Here’s a fun way to raise some money for your group that needs it: a blind auction. This can be a load of entertainment for everyone there. Let’s take a look at how something like this works, from start to finish!
First things first, everyone that is attending the auction must bring a wrapped package. It can be festively wrapped, or not, it does not really matter. The idea is to trick everyone into believing that the package is one thing when it really is something entirely different. Whether the gift is serious or humorous is of no concern – that’s what makes it so much more fun for the guessing! Possibilities are wide open with a blind auction; think of all the things that you could shed yourself of, like that multi-colored, impossible to re-gift sweater from Aunt Rita.
Trying such things as put one box inside another box inside another as a form of disguise, or weighing down a gift with a rock is one way to get attendees to try and guess what is in each box—and make a bid based on that. Tease the audience (the guests would love to have an idea of what is inside at least one of the boxes) even if it is a blind auction. How much, and with what to tease the guests will depend entirely on whom is in it and what they are likely to bid.
Having a place to put the unknown gifts is important—and equally vital is the placement of the display for the gifts. Make enough room on the display for plenty of gifts, but at the same time, don’t allow the presentation to seem empty, either. Ensure that each guest has an opportunity to inspect each and gift thoroughly before sitting down to conduct the auction. Should that mean letting the guests poke, prod, and shake? Sure, let them!! It certainly won’t harm anything, will it? Doing so will help to (with luck) drive up the bids on each gift, based purely on speculation of what’s inside the box.
Decide ahead of time, whether or not the blind auction is going to be live, or a silent auction ahead of time. Should the silent auction option be decided upon, then the end results of it can be announced. On the other hand, if a live blind auction is chosen, then the floor can open at that time, and bids begin on whichever package is needed. In order to make sure that the bidding gets off to a lively start, find a couple of gifts that appear expensive, and begin with those.
Of course, bring each up gift-giver up to the auction stand to hold their gift, so that they can be in on the fun as well—bringing a smile to their face is just as important as the bidding itself. You can even assign someone to take pictures with a digital camera and printer, and sell photos of the moment of truth for each package for keepsakes of the fun day. Then, when the bidding is done, let the gift-giver open the box up to see everyone’s reaction. Have fun, and enjoy!
