All posts tagged Fall Fest

Fall Festival Game Ideas

By | September 24, 2011 | Halloween, Ministry Ideas | 4 Comments
Flickr by mksfly

I love Pinterest.  Well, I love the idea of Pinterest.  I like bookmarking things and keeping collections of things I love.  I “pin” a lot of things, and then quickly forget about them and never look at my Pin page again (I’m not even sure how to directly access it!).  At any rate, I thought I’d actually use this fabulous site for something useful — finding great games for a Halloween Block Party or some other Fall Festival you’ll be holding at church. Check out the list of games and needed supplies below.

Toddler Skeeball: diaper box, empty yogurt containers, small balls, printer (might want to cover box with butcher paper)

Oscar’s Trash Can Toss: metal bucket, picture of Oscar the grouch, some crumpled paper wads.  Click on the game title and scroll down for a picture.

Super Hero Bean Bag Toss: Tall piece of cardboard, paint, bean bags.  All I could find was a picture, so you’ll have to wing it on this one!

Ball Toss and Quarterback Test: Laundry basket, whiffleballs, football, hoola hoop

Another Bean Bag Toss: Pumpkins: I don’ think this needs explaining.  :)  (Though, full instructions are here)

Star Seeker: Recruit some handy men to build this fun game!

Penny Pitch Game: You’ll need large Sheet of Foam Core or Wood, Paint or Polka Dot Tablecloth/Wrapping Paper, Duct Tape, Buckets, Dustpan and Broom, Pouch, A lot of Pennies

Can Toss: Kids either rack up a certain number of points or aim for a certain can — you decide!  You’ll need some old cans covered with orange construction paper or other fall colors with numbers written on the outside.  Check out the website for a sample picture.

Pass the Pumpkin: You’ll need a pumpkin and a place for kids to sit down.  Have the children sit in a circle. Start music and have them pass a small pumpkin around the circle. When the music stops, the one that is caught with the pumpkin is out. Continue to you have a winner.

Fall Themed Bingo: Make a card similar to this, but no witchy stuff.  Kids seem to love this game! Plus the cards are reusable if you cover them with poker chips or something similar (pennies maybe?).

Pumpkin Paper Plates: Here’s a cute craft made with orange paper plates.  The threading of the yarn would make it a longer project for older kids.  Looks like you also need a hole puncher, some construction paper, and a craft stick.   These can also be constructed as noise makers — check out the full instructions here.

 

A few more I thought of along the way: 

What Is It: Take close up pictures of every day items and then glue them to a poster board.  Try to have kids guess what the objects are.  If they can guess 3 correctly, they get a prize.

Candy Corn Toss: Toss Candy corn into pumpkins or buckets.  Have starting lines marked for different ages and set a goal amount — like 3 successful tosses gets you a piece of candy.  You could also use beads or pennies so people wouldn’t eat all the game pieces!

What about you?

What games have you found to be a real hit at the Fall Fest?

 

 

Planning a Halloween Block Party

By | September 20, 2011 | Games, Halloween, Holidays and Events | 3 Comments
Flickr by David, DeeGee, & Sarah-Lauren

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!

More Halloween Posts:

Who Do We Think We’re Fooling?

Do Not Fear Puppet Skit

Ten on Tuesday: Halloween

Princess and Warrior Party

Halloween Alternatives

Pumpkin and Pajama Party!

Halloween: What Are You Planning?

By | September 18, 2011 | Halloween, Holidays and Events | 2 Comments
Flickr by hjl

It’s a controversial holiday.   I still haven’t quite decided where I land on the whole issue, and it’s only complicated by the fact that now I have my own children to think about!  What about your ministry?  What are planning this year?

For this Halloween, we're planning:

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Who Do We Think We’re Fooling?

By | November 3, 2010 | Halloween, Holidays and Events | 3 Comments
Flickr by mufan96

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about Halloween this year.  Perhaps because I now have my own little rug-rat who will be asking about costumes and candy in a few short years.  Perhaps because I’ve been focusing a bit more on outreach lately.  At any rate, I was reading a post on Stuff Christians Like about the “Hybrid Halloween“.  Jon writes:

It’s not Halloween, it’s not. Is it held in October? Yes. Do kids get candy? Yes. Do kids dress up? Yes. Are there pumpkins involved? Yes. But it’s not Halloween, it’s a “Fall Festival.”

This is pretty much where our church is.  We provide a “Halloween Alternative” (not actually on Halloween, mind you, because the survey we passed out to church members reported that no one would actually skip trick-or-treating to come to the party).  We did the costumes, the fall games, and passed out loads of candy.   Then we condemned anyone who participated in Halloween outside the church. I always thought this might be confusing to unchurched people.   Heck, it’s a bit confusing to me.

This thought was confirmed last Friday when I was talking to one of the day care moms.  She told me about a time she was basically sentenced to hell by a co-worker because she was taking her four year old out trick-or-treating.  She heard the lecture about the evils of the holiday and then was kindly handed a flyer for the co-worker’s church Fall Fest.

Susan (daycare mom) asked: Oh, do they dress up here?

Co-worker:  Of course, and we pass out candy too!

Susan: So, it’s exactly like Halloween, just inside a church?

Co-worker:  No!  It’s nothing like Halloween.  It’s a Fall Fest!

All I could do was shake my head and agree.  I’m still not sure what to think about the whole Hybrid Halloween phenomenon.  I think our church will always do a “Fall Fest”. Our Pumpkin and Pajama party is scheduled for tonight, in fact.  However, I also chose to pass out candy (and flyers for the party) this year to the trick-or-treaters who came to our house.  I guess that’s a balance.  For now, I’ll put it on the shelf and wrestle again with it next year!

Don’t condemn.  Try this instead:

Garage Party

Halloween Outreach Ideas from Children’s Ministry Talk

Do Not Fear Puppet Skit

By | October 31, 2010 | Elementary Age, Halloween, Holidays and Events, Preschoolers, Preteens | 3 Comments

Here’s a Halloween puppet skit I created for our upcoming Pumpkin and Pajama party.  For a printer friendly version, click here.

Scaredy-cat Scarecrow

Flickr by architekt2

A puppet skit about fear and the God who can overcome it.

Sam: Hey kids!  My name is Sam the Scarecrow.  {Jumps and looks behind him}  What was that?  Did you guys hear something?

Leader: I didn’t hear anything.  Did you kids?

Sam:  {Relaxes} Oh, okay.  I just thought… wait!  Who’s that?

Leader:  That’s just one of our leaders for tonight.  Perfectly safe.

Sam: Right.  Of course.  I’m just being silly.

Leader: You seem pretty nervous Sam.  Is there something you’d like to talk about?

Sam: Well, it’s a little embarrassing.  I mean… I’m supposed to be tough.  I’m a scarecrow.  I’m supposed to scare other things.. you know, keep them out of the garden…crows, rabbits, you know the whole thing… but it seems like I’m scared of everything.  Especially…. Well…

Leader:  Especially what?

Sam:  Well, it seems like during this time of year, there’s a lot more to be scared about.

Leader:  Hmm… could you tell us a little more?

Sam: The decorations in the stores – skeletons, ghosts, spiders, and other gross stuff

Leader:  I see what you mean

Sam:  And the stuff on TV… scary stuff.

Leader:  I think I know what you’re talking about

Sam:  And sometimes even the kids at school.  Of course, I don’t go to school – I’m a scarecrow!  But this last week, I saw some kids walking around outside (from my spot in the yard). I think they were on their way home from school.. and they were dressed up… and I have to tell you… a couple of the kids did not look too pretty.

Leader:  I see… I see…

Sam:  I just don’t know how to be brave with all this scary stuff around.

Leader:  It sounds like you need a little help.  Do you think he could use a little help kids?

{Allow kids to respond}

Leader:  Well, there are quite a few accounts in the Bible about people who were scared too.

Sam:  Really?  I thought the Bible was full of tough guys and heroes and stuff.

Leader:  Well, the Bible is full of heroes, but they didn’t get that way on their own.  God made them that way.  In fact, in Sunday church, we’ve been learning about a guy named Gideon.

Sam:  Gideon huh?  That’s a name you don’t hear every day.

Leader:  Um, right.  Anyway – Gideon was so scared of his neighbors that he was shaking out the wheat (that’s something they did a lot of back in the day) in a hole… in the ground.  Very silly. Suddenly, an ANGEL appeared to him and said… wait, I’ve got it right here… Judges 6:12 “When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”

Sam: He doesn’t sound like much of a warrior.  He sounds like a scaredy cat like me.

Leader:  Exactly!  He wasn’t brave at first, but God helped him to become brave.  Pretty soon, he was the leader of an army and they won!  Not just by a little bit either, they REALLY won.

Sam: Wow. Anyone else?

Leader:  There’s a lot more.  Too many to list tonight, but I’ll give you one more example.  In Children’s Church this Sunday we learned about Elijah.  He prayed to God and God proved He was the One True God by sending fire from heaven.  Right after that, Elijah got scared. He ran away from everyone and hid.

Sam: Yep.  Typical scaredy-cat behavior.

Leader:  Right.  Well, here in 1 Kings 19, we read that God sent an angel to encourage Elijah and the next thing you know, Elijah is boldly going to talk to the King and tell him what’s up.

Sam:  Go Elijah!

Leader: God can help you too, Sam.  Check out Isaiah 41:10. Here, you can read it from my Bible.

Sam: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Leader:  Hey… you know what?  That reminds of a song!

Sam: Yeah, I hear that happens a lot…

Leader: Can we have our puppet singers?

[Lead “Do not Fear” song]

Sam:  You know, this has been really helpful.   Not only do I have some stuff in the Bible I can read, now I have a great song which is actually a BIBLE VERSE to help me too.   Thanks.   {Exits stage singing the song}

Leader: See you!  God will be with you kids too, no matter what you’re worried about.  He doesn’t always send an angel that you can see, but trust me, they are there and they will help you.  Let’s pray.

These coloring pages from Ministry to Children would go great with this puppet skit!

Oh yeah, this post is part of the SITS girls Halloween challenge.  A great site where you can learn the best blogging tips, connect with other blogging sisters and find some great blogs.  Check it out!

Halloween Alternatives

By | September 6, 2010 | Halloween, Holidays and Events | 12 Comments
corn shucking

Looking for something non-Halloween focused activities to do this fall?  Last year, we had an amazing Princess and Warrior party at the church based roughly on an ideas from Children’s Ministry Magazine.  Here are few other ideas:

From Bridgette Williams:

  • Having a pizza night for your children and their friends. You can go all out and arrange a party at your local Chunky Cheese pizza restaurant or take the group to their favorite pizza place.
  • Plan a trip to your local planetarium. Take your children and some of their friends to the planetarium for a fun filled Halloween night experience. Even in the day, this trip will be fun! A planetarium is not only fun and fascinating, it is educational. Shh. Don’t tell the kids that part. Let them be amazed by the show and they will not even notice that it is Halloween by the time they enjoy the thrilling experience. Wonder and magic in the stars for all.
  • Make Halloween a movie night. Seeing a movie in a theater is a great Halloween celebration alternative. Treat your children to a kid’s movie of their choice, popcorn included. Going to the movies is always fun and memorable. Kids love going to the movies and most adults do, as well.  Just choose your movie wisely.

From Mimi Bullock:

  • Have a Corn Shucking contests or a Pie Eating Contests.
  • Have a bonfire and roast hotdogs
  • Have a fall party — decorate everything in orange, including food and drinks

From the Amazing Mom Blog:

  • Explore the inside of a gourd or pumpkin with your little ones. Let them feel, taste and smell the wonder of the season.
  • Have a pumpkin seed spitting contest!
  • Bob for apples…it’s been a while hasn’t it!
  • Fill a wagon with hay and take your little one on a ”hay ride” around the neighborhood.
  • Decorate mini pumpkins with paint.
  • Enjoy fun wheelbarrow races.
  • Go on a leaf collection hunt and pick ones to press into scrapbooks.  Or make leaf placemats.
  • Check out these games such as Ring the Pumpkin, Roll the Gourd, Needle in a haystack and more.

Danielle’s Place has tons of crafts to check out!

Here’s an idea for your home from Mary Fairchild:

I have a friend who decided years ago to make Halloween a night for creative witnessing. Her particular neighborhood goes “all out” for Halloween. Everyone participates in an elaborate and coordinated decorating project. The display is so popular and well-visited that over 3000 trick-or-treaters pass through their street each year. My friend is also an artist. On Halloween she and her husband turn their front yard into a graveyard. The gravestones are engraved with Scriptures in calligraphy that provoke visitors to think about eternity and mortality. The messages spark questions, and she has had endless opportunities over the years to share her faith.

Lifeway has a big list of Halloween Alternatives too.

What about your church?  What’s been your favorite fall fest activity?

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