This is a long one, but I'm just so happy because we had such a great time! Last night, our PTO hosted its first Family Game Night in our school's cafeteria. We ran it from 6:30-8:30, which seemd to be the perfect amount of time. Families were encouraged to bring their own board games, cards, chess, checkers and so on. Staff members and PTO volunteers also brought some extra games for families that didn't have their own, or those who would just like to try out something new.
Everything was free, and PTO provided snacks, coffee and punch. Display items from our catalog fundraiser were used for door prizes--each person received one ticket at the door. Every family also received one school mascot window sticker(we had lots in our spirit booth) and a refrigerator magnet/clip (leftover advertising items donated by my sister). Door prize drawings were held about every 20 minutes, which seemed to keep the kids excited.
We recruited high school students to work at the greeter's and refreshment tables. This was a real bonus, as it allowed the Board and committee members to actually enjoy themselves and play games with their families. To show our appreciation, we gave each of these high school volunteers a t-shirt and a letter verifying their volunteer hours for them to use with college or scholarship applications.
Our decorations were simple--balloons at each table, and butcher paper covering the tables. We also arranged the tables a little differently so that it did not look just the same as lunchtime. Small containers of crayons were put on each table, and everyone was encouraged to sign their names, draw, keep game scores, etc... We saved the papers, and will hang them in the cafeteria next week for all to see.
Our budget was $100, and we figured on 200-300 people. Honestly, we didn't know how many would show up, with this being the first time. As it turned out, there were about 220 people there, and that comfortably filled the cafeteria (our school is Pre-K through 5, enrollment of about 520). I saw lots of new faces, and not just the "usual suspects" that, thankfully, come to every PTO event.
Earlier in the week, I had challenged the Vice Principal to a game of Twister, which drew lots of interest from the kids and laughs from the staff. Our VP is wonderful and a good sport, but she was worried that she might bend down to do "right hand red", and never get back up. Instead of the two of us, we each chose 3 students to be our teams, and they competed against each other. This proved just as popular.
My only regret is that we forgot to have someone take pictures. One of our parents, who works for the district's communications dept., was supposed to attend and handle this part, but he was unable to come after all. Oh well, we'll be prepared next time. And believe me, there will be a next time--maybe even a couple of times a year. Thank you to PTO Today and the discussion board for this wonderful idea.
