Family Fun Night

Each year at our kids school, the PTA puts on a big fundraiser we call "Family Fun Night". We have games and face-painting and a bouncy castle and karaoke and hot dogs and cotton candy. For the kids, it's sort of like their version of a cocktail party....they get a little something to eat, mingle and see their friends, play a few games and have a good time. Plus, no hangovers.

This year, I was in charge of selling tickets for the basket raffle. (We assign each grade a theme, and people donate items to go into the baskets. There's usually stuff like "Movie Night" and "Spa Treats" and "Chocolate Lovers". I think we should have "PMS Frenzy", with chocolate covered potato chips and a pair of sweatpants, and "Mid-Life Crisis", with a gold chain and a gift certificate for hair transplants.) I thought the concept of a raffle was pretty simple, but I guess I was wrong. I had to explain it to dozens of people, lots of them old enough to know better: "you put your ticket into the bag in front of the item you want to win, and then we choose one ticket and that person wins. No, there is no guarantee you will win it, and no, you cannot buy it, and yes, it is totally random, and you are correct, it is entirely unfair."
Thing 1 won a "Chocolate Lovers" basket, which her father generously put a ticket in on, and I won two tickets to a Blue Jays game for when we are on holidays this summer. (The only problem is that there are four of us. Hopefully we will be able to get two more tickets, otherwise, one of us will go with our favorite child.)

Thing 2 came home with a whole shitload of crappy toys that she won, which she is thrilled beyone belief with. When I asked her how she won so many prizes, she replied that she "didn't waste her tickets on something to eat, so she played games with all of them. Not when we have food at home."
This year, one of the toys the kids could win was water pistols. I wonder who thought that would be a good idea? Of course, last year, we gave out whistles, which was a mistake we did not make again. The year before we managed to find the only temporary tattoos that did not come off for weeks and weeks. I think they eventually had to be sandblasted off.

It's been a busy week, so I think I'll strong-arm Thing 1 into parting with some of that chocolate, and settle down for the evening. Maybe I'll rustle up some sweatpants.