Whether it's doing a sponsored run or holding a Macmillan coffee morning with your mum, wearing a Pudsey shirt all day or having a bake sale in your gate way – there are plenty of ways to start fundraising for charities that need your help. So what's stopping you?

On Friday, November 13, the nation tuned into one of the biggest fundraising events of the year – Children in Need. People all over the country spent the day taking on crazy challenges and fun activities, all to help other people. Since the first major appeal in 1980, more than £800 million has been raised to help disadvantaged children and young people around the UK.

Fundraising makes a difference. For the first time ever, more people survive cancer than die from it. This is, in part, because of the huge amount of fundraising done for charities like Cancer Research. However, one third of people in the UK will still be affected. So why not help by raising more money for them, or another cause that matters to you?

Five fun ways to fundraise

Sometimes fundraising can feel a little repetitive, so we've picked out five of the funniest ways for you to fundraise:

1 Dress-up or dress down

This is a fun idea that you can do with anyone at your school, college or work. You can dress-up as your childhood hero for the day, wear all your clothes back-to-front, or simply get up in the morning and head out in your pyjamas without even brushing your hair. Everyone pays a little to take part and you can even hold a competition for the wackiest outfit.

2 Who's the baby?

Ask all of your teachers, tutors or work colleagues for a picture of them as a baby, and then get people to pay a little money to match the adult with the baby photo. The person who guesses the most correctly receives a prize.

3 Comedy show

You could organise a comedy show where all of your funny family and friends could take part, and people could pay to enter and also to come and watch it. It's a great way to get everyone laughing for a fun night out.

4 Sponging the teacher

Who wouldn't want to pay to throw sponges at their teachers? Find some fun-loving teachers who don't mind putting their head in the stocks just for an afternoon, and charge people £1 to throw three to five sponges at their teachers. Students love it, and even teachers will have an attempt to have some fun with their colleagues.

5 Dash into the sea

For more than 35 years, the people of Lowestoft and Norfolk have been running to the sea on Christmas Day for charity. Why not get involved this year?

We hope you give one of these a go or they inspire you to think of your own ideas.

Taylor Ball, 13, Gorleston and Alice Wilson, 15, Wymondham