Phantasms for the school's Santa fair - what can you make yourself at home?

Although there is still a long way to go before Christmas, preparations are slowly beginning. And although it may come as a surprise to some, the end of October and November is the best time to start some of the preparations - those working in marketing and e-commerce are well aware of this, but teachers and parents involved in organising school events are also well aware of this. One such event is the school's charity Santa fair, where children sell various items and donate the money raised to a good cause. The Christmas period is full of charity events - a great time for us all to get into the festive spirit in the best possible way and for the children to learn to do good while having fun at the same time. Depending on the arrangements, you can prepare various gifts for the school's Christmas market - here are some suggestions as to what will be in great demand and will raise a lot of money for your children.

Self-baked treats for the school's Santa Claus fair

Self-prepared treats are the first idea for fancies that can be sold at the school's Santa Claus fair. The best option would be to bake a variety of cakes and cupcakes, including a Christmas version:

• Christmas gingerbread - this is a good idea as the older the gingerbread the better, and guests at the Christmas market who buy the gingerbread will have their Christmas sweets ready to go.
• Spicy cookies in festive shapes - all you need are a few cookie cutters in the shape of a bell, Christmas tree, snowman and Santa Claus, and together you will create beautiful and delicious spicy cookies
• Carrot cake cupcakes - a delicious and healthy snack will be a hit

Christmas decorations and ornaments for the school's charity Santa fair

Since the school's charity fair is being done for Santa Claus, it's worth taking advantage of this and, as part of the fanfare, make reeds and Christmas decorations that shoppers will enjoy buying over the next month. These could include:

• Christmas tree branches, conifers and, optionally, pieces of wood - to hang or place on the Christmas table
• candle holders made from jars or glasses, decorated in festive style
• Christmas tree decorations - chains, baubles, ornaments in various shapes or stars for the top of the tree
• Christmas candles - you will need: wax (e.g. soy wax), wick (wooden, cotton), essential oils, optional decorative elements (such as coffee beans) and, of course, a candle container (glass or polymeric gypsum)

How to make a polymer plaster candle for your school's Santa fair?

We, of course, encourage you to make the candle from start to finish yourself, i.e. from plaster. You will need silicone mould - In this case, you can successfully use a ready-made mold-cup. You can also prepare your own mould in a festive shape - a bauble, a Christmas tree, a present, bearing in mind that it must be a shape that allows the candle to stand steadily (read the How to make a silicone casting company?). Also prepare plaster, a stirrer, dyes (or paints if you plan to paint the finished cast), clear varnish for polymer plaster, a bowl for preparing the casting compound and painter's foil, cardboard or other protection for the table.

Once you have the mould ready, prepare the mixture. polymer gypsum calculator will allow you to calculate the correct proportions of gypsum, water and pigments. Remember to always pour the gypsum into the water, not the other way round. When pouring in the powder, mix thoroughly, taking care not to form lumps. Then add the dye and pour the mixture into the mould, making sure that it fills every part of the mould. Finally shake the mould to get rid of any air bubbles (read How to avoid unsightly holes in a plaster cast?). Leave the casting prepared in this way for 24 hours, and then - after taking out the candle container - varnish it to protect the whole thing from wax leakage (read the Polymer plaster candle containers - how to prevent wax leakage?).

After a further 24 hours, you can proceed to the final step of making the candle. Start by gluing the wick to the bottom of the container. Then, once the glue has set, prepare a water bath for the wax, of course after measuring the amount needed (twice the amount of flakes per container). The wax must reach a temperature of at least 65^oC. Next, you need to mix the essential oil thoroughly with the melted wax - for 100 g of wax, you will need 6 g of oil - or 3 g of two, or 2 g of three different fragrance oils. Pour this already scented wax over the candle, holding the wick with tongs (e.g. sushi sticks), and once the candle is poured, place the sticks on the edge of the candle to further hold the wick. The soy wax should set for about 48 hours at room temperature.

You can see for yourself that you have to start preparing the candles for the school Christmas market well in advance - a week is the optimum time to get everything done in time for the school Christmas market without any stress. Good luck!