Last Friday evening, our family attended the annual Winter Carnival at Pleasant Ridge Elementary school in Saline. Not only was it a wonderfully, warm, family-friendly, winter event, but a great way to raise money for an organization, in this case the PTA.

The concept was pretty simple, but it was a large undertaking that needed a lot of volunteers.

Each classroom in the school (or as many as you can fill) housed a simple carnival game like Plinko, Balloon Darts or Ring Toss. There were larger prizes for big winners and concessions prizes for those who tried. Room parents volunteered, usually in 30 minute shifts, to run the games.

One of the major attractions at Pleasant Ridge's carnival was the "Stuffed Animal Market." For weeks before the carnival, notes went home to parents asking for any donations of "like-new" stuffies in need of new homes. They were displayed by size and priced either one ticket for small, two for medium and so on. Piles of stuffed animals rapidly dwindled down to empty tables. This was a total profit activity for the event.

The cafeteria served as the "all-fun-carnival-goody" food court. Vendors offered up funnel cakes, popcorn, cotton candy, pizza and corn dogs.

Students were able to buy tickets in advance or purchase them the night of the event. Think about the proceeds for a minute. Tickets cost 50 cents each. Each game was one ticket, food averaged three tickets. The school has approximately 400 students. Add parents, siblings, grandparents... you get my point. Feed the family for dinner and entertainment, and that's a lot of tickets for the school, but very affordable for you considering other options for family dining and entertainment.

It was a fun and festive evening for the entire family, and it was for the great cause of enriching our children's education. Next time your organization is looking for a super winter fundraiser, consider an indoor Winter Carnival.

April Scarlett is a freelance writer. See her other work at www.fromherdesk.com, www.successfulwomenweekly.com, www.aprilscarlettwrites.blogspot.com. www.aprilscarlettmotherboard.blogspot.com and as ASW-April Scarlett Writes on Facebook and on Twitter as ajscarlett.