A Complete Guide to Planning a School Carnival
with the Best School Carnival Ideas

1. Define Your Fundraising Goal

First things first, why are you hosting a school carnival? Before you start any planning, defining a clear fundraising goal is essential. Think about these questions to get you on track:

• What are we raising money for?
• How much do we need to raise?
• How many people do we need to attend to achieve this goal?
• What are your non-financial goals? How do you want to boost audience levels and supporter engagement?

Make your call to action something people are passionate about and will enthusiastically support. Ideally, you want it to be something that will make an impact.

2. Assemble a School Carnival Planning Team

You’ll need a solid event planning committee to handle the various carnival planning tasks. Whatever you do, don’t try and go it alone! Even if your organization works with a professional nonprofit event planner, a carnival committee is still needed to direct the planner’s activities.

The PTA/PTO (or parent-teacher group) usually takes the reins with school carnivals. There is a lot to do, so don’t forget to start planning with plenty of time. Parents, teachers, and school administrators should work together to:

• Determine fundraising goals and identify how to achieve them.
• Set a school carnival budget – Look for in-kind donations, but be realistic about upfront costs and how they will impact your fundraising carnival planning.
• Manage timelines – decide the date and duration of the carnival.
• Choose a carnival theme – Consider a harvest or Halloween theme for the fall or a Christmas theme in December. Some carnivals select a certain country or culture for a theme.

3. Choose the School Carnival Entertainment

Now for the fun part! Brainstorm popular school carnival game ideas, food and beverages, and other carnival activities. This can be a task that quickly gets out of control without some proper guidance and focus. Here are a few tips to help you keep the enthusiastic planning committee in check.

• Decide what types of food you’ll offer and whether it will tie in with the carnival theme.
• Will you hire a live band? Maybe you can get this donated if some keen musician parents are out there?
• Make a list of around 4-5 carnival games for different ability levels, from preschoolers to high schoolers.
• Add extra activities like costume competitions, dog contests, and talent shows.
• Keep the adults entertained with a silent auction or an auction of promises to boost profitability and community spirit.

Check out our list below of the Best School Carnival Games and Booth Ideas.

4. Apply for Permits, Insurance, and Check for Restrictions

Choosing the entertainment for your school carnival can be great fun, but be aware that not every idea will be practicable or safe for your festival.

Make sure you don’t run into any problems by:

• Consulting with local officials to determine what licenses and insurance are needed, such as for providing rides, inflatables, or selling food.
• Discussing safety and procedures with all teachers, staff, parents, vendors, and volunteers.
• Making sure there’s an onsite first aid area for any unforeseen circumstances.
• Applying for alcohol licenses if you plan to offer alcoholic beverages.
• Letting your local fire brigade and ambulance services know when and where the school carnival will occur.

5. Make a Carnival Map

Make your school carnival easy to navigate so all attendees can get the most out of it. Provide everyone with a map of the grounds beforehand so they can find all the activities they want to try. This goes double for the youngsters. Don’t forget to point out disability access points, restrooms, and first aid areas on the map.

6. Secure Carnival Sponsors

Attracting corporate or community sponsors for your school carnival is a sure way to boost the success and outreach of your fundraising event. Sponsors help increase awareness of your school festival by promoting it to their employees and customers. Most importantly, they create a financial backbone by helping to offset event costs.

Companies are looking for a win-win relationship when investing in your school carnival, so explain exactly how sponsoring your fundraiser will provide value to the local businesses you are prospecting. Look for companies that support your school’s mission and values and align well with the event you’re planning.

Here are some ideas on how to acknowledge your sponsors and thank them:

• Highlight sponsors’ names and company logos on the school carnival website.
• Mention their products or services on your fundraising website and social media.
• Ask your sponsors if they would be willing to provide a gift voucher or gift basket from their company as a silent auction or raffle prize.
• Invite your sponsors as guests of honor to your school carnival so they can see firsthand the impact of your fundraising efforts.

7. Collect Donated Prizes

Carnival games equal fun prizes! Remember that you needn’t break the fundraising budget to obtain good prizes. Defer some of your costs by:

• Asking people to donate food, snacks, and beverages.
• Offering low-budget giveaways such as gift certificates and gift baskets donated by local businesses. (This also provides valuable marketing for sponsors.)
• Trying to get in-kind donations like volunteering time or donating venue equipment such as tables and chairs for the carnival booths.

Just make sure to organize your prizes with plenty of time ahead of the school carnival. You don’t want to be left with no prizes and a bunch of unhappy kids.

Check out our guide on the Best 30+ Prize Ideas and How to Get Them Donated here.

8. Promote the School Carnival

Promoting your school festival effectively is essential to achieving success and smashing your fundraising goals. There are many ways, some of which are free or inexpensive, to create hype around your school carnival. Here are just a few of our favorites:

• Incorporate social media trends to spread the word! Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are great ways to inform people about your school carnival and excite them. Set up a Facebook page and Instagram profile and start posting stories, photos, videos, and updates about your upcoming event to show your donors where they’ll be making an impact by supporting your cause.
• Involve the local media to advertise your school carnival and Invite them to attend. This creates a wonderful opportunity to share a story about community goodwill and provides a great moment for news photos.
• Create a carnival flyer that will be sent home with students that includes:
  • What’s happening at the carnival
  • Why is the school hosting the event
  • The cost of admission cost
  • Where tickets can be purchased
  • Your donation website URL and social media page with all the information and updates

9. Sell Carnival Tickets Online

Many schools opt for a cashless carnival. Sell school festival tickets online in advance and avoid money exchanges and pointless queuing on the event day.

It’s important to price your event high enough to reach your goals but not so expensive that people can’t afford to participate. Some schools allow free entry to their carnivals to maximize attendance and charge for games, activities, and snacks inside the venue. Depending on the attraction’s cost, a specific ticket price would be applied to it. For example, face painting might require two tickets, whereas the dunk tank could cost 4. This can be organized before the event online to promote a safer, more convenient experience. On the day of the school carnival, assign a booth for top-ups for those who run out of tickets.

Charity Raffles and Tombolas

A school carnival must! Simply purchase a numbered ticket to win a prize and source raffle prizes from local businesses or even give away homemade gifts like jams or baked goods. The fun is in the tombola spin and the anticipation of a win. They’re sure money spinners, as kids and adults of all ages love to have a go.

How Long/How Heavy?

Simple guessing games can be great fun, popular, and inexpensive at school fairs. You can set up a stand with a pet or an object(s) and ask for a small donation for people to guess its weight or length. For example, your pet sausage dog’s length, your giant tortoise’s weight, or your fluffy cat’s age. Make customized merchandise of the pet or object in question, like badges or pens, and give those away as prizes or sell them for momentos.

Balloon Cars

Fill a car with as many balloons as possible. Pay a small fee to guess how many balloons you think are inside the car and write it down. The person who guesses correctly or has the closest guess wins a prize. Even better, try to get a tour company to sponsor you by donating their tour bus to fill with balloons and then raffle off a tour voucher as the top prize.

For an easier option, fill a jar with sweets, like jelly beans, and ask people to pay to guess how many sweets are inside. The winning or closest guess wins bragging rights and the jar of goodies.

Guess the Name

Another popular and low-cost school festival idea is to run a competition to guess the name of something. How about bringing your favorite stuffed animal from home, displaying it on your stall, and asking people to pay a small fee to guess its name? The correct answer wins a prize. Encourage people to guess as often as they want to boost donations – you could even charge a little extra if they want to guess with a clue.

Green Fingers

Why not run a stall that sells plants, herbs, and seeds? You can host some interactive demonstrations on how to start planting and an advice corner for budding gardeners.

Upcycle Stall

Customizing used products and upcycling are great school carnival ideas. Giving new life and a creative twist to old goods is an innovative way to teach people about sustainability and being eco-friendly. Just grab some odds and ends from home, like old plant pots, jam jars, or dog/cat bowls, and provide a variety of simple stationary items to jazz up any old item into a newfound treasure for a small donation.

Host a Dog Show

Hopefully, everyone and their dog will attend your school fair, so don’t forget to involve your furry guests in the fun. Set up an agility course for the energetic dogs and a costume competition for the rest. Charge a small fee for participation and ask local pet shops to donate a few prizes, like dog treats, for the winners.

Sell pet merchandise and offer personalized pet products that you can offer on-site or sell on our free e-Commerce stores.