Hobbies And Interests
Icebreaker Games
Write each letter of the alphabet vertically down a sheet of paper and give one sheet to each player. When you say "Mingle," the player must walk around talking with other players, while getting to know each other. The object of the game is for the players to find out something about each other and write it down for each letter. For example, for the letters "A," "B" and "C," a player could say, "Abbey's aunt is a dentist," "Donny broke a bone last year" and "Marissa play the clarinet." The player who finds the most facts in five minutes wins the game. For a variation, write numbers 1 through 30 down the paper. Players must find other players who have that birth date, are that age or have that many brothers and sisters.
Active Games
Have all youth players stand in a circle, facing the back of the player in front of him. When you say "Sit," players must sit on the knees of the player behind him. After practicing, split youths into two teams and see who can complete this activity in the fastest amount of time. For a harder version, the youth must walk a complete circle while sitting on the knees of the player behind him. If the circle breaks or someone falls, the team must start over.
Messy Games
Take everyone outdoors for some messy games. Have each player select a partner. One partner sits in a chair; the other partner stands 5 feet away. Cover the face of each player sitting in a chair with shaving cream. Give the player goggles to make sure it does not get in her eyes. Partners must try to toss miniature marshmallows at their partner's face and get the marshmallows to stick to the shaving cream. The player who sticks the most marshmallows to her partner's face in two minutes wins. For another messy game, place 10 marshmallows on a plate and cover them with whipped cream. Players must place their hands behind their back. The first player to eat all of the marshmallows wins.
Balloon Games
Place two to three magnetic alphabet letters in inflated balloons. Put all of the balloons in the middle of the room. When you say "Go," each player grabs two balloons and pops them to remove the letters. Players have two minutes to come up with the longest word they can, using the letters they found in the balloon. For another version, say "three-letter word," the first player to come up with a three-letter word using the magnetic letters wins. You can also say, "two-letter word" or "four-letter word." If you have enough balloons, allow each player to take three or four balloons.