Five-Minute Marvels: Getting festive with High Legh’s Christmas Cracker Trail

Who are they?
High Legh Primary School is supported by the HLPS PTA, who work hard to fundraise for 160 pupils. Emma Openshaw, PTA Chair, got in contact to tell us all about their Christmas fundraising.
What did they do?
“With so many events and activities being cancelled this year, we really wanted to end the year on a high, and have something really special for the children and the village,” explains Emma. “We teamed up with the Preschool and chatted about what we could do to bring the magic of Christmas to High Legh, and decided that a trail around the local area with dressed houses and windows would fit the bill perfectly. As we’re members of Parentkind, we have a PTA Events website which means that we had an easy-to-use hub to sell tickets and recruit houses (and their owners!)”
It was not just the Christmas Cracker trail with Cracker jokes that participants had to look forward to – there would also be cakes for sale, a raffle, and a tombola. Perhaps mostly importantly, Father Christmas would make a special (socially-distanced) visit!
How did it go?
“The event was a real success with 105 children enjoying the trail of 21 houses, raising £1000 shared between the PTA and Preschool,” reports Emma. “It was great to see pupils and their families getting involved, along with teenagers and other members of the community.”
Jenni Cookson, from the High Legh Nursery Committee, sums up the day by saying, “Our Christmas Cracker Trail helped to spread some Christmas cheer, and bring the community together in a safe way, while raising much-needed funds for both our pre-school and the primary school.”
What’s next?
As well as these lovely activities, the whole school have been getting involved with the festivities, and there’s definitely competition in the air! “We launched #ClassWars, with the help of our class representatives: each of our primary classes ‘hosted’ an idea, such as cookbooks, sponsored kindness, baubles for the school tree, and tea-towels,” describes Emma. “This is another great way to bring in money for the PTA and completely surprised us by raising more than the Christmas fair has done in the past!”
HLPS PTA has been raising money for a multi-use games area, which will benefit both the school and wider community. The Christmas Cracker trail has brought the team a great deal closer to their target, and we wish them every success as we enter the new year!
With thanks to Emma Openshaw and Jenni Cookson of HLPS PTA and HSNC respectively.