Hobbies And Interests
Toothpick Marshmallow Tower Game
This game is ideal for children age 10 and up and consists of building towers from mini marshmallows and toothpicks. The children can work individually or in groups. Each team or person is handed about twenty marshmallows and fifteen toothpicks, which they must use to build a tower within a set time frame, usually about five minutes. The group or player with the tallest tower wins the game.
Mystery Gift Pass
A gift is wrapped in anywhere from ten to 20 layers of wrapping paper. Between each pair of layers is a small prize or piece of paper with a silly action written on it. It is advised that the prizes be placed under every two to four layers of paper to keep guests interested and excited. The kids sit in a circle and pass the package while an adult plays music. When the music is stopped, whoever is holding the package must remove one layer and collect the prize or complete the action on the paper. Examples of actions may be to sit on an inflated balloon or sing a silly song. The game continues this way until the last layer is unwrapped, and that child wins the main prize. This game is fun for older children, teens and even adults.
What Animal Am I?
Names of various animals are written on name tag stickers. Each child has a sticker placed on the back of their shirt without them seeing it. They must then mingle amongst the crowd and are allowed to ask the other children one question about the animal on their back and that question may only be answered with a “yes” or “no.” Examples of questions are “Do I live on a farm?” or “Do I have bright colors?” After a set time, usually about five minutes, all the kids will have a chance to guess what animals they are. This game works well as an icebreaker.
Foil Fashion
This game works best for "tweens" in the 10 to 12 age group, especially the girls. It can be played with teams or individuals. Each person or group is given one or two rolls of aluminum foil with instructions to use it to create outfits. They can use their imaginations to create dresses, tops, skirts and even accessories like sunglasses, purses and jewelry.
Sponge Relay
All the guests are separated into two teams. Two empty buckets are placed at a designated start line. Another pair of buckets are filled with equal amounts of water and are placed at least 30 feet away from the start line. Each team is given a large sponge. Team members from each team take turns racing to the buckets of water, dipping the sponge and racing back to the empty buckets where they wring the water from the sponge. The first team to empty their bucket of water wins the game.