EVENTS – Festive feasts
More ideas for mains
TURKEY AND STUFFING BAPS The classic PTA Christmas fair food. Roast and slice turkey crowns and serve in baps with stuffi ng and gravy.
BURGERS AND SAUSAGES If your event is outside, set up a barbecue and make burgers and sausages in rolls. Add onions and a selection of condiments. Run a parallel operation for meat-free burgers and sausages.
PIGS IN BLANKETS A more Christmassy approach to cooking sausages. Wrap them in bacon and cook them in the school kitchens if you have access. If not, ask parents to cook them then keep them warm at the event in chafi ng dishes or warming hotplates.
SOUP AND A ROLL Easy in terms of logistics and warming if you’re holding an outdoor event: offer a couple of fl avours of soup, one meaty, one veggie, and serve with a buttered roll.
FESTIVE DRINKS NON-ALCOHOLIC MULLED WINE
Laura Lee, Cringleford CE VA PTA, Norwich, Norfolk. ‘We’d planned to sell a mulled apple drink, but we couldn’t easily source any at a reasonable price. So we bought Sainsbury’s non-alcoholic mulled wine, which tasted really good! We didn’t have a huge turnout because of bad weather but we still made £112 on the mulled wine and snacks!’
HOT CHOCOLATE Holly Davis, chair, Raeburn Primary PTA, Bromborough, Wirral. ‘We didn’t have a licence, so we couldn’t sell alcohol. Instead, we made hot chocolate. Caffè Nero donated the cups and we used Cadbury’s hot chocolate powder mixed with water, which we topped with squirty cream and marshmallows. We bought it all from Booker, where PTAs can have a wholesale account. We sold the hot chocolate for £1.50 a cup, which was very profi table. The warming drink was a welcome addition to our outdoor Christmas carol singalong!’
More ideas for drinks
ALCOHOLIC HOT CHOCOLATE If you’re running a hot chocolate stall, offer an adult variation by adding a shot of Baileys Irish Cream or other cream liqueur.
MULLED WINE AND CIDER Mulled wine is a classic winter warmer. Make your own with plenty of spice and citrus, or buy bottles ready-made. For a twist, offer mulled cider for the adults alongside a child-friendly version made with apple juice.
NON-ALCOHOLIC PUNCH Get a keen mixologist to mix up a child-friendly warming punch with juice, squash and sliced citrus fruit.
SOFT DRINK STALL Offer squash and other soft drinks for the children, including something more unusual like hot Vimto or hot Ribena.
SWEET TREATS SNOW CONES Harriet Valentino,
chair, Romilly Primary PTA, Barry, South Wales. ‘It was my fi rst Christmas fair, and I wanted new ideas. A local café called Coastal Coffee offered to loan us their snow cone machine as it was off-season. They were also kind enough to donate the syrups, so we just needed to purchase ice and the cones, making the cost minimal. The snow cones went down amazingly well considering it was winter and very cold outside.’
SNOWMAN POOP AND REINDEER POOP George Mee,
chair, Friends of Rosemellin PTFA, Cambourne, Cornwall. ‘For our fi rst fair as a new PTA, we gave out snowman poop, which was little marshmallows in a bag, and reindeer poop, which was the chocolate raisins. My wife, who is also on the PTA, does packing and printing at home and has a sublimation printer, so she printed bag covers with the contents and the name of our PTFA.
More ideas for treats
MINCE PIES A Christmas fair isn’t complete without mince pies. If you can’t galvanise a team of parents to make some, how about approaching a local bakery? Supermarket mince pies could be a possibility too.
INTERNATIONAL BISCUITS Many countries have traditional biscuits for the Christmas season. The best-known are the German lebkuchen, small spiced ginger cookies. But there are plenty of others, such as Dutch speculaas or Czech Linzer tarts. Reach out to your community for their family knowledge and create a stall selling traditional international treats.
READ MORE
about poop at pta.
co.uk/events/ fairs/reindeer- and-snowman- poop
MARSHMALLOW TREATS Make a selection of marshmallow treats. Put three on a skewer, and decorate with sweets and icing to make a marshmallow snowman. Dip them in chocolate and add sugar eyes and candy canes for antlers to
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