Fill up a jar full of your favorite candy such as M&M’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Tootsie Rolls or any small loose candy. Count the number of candy contained in the jar and have bake sale patrons guess that magic number. This makes an easy way to collect lots of donations from all attendees.

You can use these pre-printed candy guessing game cards from Amazon for the guesses and collect into a basket. You can count the number of candy before or after putting it in the jar and have one event organizer know the secret winning number. This functions like a prize raffle and bake sale game all in one. The prize for the correct guess is the jar of candy itself. Or you may give out a different prize to the winner if you prefer. You can ask for a $1 donation per guess or let the patron decide. Be clear about the rules, is it the closest guess without going over – Price is Right style or can the winner just be the closest to the total? You may want to have a back up prize in case of two winners, but if you put an odd amount in the container you shouldn’t have two people guess too closely.

Glass jars like mason jars make a great container for the game because you can easily see the candy inside and you can dress up the jar for a nice looking prize. Use plastic gloves if counting candy without a paper wrapper for safe handling.

You can also use seasonal candy for holiday events such as candy corn. Or fill the jar up with very small items like beans or rice and have a real challenge guessing the number and also counting the number to figure out the winner.

If the winner will be chosen after the event is over have bake sale participants write a contact phone or email on the back of the guessing game entry so they can be contacted at a later time to collect their prize. This is an easy way for people to donate without having to buy sweet treats from the bake sale, especially if you start to run out of food toward the end of the event.