this week.
