Harvest Hoedown

I have been completely swamped around here with a couple of large events. My son's birthday is next week and I have been very busy with plans for an Angry Bird Birthday. There isn't much out there with Angry Birds, so I have my work cut out for me. I will probably start posting lots of Angry Bird creations in the next week. If you aren't an Angry Bird fan...bear with me...it will all be over Halloween weekend!

Also, this Friday is the Harvest Hoedown at my kids school. This is one of our largest fundraisers and I have been busy! The event is a giant Fall carnival. The kids love it! There are lots of carnival games for the kids to play and a silent auction for the parents. Last year we started a raffle for the kids called "Buckaroo Buckets." The kids are able to take part in the raffle for one ticket...less than fifty cents. I think it is a pretty good deal.

I was on the committee that founded "Buckaroo Buckets" last year...this year I kind of "got" the project again by default. It was quite successful last year and I wanted it to continue so I said I'd do it. I've actually enjoyed having the whole project to myself. I can work on it when it fits my schedule instead of carving out time for meetings. So here's what I've been up to:


I am looking at this picture and wishing I had cropped the photo so the bottom of the table wouldn't show. Oh well. I love the little picket fence on the table. I picked it up last year at a Yard Sale. It makes a great sign for Birthday Parties too. The banner is made from burlap...what else would you use for a Hoedown? It was made the same way I did my "Boo" banner. The buckets were from the Dollar section at Target, but the part that really isn't a dollar. Target...you are so tricky. I used my Cricut to cut numbers from vinyl and stuck them to the side. We will be saving the buckets to use from year to year. There is no handle, so they stack neatly inside one another to keep storage needs to a minimum. I wrapped the contents seperate from the bucket, so when the winners are announced they take the top prize portion and leave the bucket.


These banks are where the kids are going to put their tickets. We had large paper bags last year, but the tickets really don't take up much space. I may run out of room with these, but then I can use a second can. These were FREE on Craigslist! I picked up several hundred of them for free! The problem is that they don't really open. You have to destroy them to open the bank...but they were free...I'll live with it.

I cut a number out of vinyl with my Cricut and stuck it on the side to coordinate with each bucket. The top was tied with a strand of twine to make it all look like it belonged at a Hoedown. That's it...simple, but effective.

The key to success for this part of the Hoedown is to have items that are appealing for all the different ages of kids.


#1 Littlest Pet Shop Bucket (There are 3 toy packs in this bucket.)


#2 Vintage Cinema donated 8 movie tickets (This is a BEAUTIFUL restored theater that just opened here this summer.)


#3 Bey Blades (I am really not sure what these are. My 5 year old son thought they would be AWESOME...apparently he knows little boys. It was a huge interest grabber today.)


#4 Cruiser King Bike Shop donated a $25 gift card and a bike bell (I painted the bike bell with a red Angry Bird...see it is really an obsession at our house right now.)


#5 BullShirt donated a Navy Seal Gift Bucket (T shirt, hat, wallet, 2 bracelets, 2 bumper stickers and a Seal Flag)


#6 Webkins (3 Webkins)


#7 Glow in the Dark Hex Bug & Track


#8 Cash (around $35)


#9 The Eagle & Journal donated a chance for a kid to have their photo in the newspaper!

Hope you saw something that you might be able to use for your next fundraiser.