Every year MacMillan asks the nation to host a coffee morning, with the proceeds helping to fund research for cancer. This year, the suggested date is Friday 26th September, which isn't far away at all! I've been put in charge of hosting one this year, so I thought I would share with you some vital information and how-to's to make things just that little bit easier!

1. Firstly, head on over to the MacMillan website and request one of their Coffee Morning Packs. Honestly, they're great! They're filled with information, decorations and goodies to help you with your party! As well as ordering a pack, you can also download some printables and order plates and cuttlery from their shop!

 

2. Decide on a date. Although the adverts all say 27th September, you can hold the coffee morning whenever you want! For example, I work during the week so I'll be holding mine on the first weekend of October.

3. Pick a venue. The venue depends on how many people you are expecting and vice versa. You don't want to open up your house to a million strangers - and you don't want to go to the effort of hiring a hall for a small group of your close friends!

 

One thing that you definitely DO need to bare in mind is that if you are hiring a hall, you need to make sure you can cover the cost of it first, or sweet-talk them into a negotiation. Otherwise you'll have spent everything you've earned on the venue and have no money left to go to the charity!

4. Think of some other fun fund-raising ideas! Aside from selling cakes, what else can you do in order to raise money? How about a bring-and-buy book sale? A 'guess how many coffee beans in the jar' game? A raffle? A 'guess the weight of the cake' stall? A sponsored read? There are tons of different ideas - the weirder the better!

5. Invite your guests! These could be handwritten invites or emailed invites. Maybe you could put up poster in your workplace? You can make your coffee morning a 'public event' by advertising it on the MacMillan website too!

6. Encourage your guests to contribute. You can't be expected to make or buy all the cakes yourself! Ask them to pitch in. You'll feel better for it and you'll have lots of different flavours to try. It doesn't have to be cake, you could ask your guests to bring drink or other nibbles - or even to help serve coffee! Celebrities' recipes can be found online for you to try too.

7. Decorate your venue. The pack contains lots of different decorations such as balloons, bunting and posters. Maybe you could encourage your guests to all wear green? Be creative. Just remember to make sure there is enough seating and tables for everyone - they will be more comfortable and are likely to stay longer!

 

8. Have fun! You're contributing to a good cause so smile and enjoy it. (But don't forget to tidy up afterwards!)

 

Once you're done, remember to pay your money in!

 

If you can't hold an event of your own, find out if there's one near you.

 

If you can't attend a coffee morning near you, you can still donate!
Just text 'Cake' to 70555   

(1 text = £5)