Want a chance to win an Apple iPad 2 and cover? This prize, partially donated by the Clinton PTA Executive Board will be raffled off the night of our 9th Annual Tricky Tray and Auction on Saturday, February 11th.

However, you do not need to be at the Tricky Tray to buy a ticket (or win). You can purchase tickets before and after school on Monday and Friday of this week. The attached flyer has all the details.

You can also buy tickets the night of the Tricky Tray and the winner will be announced there.

Tickets are $10 each and the total value of this prize is $638.

Buy your tickets!!!! And see this flyer for details on where to buy them before and after school on Monday and Friday:

The 9th Annual Tricky Tray and Auction is right around the corner. We are busy wrapping and cataloging prizes and need all prizes in by the end of this week in order to get them in the program. You can contact Cecelia to arrange drop-off or pick-up and you can even leave the prizes with Ms. Budhu or Ms. Robinson in the main office who will keep them safely. We will be checking in with them every other day.

We have awesome prizes and we will soon start to send some sneak preview emails featuring some of our amazing silent auction and live auction prizes (which include tickets to both The Letterman Show and The Daily Show and an awesome Pig Roast for you and all you friends). We will also give you a sneak preview of the great dinners that will be auctioned off with instructions about how that part of the evening works.

If you haven’t made your reservation yet, you can find the form here.

And remember, if you have a party of ten we will reserve a table.

We are looking forward to a fun and successful evening! Clinton is the only elementary school that has an auction every single year (we are over-achievers), and each year it gets better and better.

We are entering the home stretch. The 9th Annual Tricky Tray and Auction is less than one month away.

If you have prizes to deliver, please contact Cecelia.

Don’t forget to send in your reservation form to reserve a spot. Forms went home in backpacks this week and can also be found on our website.

ALSO, PLEASE CONSIDERING HOSTING ONE OF THE WONDERFUL DINNERS WE AUCTION OFF AT TRICKY TRAY. SEE DETAILS BELOW:

These dinners raise a good deal of money for Clinton School and they are always incredibly fun and a great way to get to know other Clinton families.

Here is how it works: You come up with a dinner idea, tell us the number of guests you can have, choose a date, and write up a description. We will then auction off seats to your dinner party during our Live Auction.

If you are willing to host a dinner, please contact Cecelia Cancellaro as soon as possible. We are pasting in some descriptions of past years’ dinners below to give you a sense of what they entail.

We would like to have our list of dinners finalized by January 17th, so please get in touch soon.

Here is a list of last year’s amazing dinner parties:

Dinner Party #1: A Fabulous Italian Feast on Saturday. Hosted by Jackie LaFalce Lahey and Scott Lahey, this authentic Old-World dinner featuring a menu based on Grandma’s mouthwatering recipes, will include an antipasto platter, meatballs and sausage, pasta, and Italian pastries, with accompanying wines. Salud! 10 guests (must be at least 21 years old). Opening bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #2: North Carolina Style Barbecue Feast Hosted by the Janay family, Owners of “Woody’s Pig Roasts”, this North Carolina style barbecue feast will celebrate the great culinary offerings of the Old North State. Menu items include pulled pork, baby back ribs, beef brisket, and chicken, along with traditional barbecue sides. Come hungry and be ready to take home leftovers. 8 guests (adults only). Opening bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #3: An Elegant Cocktail Party, Saturday, hosted by Principal Patty O’Neill and Leah Gomberg. Wear cocktail attire to this elegant affair which will take place at the home of Leah and David Gomberg. Gourmet hors d’oeuvres and delectable desserts will be paired with wines chosen by Clinton parent and sommelier Scott Lahey. Tunes will be spun by Clinton parent and DJ Jeremy Moss. 10 guests (adults only). Opening bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #4: Traditional Seven-Fish Italian Christmas Eve-Style Dinner. Join Liz and Don Salituri at their home for an amazing menu of Italian holiday dishes, including cold seafood salad, mussels in garlic white wine sauce, clams oreganata, shrimp scampi, cod mariechara, and grilled salmon. And wine of course. 10 Guests (adults only). Opening Bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #5: Traditional Puerto Rican Dinner, hosted by Rose Rios and Bob Leto. Puerto Rican cuisine is similar to both Spanish, Cuban and Mexican cuisine, but with a unique tasty blend of Spanish, African, Taíno, and American influences. Come enjoy the labors of a true “cocina criolla” in Maplewood. Menu includes tasty appetizers of empanadas made of garlic and lime infused chicken as well as seared tuna on plantains with a micro cilantro salad and chipotle vinaigrette. Main course will consist of seafood paella and a traditional “lechon” (whole pig). Side dishes will include sweet plantains, and white rice with home grown pigeon peas straight from my uncle’s back yard in Puerto Rico. Avocado and “yuatia” salad with olive oil and caper dressing will also be served. Dessert will be a real island delight of caramel flan and guava bread pudding. We’ll also have a sangria fountain. (My white passion fruit sangria recipe is four generations old and is only handed down from mother to daughter!) Buen Provecho! 10 guests (adults only) Opening bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #6: A Belizean Dinner. Bring your appetite to the home of Rosanna and Dermal McCrear and enjoy the delicious cuisine of Belize. Menu items include panades, garanaces, relleno, ducunu, potato pone, coconut tart and Belikin Beer directly from Belize. 8 guests (adults only) Opening bid: $25 per seat

Paper forms will go home in backpacks early this week but you don’t have to wait to make your Tricky Tray reservation. Click here for the flyer and form.

As always, we will reserve a table for you if you send reservations and payment for ten people. Otherwise there will be plenty of tables with open seating. We do need you to reserve in advance, however, so we know how many tables and chairs we’ll need etc.

This is our 9th Annual Tricky Tray and Auction and it will be held on Saturday, February 11th from 6 pm to 10:30 pm at St. Joseph’s Church in Maplewood.

It is our biggest fundraiser of the year, by far, and it’s also great fun. Please join us.

If you have questions about reservations, please contact Karen Betheil at kbetheil@verizon.net

All details on flyer.

We are getting very close to our 9th Annual Tricky Tray and Auction. Reservation forms will be going home early this week and will also be posted on our website.

Please keep the prizes coming. We have many great ones, but need more!

We are also in the process of putting together our very popular Live Auction Dinner Party prizes. Would you be interested in hosting one this year? These dinners raise a good deal of money for Clinton School and they are always incredibly fun.

Here is how it works: You come up with a dinner idea, tell us the number of guests you can have, choose a date, and write up a description. We will then auction off seats to your dinner party during our Live Auction.

If you are willing to host a dinner, please contact Cecelia Cancellaro at ccancellaro@verizon.net as soon as possible. We are pasting in some descriptions of past years’ dinners below to give you a sense of what they entail.

We would like to have our list of dinners finalized by January 17th, so please get in touch soon.

Here is a list of last year’s amazing dinner parties:

Dinner Party #1: A Fabulous Italian Feast on Saturday. Hosted by Jackie LaFalce Lahey and Scott Lahey, this authentic Old-World dinner featuring a menu based on Grandma’s mouthwatering recipes, will include an antipasto platter, meatballs and sausage, pasta, and Italian pastries, with accompanying wines. Salud! 10 guests (must be at least 21 years old). Opening bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #2: North Carolina Style Barbecue Feast Hosted by the Janay family, Owners of “Woody’s Pig Roasts”, this North Carolina style barbecue feast will celebrate the great culinary offerings of the Old North State. Menu items include pulled pork, baby back ribs, beef brisket, and chicken, along with traditional barbecue sides. Come hungry and be ready to take home leftovers. 8 guests (adults only). Opening bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #3: An Elegant Cocktail Party, Saturday, hosted by Principal Patty O’Neill and Leah Gomberg. Wear cocktail attire to this elegant affair which will take place at the home of Leah and David Gomberg. Gourmet hors d’oeuvres and delectable desserts will be paired with wines chosen by Clinton parent and sommelier Scott Lahey. Tunes will be spun by Clinton parent and DJ Jeremy Moss. 10 guests (adults only). Opening bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #4: Traditional Seven-Fish Italian Christmas Eve-Style Dinner. Join Liz and Don Salituri at their home for an amazing menu of Italian holiday dishes, including cold seafood salad, mussels in garlic white wine sauce, clams oreganata, shrimp scampi, cod mariechara, and grilled salmon. And wine of course. 10 Guests (adults only). Opening Bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #5: Traditional Puerto Rican Dinner, hosted by Rose Rios and Bob Leto. Puerto Rican cuisine is similar to both Spanish, Cuban and Mexican cuisine, but with a unique tasty blend of Spanish, African, Taíno, and American influences. Come enjoy the labors of a true “cocina criolla” in Maplewood. Menu includes tasty appetizers of empanadas made of garlic and lime infused chicken as well as seared tuna on plantains with a micro cilantro salad and chipotle vinaigrette. Main course will consist of seafood paella and a traditional “lechon” (whole pig). Side dishes will include sweet plantains, and white rice with home grown pigeon peas straight from my uncle’s back yard in Puerto Rico. Avocado and “yuatia” salad with olive oil and caper dressing will also be served. Dessert will be a real island delight of caramel flan and guava bread pudding. We’ll also have a sangria fountain. (My white passion fruit sangria recipe is four generations old and is only handed down from mother to daughter!) Buen Provecho! 10 guests (adults only) Opening bid: $25 per seat

Dinner Party #6: A Belizean Dinner. Bring your appetite to the home of Rosanna and Dermal McCrear and enjoy the delicious cuisine of Belize. Menu items include panades, garanaces, relleno, ducunu, potato pone, coconut tart and Belikin Beer directly from Belize. 8 guests (adults only) Opening bid: $25 per seat

As you know, our 9th Annual Tricky Tray and Auction will be held on Saturday evening, February 11th at the hall in St. Joseph’s Church in Maplewood. Please mark your calendar and save the date. You won’t want to miss this incredibly fun event. Reservation forms will be sent out in early January.

WE ARE NOW COLLECTING PRIZES AND WE NEED YOUR HELP

Please keep us in mind in the wake of all the holidays. Perhaps you got a double of something, or just got something that really isn’t your style… We can use it!

And please remember to let us know if you have services to donate or if you work for a company that might be able to donate an item. If there is a restaurant you frequent, perhaps you can ask them for a gift card donation. If you need our official letter, just let us know and we’ll email it to you.

We have some AWESOME prizes already including tickets for Late Night with David Letterman, tickets for The Daily Show, a Kindle Fire, Walt Disney Park Hopper Passes, and a Woody’s Pig Roast for up to 30 people!

We still need much, much more though so please let us know if you can help. We’d like to have all prizes in hand by mid-January.

Contact Cecelia Cancellaro (ccancellaro@verizon.net/973-763-1730) if you have a prize to donate or if you want to help us put together this event.