Picking a date and an idea for your Christmas fundraiser is usually the easy part. After that come the practical questions, such as how many people will come, how much food to buy, whether you'll have enough helpers and who will count the cash at the end of the night.
Selling tickets in advance helps to answer most of those questions. You know how many people are coming before the day, helping you to buy the right amount of food and materials, plan your volunteers and have funds in your account before the doors open.
Below we list 25 Christmas fundraiser ideas that work well as ticketed events, from family and school fundraisers to adult evenings, church events and community gatherings. Each one comes with the ticket types to set up, a way to raise more on the day and the main thing to watch out for, and the table below helps you compare them.
Quick answer: The Christmas fundraisers that sell tickets well have a fixed date, a limited number of places and something people can't easily do at home. Breakfast with Santa, a quiz night, a carol concert and a Christmas tree festival all fit. Set up a ticket type for each price and each sitting, cap every ticket type at what your space can hold, and sell online so the money comes in before the day. Checkout Page lets you sell tickets on its Free plan up to $3,000 a month in sales, with 0% per transaction fees.Start selling tickets for free
How to choose a Christmas fundraiser
Choosing a Christmas fundraiser means matching an event to the people you want to come, the number of volunteers you have and what you can realistically afford to spend before any tickets sell. The table gives a rough guide for each idea in this list.
Idea | Best for | Volunteers | Main costs | Example ticket price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools, churches | Several | Food, Santa suit | $12 child, $8 adult |
| Schools, churches | A few | Santa suit, small gifts | $8 per child or $15 per family |
| Any group | A few | Clue sheets, treats | $15 per family |
| Community groups | A few | Hot chocolate | $20 family, $8 single |
| Schools, churches | Several | Kits | $25 per family |
| Churches, nonprofits | Several | Food | $18 adult, $9 child |
| Schools, community groups | A few | Rink rental | $12 per skater |
| Schools and PTAs | Several | Movie license, craft supplies | $15 per child |
| Schools and PTAs | A few | Very little | $5 single, $15 family |
| Schools and PTAs | A few | Movie license, snacks | $8 per child |
| Schools and PTAs | A few | Prizes | $10 contestant, $5 taster |
| Middle and high schools | Several | DJ, decorations | $10 per student |
| Schools and PTAs | A few | Very little | $5 general, $10 front row |
| Elementary schools | Several | Gift stock | $10 or $20 shopping ticket |
| Any group | A few | Prizes | $60 per team |
| Churches, nonprofits | Several | Catering | $45 seat, $320 table |
| Any group | A few | Frames, greenery | $40 per person |
| Adults, community groups | A few | Prizes | $15 per person |
| Adults, community groups | A few | Karaoke setup | $12 per person |
| Nonprofits | Several | Venue, catering | $75 per person |
| Churches | A few | Candles, refreshments | $10 adult, $25 family |
| Churches, community groups | Several | Very little | $50 tree, $5 visitor |
| Churches, schools, community groups | Several | Venue | $40 stall, $3 visitor |
| Any group | Several | Permits, Santa hats | $25 adult, $10 child |
| Churches, schools | Several | Performance rights, costumes | $8 adult, $4 child |
Prices are examples to adjust to your own costs and audience, not survey data.
If you have only a few volunteers: A quiz night, a lights walk, a karaoke night or a carol concert can be run by a handful of people.
If you have very little to spend up front: A concert, a talent show, a treasure hunt or a tree festival costs little before tickets sell, because the main ingredients are people and a room you already have.
If you want to raise the most per guest: A Christmas dinner, a gala or a wreath-making evening can carry a higher ticket price, though they also cost more to put on.
If most of your audience is young children: Breakfast with Santa, the gingerbread workshop, the movie night and Santa's secret shop are built around them.
If you want to reach people outside your own community: A Christmas market, a tree festival or a fun run is open to anyone in your area, so you can promote it locally.
What isn't on this list: Raffles, bingo and other games of chance are left out because they come under gambling rules. Raffle laws vary from state to state, and Stripe and other payment processor rules on gambling include charity raffles, so you'd need its approval before taking that money online.
Christmas fundraiser ideas for families
Family Christmas fundraisers are events that parents and children book together, usually on a weekend morning or after school. Most work best in short sittings, so you can sell the same room several times in one morning.
1. Pajama breakfast with Santa
Children come to breakfast in their pajamas, and the morning ends with Santa reading a bedtime story to the whole room. It suits a school cafeteria or church hall with a kitchen, and a team of volunteers who can serve pancakes in batches.
Tickets: Set up each sitting (8:30, 10:00 and 11:30, for example) as its own ticket type with its own limit, then add child and adult prices within each one.
How to raise more: Offer a printed photo with Santa as an extra at checkout, and ask a local business to sponsor the breakfast in return for a mention on the tables.
Watch out for: Food allergies, so ask about them when people book and keep a separate allergy-friendly batch.
2. Santa's workshop with a letter-writing table
Families book a short visit with Santa, and children write their letter at a table while they wait, then hand it over in person. A small classroom or side room is enough, and the letter table keeps the line moving because children have something to do.
Tickets: Sell 10-minute slots, each set up as a separate ticket type with a limit of one family. You can price per child or per family; a family price is simpler for parents to understand, while a per-child price suits a visit that includes a gift for each child.
How to raise more: Sell a photo package as an extra, and offer a small wrapped gift from Santa for each child as a separate add-on.
Watch out for: Slots running over, so give Santa a helper who keeps time and leave a five-minute gap every half hour.
3. Christmas treasure hunt
Families follow a trail of clues around the school, church grounds or a local park to find a missing elf, with a treat waiting at the end. It needs very little setup beyond writing the clues and hiding them the morning of the event.
Tickets: One ticket per family, which includes the clue sheet. If the trail is narrow, stagger start times every 15 minutes as separate ticket types so groups don't bunch up.
How to raise more: Sell hot chocolate and cookies at the finish, or include them in a higher-priced family ticket.
Watch out for: Permission to use a public park, which some cities require for organized group events.
4. Christmas lights walk
A volunteer leads a walk past the best-decorated streets in your area, with a hot chocolate stop halfway around. Let homeowners on the route know beforehand, as a courtesy.
Tickets: Offer a family ticket and a single ticket. Keep each walk to a group size one guide can manage and run several start times on the same evening.
How to raise more: Let walkers vote for the best-decorated house by adding a donation when they book, and give the winning house a small donated prize.
Watch out for: Road safety after dark, so plan a route with sidewalks and give each guide a flashlight and a list of the group.
5. Gingerbread house decorating workshop
Families decorate a gingerbread house together, and the finished houses go on display at your carol concert or Christmas service. Buying ready-baked kits saves hours of baking and keeps the cost per family predictable.
Tickets: The ticket price includes the kit, so set the number of tickets to match the number of kits you've ordered. Timed sessions of about an hour keep the tables from getting crowded.
How to raise more: Offer a second kit to take home as an extra at checkout.
Watch out for: Ordering too few kits, so close sales a week before the event and order from the final count.
6. Holiday brunch
A sit-down brunch with Christmas music and decorations, held in timed sittings on a weekend morning. It works well for church groups and nonprofits, because it suits all ages and needs only a kitchen and a hall.
Tickets: Set up each sitting as its own ticket type, with adult and child prices, and cap each one at the number of seats.
How to raise more: Add a table of donated baked goods that guests can pre-order as an extra and collect on the way out.
Watch out for: Running out of food in the last sitting, so plan portions from the final ticket count.
7. Skating night
Book an ice or roller rink for an evening, and families skate to Christmas music. Some rinks run fundraiser nights where your group keeps part of the ticket money, which saves you the cost of renting the whole rink.
Tickets: One ticket per skater, with skate rental included, and a cheaper ticket for parents who come to watch.
How to raise more: Sell hot chocolate and snacks as extras at checkout, so you know how much to order.
Watch out for: The rink's own rules on age, helmets and waivers, which you'll need to share with families before they book.
Christmas fundraising ideas for schools and PTAs
A school Christmas fundraiser is any event the school or PTA runs to raise money between late November and the winter break, usually on school grounds and staffed by parents and teachers. Ticketed events suit schools because you can tell every family about them through the school newsletter.
Breakfast with Santa, Santa's workshop and gingerbread decorating from the family ideas above also work well as school events.
8. Parents' shopping evening
Children stay at school for a supervised movie and crafts while parents go Christmas shopping on their own.
Tickets: Sell one ticket per child, and offer a sibling discount through a coupon code.
How to raise more: Offer pizza as an extra at checkout, so parents don't have to think about dinner.
Watch out for: Supervision ratios. Check your school's rules on adult-to-child ratios and volunteer background checks before you set the ticket limit, because those decide how many children you can take.
9. School Christmas concert with a staff finale
Your usual Christmas concert ends with the teachers performing a festive number, which is kept secret until the night.
Tickets: Offer a family ticket and a single ticket, and sell the front rows as a separate ticket type at a higher price. Hidden ticket types, which only appear to people with a link, are useful for free tickets for staff and volunteers.
How to raise more: Sell programs with ads from local businesses, and let families pay for a shout-out to their child in the program when they book.
Watch out for: Seating more people than the hall allows, so cap the total tickets at the room's fire code capacity.
10. Christmas pajama movie night
Children bring sleeping bags and pillows to the gym, and the PTA shows a Christmas movie on a projector. It needs little more than a screen, a speaker and a few volunteers.
Tickets: Sell one ticket per child, with a snack box and hot chocolate as an extra at checkout.
How to raise more: Offer a "movie night bundle" ticket that includes the snack box at a small discount, so more families choose it.
Watch out for: Licensing. Showing a movie to a paying audience needs a public performance license, which companies such as Swank Motion Pictures sell to schools, so check your school has one before you announce the title.
11. Festive bake-off: parents against staff
Parents and teachers bake against each other, and visitors buy a tasting ticket and vote for the winner. Contestants pay to enter, which covers prizes and ingredients for the tasting table.
Tickets: Set up two ticket types, one for contestants and one for tasters. Cap the contestant ticket at the number of tables you have, and stop contestant sales a few days early so you can plan the layout.
How to raise more: Sell the leftover cakes by the slice at the end, or let tasters pre-order a whole cake from the winner.
Watch out for: Food labeling, so ask every baker to list the main allergens on a card next to their entry.
12. Winter dance or snow ball
Older students dress up for an evening dance in the gym, with a DJ, hot chocolate and a photo backdrop. It suits middle and high schools, and the student council can help plan the music and decorations.
Tickets: Sell tickets in advance rather than at the door, so you know how many staff and chaperones you need. Add a registration question for an emergency contact.
How to raise more: Offer printed photos from the backdrop as an extra, and an early-bird price for the first week of sales.
Watch out for: Last-minute changes to the guest list, so close sales a day or two before and share the final list with the staff on duty.
13. Holiday talent show with front-row seats
Students sign up to perform a festive act, and families buy tickets to watch. Keeping each act to about three minutes lets you fit around 20 performers into an hour.
Tickets: Sell general seats and front-row seats as two ticket types, with the front rows at a higher price. Performers can sign up through a free hidden ticket type, so their names sit on the same list as the audience.
How to raise more: Let the audience vote for a favorite act by adding a donation at checkout or on the night.
Watch out for: Too many acts. Set a limit on the performer ticket so the show doesn't run past bedtime.
14. Santa's secret shop
Children shop on their own, with volunteers to help, for small gifts for their family, and the gifts are wrapped before they leave. It suits elementary schools.
Tickets: Parents book a shopping slot and choose a shopping ticket worth a set amount, such as $10 or $20, which the child spends in the shop.
How to raise more: Ask local businesses to donate gift stock, so most of each shopping ticket is raised money.
Watch out for: Running out of cheaper gifts, so stock plenty of items at the lowest prices.
Running ticket sales for a school event: Share the event link in the school newsletter or class app, and ask for each child's name and class when parents book, so you can check them in on the day. A hidden ticket type, which only appears to people who have its link, lets you give free tickets to families who need them without anyone else seeing. If the PTA is collecting the money, connect the PTA's own Stripe account rather than a parent's personal one, so the payments go into the PTA's bank account.
Christmas fundraiser ideas for adults
Adult Christmas fundraisers are evening events for parents, members and their friends, so you can sell tickets to people outside the school or congregation, such as neighbors and local businesses. Tickets can be priced higher than for family events, since food, drinks or materials are often included.
15. Christmas quiz night with a dress-up round
Teams of four to eight compete over several rounds, with one round where teams score extra points for festive costumes. Quiz nights cost little to run if you write the questions yourselves and use your own hall.
Tickets: Sell team tickets with a minimum and maximum number of people per table, so nobody books a table of two that leaves empty seats. Food can be a separate extra at checkout.
How to raise more: Ask local businesses to donate prizes and sponsor a round each, and sell a double-points card that a team can play in one round.
Watch out for: The room layout, so check you have enough tables for the number of team tickets before sales open.
16. Christmas dinner with a table-decorating contest
A sit-down dinner where each table of eight decorates its own table before the meal, and the best one wins a prize. Local businesses may book a whole table for their staff.
Tickets: Sell single seats and whole tables as two ticket types. Add a registration question for dietary needs, so the caterer has the numbers in time; there's more on choosing those in our guide to event registration questions.
How to raise more: Offer a discounted whole-table ticket that encourages groups to fill a table, and ask a local business to sponsor the table prize.
Watch out for: Your caterer's deadline for final numbers, and close ticket sales a few days before it.
17. Wreath-making and hot cider evening
Guests make a Christmas wreath with a volunteer showing them how, and each guest brings one cutting from their own garden to add to it. A local florist may supply frames and greenery at cost in exchange for a mention.
Tickets: The ticket includes materials, so cap the ticket count at the number of frames you have. An evening session for adults and a Saturday morning session for families can share one event page as two ticket types.
How to raise more: Sell extra ribbon and decorations as add-ons at checkout.
Watch out for: Space on the tables, since each person needs room to lay out greenery, so measure the room before you set the cap.
18. Ugly sweater party with a sweater swap
Guests arrive in their worst Christmas sweater, bring a second one to swap, and leave with someone else's. A prize for the worst sweater gives everyone a reason to dress up.
Tickets: A single ticket type is enough here.
How to raise more: Sell hot cider and Christmas cookies as extras at checkout.
Watch out for: Alcohol rules. If you're serving drinks, check your venue's rules and your state's requirements on alcohol at fundraising events before you add drinks to the ticket.
19. Christmas karaoke night
Guests sing Christmas songs in teams or on their own, with a host to keep things moving. It needs a karaoke machine or a laptop with a screen and microphones, which some venues already have.
Tickets: One ticket per person, with a cheaper ticket for people who'd rather watch than sing.
How to raise more: Let people pay to choose a song for a friend to sing, as an extra at checkout or on the night.
Watch out for: Sound in the room, so test the microphones and speakers in the venue before the night.
20. Christmas gala with a silent auction
A dressed-up evening with dinner, music and a silent auction of donated items, where guests write their bids on a sheet beside each item. It suits nonprofits that can ask local businesses for auction prizes.
Tickets: Sell single tickets and whole tables, and use a hidden ticket type for sponsors and guests of honor.
How to raise more: Ask local businesses for auction items such as meals, experiences and gift baskets, and send winning bidders a payment link at the end of the night, so nobody has to wait in line to pay.
Watch out for: Unpaid winning bids, so collect payment before guests leave or within a day.
Christmas fundraising events for churches and communities
Community Christmas fundraisers are events open to anyone in your area, not only your members or school families. Most of these ideas work in a church building or a local hall, and they suit churches and charities that want to meet new people as well as raise money.
21. Carols by candlelight with "request a carol"
A candlelit carol service with cookies and warm drinks afterwards, where guests can choose a carol for the program by adding a donation when they book. Each request adds money on top of the ticket price. Churches running several events through December can use the same registration setup throughout; our guide to church event registration software covers what to look for.
Tickets: Offer adult, child and family tickets.
How to raise more: Set up the carol request as a fixed donation, such as $10, offered as an order bump, a one-click extra shown at checkout.
Watch out for: Candles near decorations and children, so use battery candles if your building's insurance asks for it.
22. Christmas tree festival
Local groups, schools and businesses each pay to enter and decorate a tree, and visitors buy entry tickets and vote for their favorite. The festival can run over several days, which gives you more ticket sales from one setup.
Tickets: Set up two ticket types, one for tree entries and one for visitors. Cap the tree entries at the number of spaces you have, and close tree entry sales a week before opening so everyone has time to decorate.
How to raise more: Let visitors buy extra votes for their favorite tree, with the money going to your cause.
Watch out for: Fire safety, so ask entrants to use LED lights only and check that the trees don't block exits.
23. Christmas market
Local makers and businesses pay for a stall, and visitors pay a small entry fee to shop for Christmas gifts. It brings in money twice, from stallholders before the day and from visitors on the day.
Tickets: Set up a stall ticket with registration questions for the business name and what they'll sell, and a separate visitor ticket. Cap the stall ticket at the number of spaces you have.
How to raise more: Charge a little more for stalls in the best spots, such as near the entrance, as a separate ticket type.
Watch out for: Local rules on selling food, which may mean food stallholders need their own permit.
24. Santa fun run
Runners and walkers dress as Santa, or wear a Santa hat, and complete a short course around a park or the school grounds. It suits all ages, and families can walk it together.
Tickets: Sell adult, child and family entries, and close sales a few days before so you can order the right number of Santa hats or suits.
How to raise more: Sell Santa suits as an extra at checkout, and ask runners to collect sponsorship from friends on top of their entry.
Watch out for: Permits and insurance, since running on public roads or in a city park usually needs permission from the city.
25. Christmas play or nativity
Church members or students put on a Christmas play or a nativity, and the audience buys tickets for one of several performances. Running it on more than one night lets more families come.
Tickets: Set up each performance as its own ticket type, with adult and child prices, and cap each at the number of seats.
How to raise more: Sell refreshments at the intermission as a pre-ordered extra, so you know how much to buy.
Watch out for: Performance rights. A published play usually needs a license from the publisher before you sell tickets, whereas a script you've written yourself doesn't.
How to sell tickets for a Christmas fundraiser
Selling tickets online means setting up an event page where people choose a ticket, pay and get their ticket by email to show at the door.
Ticket types and sittings: Give each price and each sitting its own ticket type, so a family booking the 10:00 breakfast can't end up in the 8:30 one. Our guide to event ticket types covers the common ones.
Capacity: Set a limit on each ticket type as well as on the event as a whole, so ticket sales stop by themselves when a sitting is full.
A sales cut-off: Stop sales a few days before the event, so you have final numbers for the caterer and the room setup.
Family discounts: A coupon code for siblings or a discount for buying several tickets keeps the price fair for larger families.
Donations alongside tickets: Offer a fixed donation, such as $5 or $10, as an extra at checkout, so people add it in the same payment as their tickets. For people who can't come but want to give, a separate donation page with preset amounts works well, and our guide on how to accept donations with Stripe covers the setup.
Check-in on the day: Each ticket comes with a QR code that volunteers scan at the door, which also gives you a count of who has arrived. Our guide to the event check-in app explains how it works.
If you'd rather sell through Stripe, our guide on how to sell tickets with Stripe covers how that works, and our guide on how to sell fundraiser tickets covers fundraisers beyond Christmas.
Checkout Page lets you sell tickets with all of the settings above on its Free plan, up to $3,000 a month in sales. Checkout Page doesn't add a fee to each ticket, and the money goes straight into your own Stripe account, where Stripe's card fees apply.
Nonprofits, charities and educational institutions get 50% off all paid plans.
Start selling tickets for freeChristmas fundraiser ideas FAQ
What is the easiest Christmas fundraiser to organize?
The easiest Christmas fundraisers need few volunteers, little to buy in advance and a room you already have. A quiz night, a carol concert, a Christmas lights walk and a pajama movie night all fit. Selling tickets online also saves work, because you don't need anyone taking cash at the door and you know numbers before the day.
What Christmas fundraiser makes the most money?
It depends on your cost per guest, how many people your space holds, the price your audience will pay and your volunteer time. A quiz night in your own building keeps most of each ticket, while a gala raises more per ticket but costs more to run. Nonprofits can lower card fees, as our Stripe for nonprofits guide explains.
What are good Christmas fundraisers for schools?
Good Christmas fundraisers for schools are events families can come to together and that volunteers can run in the school building, such as breakfast with Santa, a pajama movie night, a Christmas concert or a parents' shopping evening. Selling tickets in advance through the school newsletter tells you numbers early and means nobody has to handle cash on the night.
Should we charge per person or per family?
Both work, so start from your cost per guest. Per-person pricing suits events where each guest costs you money, such as a breakfast or a workshop with a kit. A family ticket is simpler for events like a concert or lights walk, and it keeps the price fair for larger families, who might otherwise stay home.
Can we sell fundraiser tickets online for free?
Yes, on Checkout Page's Free plan you can sell tickets up to $3,000 a month in sales without a monthly fee or a per-ticket charge from Checkout Page. Stripe's card fees still apply, at 2.9% + 30¢ on a standard US card. Above $3,000 a month, or if you want volunteers to check guests in, you'd need a paid plan.
