How do you do bingo with cash prizes? We've done bingo with donated prizes, but it's getting exhausting to keep asking for prizes. I'd love some input on the cash prize route.
We have a bingo in the fall and in the winter. They are on Saturday afternoons for all ages and they usually provide a great turnout. We alternate teacher volunteers as callers which make it fun for the kids. In the fall it was a Halloween theme this year. We had costumes and even a "what 's in the box game" complete with brains and eyeballs. Admission is free but cards are 25 cents each. There are various prizes that are donated but we also use cash prizes for some of the games with the big money game being last. We have hot dogs, chips and soda available for purchase as well. There is also the candy guessing game of how many are in the jar.
We do a bingo night in the Fall-- we charge 4.00 per person and we have it for the whole school-- we play several games of bingo, sell raffle tickets for chances to win 2-3 gift baskets that go along with whatever our theme is for the night-- we also have a 50/50.
We put out small pieces of candy on the tables and bowls of chips-- and each person gets 1 pop and 1 ice cream ticket to be used at a half way point in the night-- we have a great caller--- which really makes the difference in a fun night or not- and each contestant goes up to win prizes for their bingo's-- most prizes are for the kids-- after 4-5 games, we ask that anyone child that has not had a bingo yet-- go up and get a prize.... it's a fun night be all.
We had our first BINGO night of the year last night and it went amazingly well. We separate the nights by grade, so last night was for the first grade only. We had over 200 people there, which was better than I expected.
We run it as a free evening, with pizza, salad and beverages provided. We also provide every student with a book at the end of the night (they get to pick one they want).
As far as the BINGO itself, we run 6 games, though the last one is a double, meaning a regular BINGO winner, and then "Blackout" (meaning the first one to get every box filled in wins). We purchase a bunch of prizes that the kids will love (we have a member who works at Hasbro and can get us discounted games/toys, etc.).
In addition, after the 2nd and fourth games, we have a parent only question where the first adult to raise their hand and answers the question correctly wins school spirit items (a coffee mug, magnet with the school logo, sports bottle and a ball cap.
We had them answer a 4th grade "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" question, which we took right from the Scholastic book.
I'm new to the message boards. I was wondering how you work those. Bingo night has been something a few of us have discussed. Do you have a nice turn-out?
We have a fall and spring bingo night at our school. Just looking for some new ideas for these nights. We do 16 different games (blackout, big X, four corners, etc.) during the two hours and have a snack bar with pop/water and popcorn available to purchase for a minimal. It's not a money maker for us, more of just a family fun night. Any ideas?
