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Omaha office - (402) 393-7393 Toll Free (800) 393-7393
Fun Fairs Midway Games: Our large selection of the newest and most popular midway games will make every school carnival a winner! We suggest choosing one game for every 25 children of enrollment and then adjusting for space, volunteers, etc. Fun Fair Questions and Answers: We have included answers to the questions we are most often asked about hosting an all school carnival. Q: How much does a Fun Services carnival cost and how much money will our school make? A: There is never any up-front money required for a Fun Services carnival. Our carnivals are designed to make a 50%, or better, profit for your school. The total money generated at your event is dependent upon many variables, the main one being the amount of participation at your school. Schools of the same size, hosting the same carnival on the same day can generate ticket sales quite different from each other. As a rule, a school that sells $2000.00 worth of tickets for the Fun Services games at their event should expect an expense of about $1000.00 for the prizes used at those games. Please note, Fun Services does not ask you how much you sold and then take half. You are charged for those prizes, etc., not returned at the end of your event. Run properly, the games at your event will produce a 50% profit for your school. Q: How can we insure our profit level remains at 50%? A: Running the games properly is the first step towards insuring your profit level remains at 50%. Following all rules and guidelines stated on each game sheet is essential! Giving your guests an extra chance or extra tokens, or changing the rules to make the game easier to win is a sure way to lower your overall profit. Another very important factor is to use adult volunteers in all areas of your event involving money or prizes. Never allow children to staff either the games or the Redemption Center. In those rare cases when a school makes less profit than they should, it can almost always be traced back to someone "giving" things away. Whether it's un-earned tokens at the games or actual prizes at the Redemption Center, the result is less profit for all your hard work. Q: How do the children earn prizes? A: Most of our schools choose to have a Redemption Center at their event. Your guests use tickets to play the games and they are awarded tokens to be redeemed for prizes of their choice at the Redemption Center. A typical Redemption Center has 13 - 16 prize value categories with 3 - 5 prize choices per category. The prizes range in value from 5 cents to $15.00 and can be anything from mini erasers and stickers to large plush and small electronics. The amounts of tokens that are awarded at individual games are dependent upon the number of tickets required to play a game as well as the difficulty of that game. As a rule, the harder the game, the larger the award if you win! The school sets the ticket price and Fun Services takes care of the rest. You will not make more money by charging more money or more tickets. Everything is appropriately adjusted to your schools' ticket price. Our events have always been designed to be a 50% profit maker for your school. Q: How can we make money using such expensive prizes? A: There is a misconception that by using a Redemption Center, with its higher value prizes, a school will lose money. Run properly, a Redemption Center will use the same total dollar amount of prizes as those carnivals giving away less valuable prizes at the individual games. Fun Services originated the old fashioned carnivals that awarded prizes at the games. To introduce the Redemption Center, we simply converted the same value of prizes awarded at the games into a token value. The Redemption Center gives your guests the opportunity to "save" their tokens and redeem them for the prize - or prizes - they would like. Q: Can we use games that we own or add activities of our own? A: Yes! We have many schools that have a game or two that a favorite teacher has built and they are always welcome! In addition, many of our schools like to add a cake or a pop walk, face painting, and lunches or dinners to their carnival. It not only adds to the success of your event, it can make it even more profitable! Q: Can we use prizes that we have had donated or have leftover from previous events? A: Yes! Many schools use donated prizes at a raffle or have a "pocket lady" at their event. In addition, if you are a school with old prizes taking up space in a closet, we can provide games that will insure you not only use up all of your leftovers, but also do so profitably! We don't suggest using your leftovers or donations at the Redemption Center because if they are not chosen, they will become leftovers again! Q: Can we use Fun Services tickets at our own activities? A: Yes! The $2.50 cost for a roll of 2000 tickets is minimal and there is no need to try to find and buy additional tickets elsewhere. Using one color ticket for Fun Services activities and another color for the schools games is a pain for everyone. There are easy ways to determine how many tickets were used at your activities vs. Fun Services games and none of them involve counting thousands of used tickets at the end of your event! We can help you and always welcome the chance to determine how profitable a Fun Services carnival has been! Q: How many volunteers will I need? A: Many a carnival chairperson could have written the old adage "many hands make light work"! There is no sense sugar coating it: You will need a lot of volunteers to properly set up, staff, tear down, and clean up after an all school event. As far as the Fun Services activities, you will need 6 able-bodied adults to set up and tear down the event. In addition, you will need volunteers to staff the games, ticket booths, redemption center, and any other additional activities such as concessions or a moonwalk. I know it sounds overwhelming, but we do have some suggestions. First, many high schools require students to donate their time to civic causes, and in most cases, helping an elementary school at their carnival is allowed for some of those hours. Check with your district for requirements and availability. These kids do a great job with many of the staffing needs you will have at your carnival. Second, a lot of schools ask their teachers to staff the first shift of games. It really helps with that first shift and the kids really enjoy seeing them in a setting other than the classroom! Finally, many schools have had luck in recruiting grandparents for help with staffing the games. Just remember to keep your most responsible adult volunteers in positions involving money or prizes. Never staff your games, ticket booths, or Redemption Center with children! Q: Will I be charged a delivery fee? A: Yes, but many schools, especially those out of town, choose to pick up their carnival at our Omaha warehouse. Games, booths, and prizes can be loaded into a trailer, ready for your driver to pick up. Whether we deliver it or you pick it up, your school will receive the same instructions and everything needed to host a successful and fun event! We really do provide everything you will need - it couldn't be easier! Fun Fair Myths: Have some doubts about calling a "service" to help with your carnival? It's easier than you think to host a carnival at your school! Common Myths About School Carnivals Myth: I will have no say in which games I get to use. Myth: I won't have time to do shopping for prizes. Myth: I'll be stuck with leftover prizes I can't ever use again. Myth: I won't know how many prizes to give away at each game. Myth: I will have to charge a lot to play the games if I want to make a profit. Myth: I can't afford the moonwalk and concessions for my carnival. Fact: Fun Services is your one stop full service carnival place! Fact: Fun Services has been the "Friend Raising" specialist for over 25 years! Fact: If you're not using Fun Services for your Fun Fair, you're missing out! Fact: If you call us today, we can start planning the best Fun Fair your school has ever had!
Add the Following to your Fun Fair: Moonwalk: Our castle-like moonwalk is our most popular kids' activity! With a 25' x 25' jumping area, the moonwalk is perfect for kids 12 years and younger.  Team Olympics: Still our most popular giant inflatable, this 40' long obstacle course handles a high volume and is for all ages.  Electronic Basketball: Our self-scoring, double-basket game lets two at once compete!  Electronic Speedpitch: Step up to our radar Speedpitch and see how fast you can throw!  Concessions: We have Snow Cone, Popcorn, and Cotton Candy machines available. You may choose to rent the equipment and run it yourself or our full service division will operate and provide unlimited servings for one flat fee.  Giant Climbing Wall: Our newest attraction will amaze and awe you with its 25’ tall wall, the 4 climbing stations and state-of-the-art auto-belay system to insure speed, safety, and climber comfort.  |