Planning a school Christmas dinner that won’t break the bank
Christmas is a magical time for schools – full of fun festivities to get the kids excited. However, it can be a costly time for the school’s budget, so here’s a couple of quick ways you can save money on this year’s school Christmas dinner.
The school Christmas dinner is an opportunity to make joyful memories by bringing your pupils together in the spirit of giving and inclusiveness.
Left un-checked, school Christmas dinner costs can quickly spiral out of control. But, with the right tools and a little imagination, you can organise a school Christmas dinner that won’t break the bank.
School Christmas dinner invitations
Sending out physical invitations to every pupil and administering RSVPs would be a costly exercise in terms of both time and money.
A more efficient option would be to communicate with all parents simultaneously using a mass email that includes the option of confirming attendance digitally.
Better still, if your school uses tablet devices (such as iPads) and a dedicated VLE, you can post the invitation on the software’s noticeboard and send out a digital notification to all parents.
Decorations and gifts
It wouldn’t feel like Christmas without decorations and gifts. But, you’ll need to get creative in order to keep costs down.
One option is to blend gift giving with your creative classes. Pupils could be tasked with making artistic gifts for one another, or even given scope to design trinkets to be made using a 3D printer.
LED lighting can help your school make savings all year round. If you want to decorate your school hall with lights for Christmas, choose an LED option to keep your utility bills to a minimum.
School catering
Catering for hundreds of pupils is a challenge on any given day, let alone at Christmas.
A cafeteria with modern, professional cookers will help catering staff manage on the big day. Specialist cooking equipment can make it easier to cook a healthy Christmas lunch, and reduce the amount you spend on gas or electricity.
If you’re intending to purchase the food well in advance and store it in the run up to Christmas, you’ll also need to make sure you’ve got sufficient refrigeration capacity.
Washing up
School Christmas dinners can create a mountain of washing up. And, if you’re intending on splitting the dinner into multiple sittings, you’ll need to get that cutlery and crockery washed fast.
A robust dishwasher with enough capacity to wash an extensive amount of pots, pans and plates simultaneously can get on with the job in the background, freeing up your school catering staff to spend more time on food preparation.
Heating water is one of the most energy intensive processes around. So, a new dishwasher with a good energy rating can help you save a significant amount on electricity bills at Christmas, and throughout the year.
By integrating these ideas into your school Christmas dinner planning process, and coming up with a few extras to personalise the event for your institution, you can hold an unforgettable event while keeping your expenditure to a minimum.
Contact the expert Utility Rentals team to find out how you can integrate new technology into your school on flexible rental agreements that help to spread costs over time.
