All posts in Games

Planning a Halloween Block Party

By Lindsey | September 20, 2011 | Games, Halloween, Holidays and Events | 3 Comments

As a child, we never celebrated Halloween. We closed the door, turned off the light, and had a family night. I grew up knowing the roots of Halloween are not something to be celebrated, and I still agree with that sentiment. As a parent, I might continue in this tradition. However, I’m not just a parent — I’m also a Children’s Ministry Director, and as such, it’s my job to really shine the light of Jesus into the community.

I was listening to Children’s Ministry Talk last year and they advocated having a block party or driveway party with songs, puppets, and maybe a few games. It sounded like a great idea, but a little tough to pull off as far as drawing crowds in. Our church is pretty suburban and doesn’t draw a huge crowd of kids. However, when I found out that one of our congregation members lives in a cul-de-sac that has around 300 kids stop by on Halloween, I figured we had found our solution.

This year, we’re planning a block party. I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous. When we’ve had a party at the church, we’ve gotten 5-10 guests. But meeting 300 new kids and their parents in one night? And trying to plan and pull off a great party (that leaves them talking) with a limited budget? This is going to be a task!

I picked up the latest issue of Oriental Trading’s Faith and Fun catalog to try to gather up some ideas (Bonus, you get a $10 gift card when you spend $59 or more right now!). At first, I thought about some of the craft kits, but with 300 potential participants, that will rack up the cost fast. Here’s a few other things I thought of:

Pin the Leaf on the Tree Game

Using these self-adhesive foam leaves (no tape, less trouble!), kids can try to pin leaves on a tree drawn onto some butcher paper. Mark an “X’ on one of the branches to give the kids something to aim for. At 500 pieces for $8.00, that a pretty good deal! Make several trees ahead of time in case the branches get too crowded.

Leaf Stamps

You could set up craft table, and let the kids stamp with these leaf stamps. Ink pads might be a little pricey, but if you have leftover paint from other projects (washable!), you could have kids dip the stamps in that for a nice leaf place mat or other piece of art. Also at the craft table could be Halloween or Harvest coloring pages from Ministry to Children. I also searched around for some harvest crafts using toilet paper rolls (did I mention I have an abundance of these due to a little mis-communication?). I found some instructions for a kaleidoscope here and here, but it might be a little complicated for this venue. Binoculars might be a thought.

Matching Duck Game

Using these ducks, kids try to match numbers that are preprinted on the bottom. Grab your kiddie pool and this set for $10 and you’ve got a quick and easy festival game!

*Update: Looks like the original set is sold old. Try one of these sets instead.

Classics

They don’t call them classics for nothing! We might also include some of these games: Bobbing for apples, Ring Toss (using pumpkins as the target), Knock over the Can, Limbo, Eat the Dangling Donut, Guess how much candy in the jar, and other things like this. Family Fun magazine usually has some great ideas including this giant Twister game or giant Marbles game. Minute to Win It Games (at stations) might be good too. If you’re on Pinterest, you can grab some great ideas there too (maybe I’ll post on this later!)

Decorations

You won’t need too much — the activity will draw a crowd, but throwing some of these Jesus balloons around can’t hurt!

Prizes

Of course, you need some kind of prizes for the kids to take home. Candy is an obvious choice (I’d order from here). I also spotted these cool Bible verse coins:

They are $5 for 144 pieces, so it might not be too bad, and the kids would have some Scripture to take home, not just sugar. They also have “He Lives” coins, and Kindness coins if you’re looking for a little variety (same price).

Your Ideas Are Welcome!

What are you planning this year? I’d love to hear about it!

3 Games from Family Fun Magazine

By Lindsey | September 5, 2011 | Games | 10 Comments

While browsing through this month’s edition of Family Fun, I spotted a few fun relay that would be perfect for Children’s Ministry. You can check them out on their website:

Wacky Waiter: A fun relay using paper plates and a ping pong ball
Sneaker Scramble: The kids in our ministry are always taking their shoes off — why not make it a game?
Grab Bag: Get the camera ready!

You can often snag a whole year’s subscription for #3.89 at Best Deal Magazines with a coupon code. I’ll let you know when I see it available again. As it is, I think I have 6 years already. They’ve got great ideas!

Have you stumbled across a great idea? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Back to School Bash!

By Lindsey | August 22, 2011 | Games, Holidays and Events, Ministry Ideas: Lessons and Programs | 8 Comments

It’s that time of year again! Backpacks are flying off the shelves, carts are being filled with crayons, kids are squeezing in last minute trips to amusement parks and swimming pools. It’s coming! Back to School! Of course, any change in the season like this is a great excuse to have a celebration. (It’s also a great time to stock up on your kidmin supplies. I recently picked up an off-brand of crayons at Wal-mart for 19 cents for a 24 -pack box, and K-mart has Crayola 24-packs on sale this week for 25 cents!)

So, what do you have planned for your Children’s Ministry Back to School Bash?

Last year, we did a Minute to Win It theme for our party (here’s some more back-to-school party ideas), but sometimes the kids watching the games get restless, so we thought we’d try something new this year. Check out the schedule below:

Crayon Hide & Seek

Take 5-10 crayons and hide them around a large room or gymnasium. Let the kids run around, searching for the crayons. Whoever finds the crayon hides it next. Non crayon-hiding-kids stay in a side classroom while crayons are being hidden (again). Repeat until kids whine that they are bored. :)

Friend Scavenger Hunt

Using this form, have kids get to know their friends and leaders a bit better.

Tower Builder

Using various school supplies and recycled materials (toilet paper rolls, water bottles, pop cans, etc), have kids work in groups to build a tower. Appoint three leaders as judges and have them declare a winner in the following categories: height, creativity, and beauty.

Lesson: Armor of God

Are the kids in your ministry ready for the spiritual battle that awaits them in school? They better suit up properly with the Armor found in Ephesians 6! Check out the complete lesson here.

Classic Playground Games: Get ready for recess with these fun games!

15 Seconds of Fame: Check instructions here
Jump the Trap: Get instructions here
Sidewalk Chalk: Let the kids loose in the parking lot! (May be a good idea to cone off an area so cars can’t get through)

Extreme Game: Try the Piñaqua: Directions here

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Minute to Win It: Million Dollar Redemption

By Lindsey | June 8, 2011 | Games, Minute to Win It | 1 Comment

In this episode of NBC’s hit game show “Minute to Win It” (Season 2, Episode 30), former contestant Heather gets a second chance at the million. I wasn’t able to catch the first half of this 2-part special, so these games will be a bit harder than usual. Use them for adults or your youth group!

Level 5 Challenge: On the Hook

In this game, contestant must hold a chopstick in their mouth, attached to a string and open paper clip. She has to fish 4 keys of a stand (or stool) in front of her. Heather got a bonus 10 seconds for this game, and it’s good thing too — she finished with just 4 seconds of her 70 seconds to spare!

Level 6 Challenge: Laying Track

In this game, contestant must use staples, flipped upside down to build a track for a marble on a tilted table. The track must go over 3 pairs of erasers and drop into a glass at the end of the table. The lady nailed this one for $75,000!

Level 7: Caddy Stack

Heather is starting to get pretty worked up, but she feels confident about this game. For the next level, she has to stack three golf balls and they have to stay for 3 seconds. Sounds easy right? Go ahead, try it at home! She nailed it quick. Way to earn $125,000! Now, will she go on?

Level 8: Mag-Nutstacker

Of course she will! This classic nutstacker game gets spiced up a bit at this level. Contestant must alternate stacking nuts and magnets with a chopstick. The whole pile must be then moved to a different table before winning a quarter of a million dollars! And she does it again! Amazing! With $250,000 in the bank, of course she’s moving on!

Level 9: Get Forked

In this nearly impossible task, contest must roll a quarter 15 feet towards a fork. The object is to get the coin catch a coin in the prongs of a fork. This tough task did Heather in, but she still walked away with quite a wallet-full.

That’s it for now!

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Minute to Win It: The Family that Plays Together

By Lindsey | May 31, 2011 | Games, Minute to Win It | 3 Comments

What a family! In this unique episode of Minute to Win It, the whole Canter family (mom, dad, and four daughters!) compete for the million. Here’s some games that might be good for your family or kids ministry (lot of classic games in this episode):

Knock It Off: Click on the title to watch a video about this one. I’ve always thought this game was ridiculously hard (especially for a level two!), but this 12 year old girl nailed it in 30 seconds, so it might be worth a shot!

Speed Eraser: For this level three game, contestants must bounce 10 pencils on their eraser to get them to land in 10 glasses lined up along a table. It is played as a team, so each contestant has to land 5 pencils each.

Spoon Frog: Similar to Speed Eraser, check out the video below for instructions:

Nutstacker: Using a chopstick, a contestant must stack 10 bolts on top of each other without making the tower tip over.

Cantagious: For $125,000, contestant start with three full cans of soda in the right hand and three empty cans in the left. They must switch all the cans so they end up with the three full cans in the left and empty in the right. They cannot use the body for leverage or set down any cans. Much harder than it sounds! On Youtube, I saw a kid use mini-soda cans. Might be worth a try!

That’s it for now! Catch you next week for more Minute to Win it games! If you’ve got some great ideas for outdoor Minute to Win it games — great for summer fun, let me know!

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Minute to Win It: Million Dollar Bromance

By Lindsey | May 16, 2011 | Games, Minute to Win It | 6 Comments

Welcome to another edition of Monday Minute to Win It, where you can find great games for your Children or Youth ministry or for a Family fun event. Thanks for stopping by!

This Blows

Player blows up a balloon and then uses the escaping air (letting the balloon deflate) to blow 15 plastic cups off the table. Simple enough, but you might want to reduce the number of cups or your kids will get a headache fast! Or you could place the cups closer to the edge of the table like in this video:

Marbles Grande

Super-sized marbles game. Players must use white ping pong balls to knock red ones out of a hula hoop 5 feet away. This is level two round game, so they only have to knock out 4 red ones. You could increase or decrease the balls inside the hoop to fit any skill or level.

Kick Off

Neither contestant looked happy about this game. Players must kick cans positioned in a circle around a metal tub/basin. Cans look to be about 4 feet around the basin. For round three, players must make 2 cans go into the basin. It must be harder than it sounds, but certainly worth a shot. For some messy play outside, make them cans full of soda!

Floatacious

Check out the video for full instructions on this one:

This was a level one game, and the contestants already lost a life. Might be a little too tough with 5 cans with kids. Three should be totally do-able though.

Puddle Jumper

In this level two game, contestants must cause a ping pong ball to jump from one cup filled with water to another cup filled with water about 4 inches away. They must do this three times.

That’s it for now! Let me know how you’re using these games!

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