Simple Side Show Alley Games for School Fetes

🎪 Side Show Alley: Easy Games + Big Fun = Extra Dollars!

While parents might love browsing craft stalls and rummaging through second-hand books, let’s be honest- kids are just there to win stuff. That’s where Side Show Alley comes in! It’s a super simple way to keep the kids entertained and raise extra money with minimal fuss. Here’s how to set it up and keep it running smoothly.

🎯 The Secret to a Great Side Show Alley?

Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make sure there’s a mix of games based on skill and pure chance. Some stalls should have prizes every time, and others should build excitement with the chance to win big.

🏅 Easy Games of Skill

💦 Water Pistols or Nerf Guns
Set up empty soft drink bottles and let kids shoot them down. Add buckets for refilling, and you're good to go.

🎳 Ten Pin Bowling
Fill plastic bottles with water (a few drops of food colouring makes them look fab). Use balls to knock them over -experiment with distances and ball types to get the balance right.

🥔 Bean Bag Toss (Version 1)
Throw bean bags into hula hoops or between the rungs of a ladder lying flat. Add a time limit for a challenge!

🪨 Bean Bag Toss (Version 2)
Scatter large garden pebbles - some with stars hidden underneath. If your bean bag completely covers a star rock, you win a major prize!

💧 Plate Balance
Float a small plastic plate in a paddling pool. Kids throw 10c coins - if one lands and stays on the plate, they win.

🏺 Ping Pong Pots
Toss ping pong balls into ceramic flowerpots. Way harder than it sounds! Great for older kids and adults.

🍫 Chocolate Toss
Try to land a coin on top of a block of chocolate to win it.

🍀 Easy Games of Chance

🌽 Pop-Stick Game
Bury 100 pop sticks in a wheelbarrow of sand. A few have stars for major prizes.

🍒 Human Fruit Machine
Three volunteers with buckets of hidden fruit. If they pull out the same fruit - jackpot!

🦆 Duck or Fishing Game
Floating toys in a paddling pool - check the bottom for a prize number.

🥤 Lucky Cup
Polystyrene cups filled with sand and hidden prizes. Tip into a sieve to reveal your loot.

🎁 Lucky Dip
Classic brown paper bags filled with toys or treats. Always a crowd-pleaser.

🎟️ Tombola
Pick a raffle ticket that matches a prize-filled jar.

🍭 Lollipop Tree
Stick lollipops into a board. Most win the lolly, but some sticks are marked for bonus prizes.

🎁 Prizes: It’s Not About the Price Tag

Kids don’t need big prizes - they just want something for their efforts! Try to have different prizes at each stall so they’ll want to try them all.

Small prizes (for ‘everyone wins’ games):

• Lollipops

• Freddo Frogs

• Mini Smarties

• Erasers, glow sticks, bouncy balls, party bag toys

Larger prizes:

• Donated items from your white elephant stall (new or in excellent condition)

• Prize vouchers to redeem at your toy/book stall

• Lightly-used stuffed toys (clean and pre-loved)

• Vouchers from the canteen (ice cream or snack at school next week)

Major prize ideas:

• Giant stuffed animal

• Donated bike, boogie board or game set

• Set up a raffle ticket system or ticket-based prize booth (à la TimeZone)

Top tip: Run a free dress day where kids bring in small items to donate as prizes. Easy!

🎪 Set-Up Tips

• Keep all your games in one area - use a marquee, tent or simply rope it off.

• Kids aged 8+ can run most stalls with adult supervision.

• Use a central ticket booth to sell game tickets (50c–$2).

• Make the big prizes visible to build excitement.

• Have a bell to ring when someone wins a big prize - instant atmosphere booster!

🎉 Final Tip:

The more games you offer, the longer the kids will hang around and the more money you’ll raise. Whether they win a Freddo, a fluffy unicorn, or a voucher for an icy pole next week, they'll walk away happy - and that’s a win for everyone.