The holiday show has 300 seats. There are 400 families who want to attend. How do you decide who gets in without it turning into a mad dash the moment registration opens, or parents feeling like the process was rigged?
A lottery is the fairest answer — but only if it's run properly. Here's how to do it in a way that families trust and understand.
Why first-come-first-served fails for high-demand events
First-come-first-served sounds fair but isn't. Parents who work flexible schedules or work from home have a significant advantage over parents who are in meetings, driving, or caring for young children at the moment registration opens. It favors the same parents every time and creates a frantic 'refresh and grab' experience that feels chaotic.
A lottery levels the playing field. Everyone who wants tickets has an equal chance, regardless of when during the entry window they submit their request.
The two-phase approach: allocation then lottery
The most effective system for school events works in two phases:
Phase 1: Reserved allocation
Each family gets a guaranteed base allocation — usually 2 tickets. This ensures every student's family can attend. Families have a deadline (typically 2 weeks) to claim their allocated tickets. Unclaimed allocations after the deadline return to the general pool.
Phase 2: Lottery for remaining capacity
After the claim deadline, any unclaimed tickets plus any capacity reserved beyond the base allocation go into a lottery pool. Families can enter the lottery regardless of whether they already claimed their base tickets (if they want additional seats).
The lottery runs at a specific time, winners are notified immediately, and unclaimed lottery winnings return to the pool again for a secondary round if needed.
Setting up the lottery in SignUpSpree
- 1Create a new Ticket Event with your venue capacity
- 2Set tickets per family (e.g., 2) and the claim deadline
- 3Enable the lottery and set the lottery open/close dates
- 4Choose whether lottery entry is free or paid
- 5Publish the event — allocations go out by email automatically
- 6After the claim deadline, run the draw with one click — SignUpSpree uses a Fisher-Yates shuffle for cryptographically fair randomization
- 7Winners receive their tickets automatically by email
Communication is half the job
The lottery only feels fair if families understand how it works before it happens. Send a clear explanation of the process when the event is announced:
- •What the base allocation is and how long families have to claim it
- •What happens to unclaimed tickets
- •How to enter the lottery (and whether it costs anything)
- •When the lottery draw happens and how winners will be notified
- •What to do if they win but later can't attend
Transparency is what makes a lottery feel fair. Even families who don't win the lottery are generally satisfied when they understood the process going in.
Handling transfers after the lottery
Life happens. A lottery winner may later find out they have a conflict. Your ticket transfer policy should be clear from the start. SignUpSpree supports three transfer modes: recipient-must-confirm (safest for the school), instant transfer (family handles it themselves), or admin-only transfers (full control).
SignUpSpree's ticketing system handles the full allocation → claim → lottery → check-in flow automatically.
See ticketing features