Shadow Puppets

Really though, these can be entertaining for hours! 

I honestly could not tell you how I managed to create this old bald guy, but that is my latest hand shadow puppet! 

Ice Blocking

It is a very simple activity where you sit on blocks of Ice (like the ones you buy at gas stations) and the ice will slide you right down a large hill. You can try freezing your own with ropes in them for handles.

Awkward Twister

In this game you must stand in a circle to begin, and one person starts by moving one of their feet to touch one of the feet of the person next to them. Then that person must move the foot that was touched without moving their other foot beyond pivoting, or touching the ground with anything but their feet, to touch one of the feet of the next person and so on, and so on.

Suck and Blow

The idea is one person holds a card to their lips by breathing in (sucking) on the flat side of the card.  The goal is to transfer that card to another person by having them suck on the other side card, while you stop breathing in and exhale (blow).  The fun part of the game is if the card drops... 😏

The Toaster Game

This is a much calmer game, but it still has the potential to get rather messy if desired. It’s very much one of the games where kids can learn about each other through play. Very simply, the group should sit in a circle around a toaster. The leader should provide this, along with plenty of bread. A piece of bread should be put in the toaster and cooked. While the toast is cooking, each player has to state an interesting fact about themselves in turn.
Whoever is speaking when the toaster pops up has to eat the toast with whatever topping the leader chooses. This can start off very simple – jam, peanut butter, etc – but can progress to more messy and unusual ones, like mashed potato or ice cream! This game teaches children information about their peers, but it’s also the combination of competition and messy food-related fun that they most enjoy.

Balloon Game

This unfortunately requires quite a bit of preparation, but it is worth it for the amusement of watching people play the ice breaker. Each person has a balloon on a string tied to their ankle; the string needs to be fairly long, at least a couple of feet. The object of the game is then for each person to try and pop everyone else's balloon, while simultaneously keeping theirs safe. This is one of the great ice breakers for big groups because the action is frenetic and often you will end up with very unlikely winners. Be careful where you play it though - if you're not on the ground floor of the building, the people beneath you aren't likely to enjoy ice breakers like this too much!

Beautiful Babies

Ask everyone in the group to bring several baby pictures of themselves – including toddler photos - the next time they meet, but ask them not to show anyone. Then put all the photos in the middle and have people guess who is who.
Once they have all guessed, go in a circle and see if everyone can recount a funny memory from around that time. Of course, they probably won’t be able to remember the exact day the photo was taken, but maybe they can remember something from around the time they were aged three or four. Can be hilarious!

Stick It to Me!

Buy a package of sticky notes, then let people break up into pairs. Each person will write a famous name on a piece of paper – for example, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama, Adele, Amy Winehouse etc – then stick it on the other’s forehead without them seeing what’s written.

Once everyone has a sticky note plastered to their forehead, they have to go around the room asking yes or no questions about themselves. For example, “Am I female”, Am I a rock star”, “Am I still alive?” Keep on going until everyone knows who they are.

Would I Lie to You?

This is a new take on the popular television program. Each member of the youth group has to tell three facts about themselves: two true and one false. The group has to guess which one isn’t true.
Warn the teens beforehand that if they say anything outrageous they’ll most likely be caught out immediately – unless they really have done something outrageous!

Be a Smartie

Give each group member a mini-pack of Smarties, and have them eat them all so only one colour is left. Once they have only one colour in their hand, tell them have to answer a question before the group based on that colour.
For this to work, you’ll need to make a list of questions beforehand that you think the members of your teenage youth group would enjoy discussing. Don’t ask closed questions, as the goal is to get them talking. For example, ask:

• Red: What is your favourite pop group/singer, and why?
• Orange: What personality trait do you think is your best – and worst? Explain in detail, giving a true-life example of each.
• Blue: Do you, or have you, had any hobbies? Share your favourite hobby with the group, or alternatively think of an activity you once did that you eventually gave up, such as Girl Scouts or playing the trumpet. Explain why.
• Green: What is your idea of a dream date – tell the group not only who you’d like to be with, but where you’d go and what you’d do.
• Yellow: Do you have a favourite holiday destination – or is there a foreign country you have always dreamed of visiting? Explain.

Indian Chalk Fight

Holy Indian powder. DIY! Perfect for a chalk fight.just corn starch, food coloring and water. Lay out on a cookie sheet and wait for all the water to evaporate (about 2 days) then crush up the powder till it's fine and then have your chalk fight!

Who said it: Dieter or Dumbledore?

They both have silvery hair, speak with foreign accents and are known for their wisdom.

Both President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, called into the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2008, and Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, a fictional character in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, have done their fair share of teaching, mentoring and monitoring the well-being of others.

Here’s a list of 10 quotable lines from both sage men. Try and remember which man said each quote.

Human Hungry Hungry Hippos

To get the bungee cord, go to Ebay and search for 3/8 inch shock cord. When we played we used four strands that were each at least 75 feet long. The most economical way to do this is to look for a good deal on a 300 foot spool and cut it. Maybe it would work with just 50 feet for each player, but I don't know.

We wrapped the cord around everyone's waist with something like a slipknot. We had the cords doubled or tripled over so that it had the right amount of "pull." It’s hard to describe, so make sure to experiment and test everything out with some of your leaders before the day of the event. It's somewhat of an art to make sure the players have enough stretch to get to the center, but just barely. You want there to be enough tension so that they will get pulled back hard. Make the students play in their socks (so there is less grip) and make them have to work VERY HARD to get to the middle; that's what makes it fun.

We had an adult man by each of the poles to hold the ends of the ropes, wrapped around the poles. They were also able to adjust the slack to give the teens the right amount of tension. They were also there to be a human shield in case the teens came back at the poles too fast.

Make sure to get elbow and knee pads for the teens or else they will lose a lot of skin! When we tested it, I tried it without knee pads and lost skin even though I was wearing jeans. I bought enough knee and elbow pads so that the “on deck” teens could be putting them on while another set of teens were playing. This helped keep things moving.

This past year we had the idea to attach the cords to the teens using life jackets. However we tested this and felt there would be too many problems and that it would actually take longer than wrapping around their waist. We were also worried about how uncomfortable it would be for the girls, so we scraped that idea.

The goal of the game is for the players to grab as many balls as they can from the middle and put them in a container back at their pole. They can grab balls of any color, but they can only grab one at a time. Also, they are only allowed to grab a ball that is inside the circle in the center of the room. Any balls that roll outside the circle are dead. This important rule keeps players from swashing balls closer to them and then getting them later. Also, discourage teens from “splashing the pot” by hitting most of the balls from the center. It’s funny the first time a teens does it, but it wrecks that round for everyone else. The balls we used were just hollow plastic play balls like the kind we used to be able to jump into at McDonalds. You should be able to get a box of 100 at Wal-Mart or somewhere like that in the little kids’ toy section.

To find the center of the playing area, cross the bungee cords between opposite poles and then put a piece of making tape at the center of the X. The circle itself had the diameter of the pool cue that I used to make it.

When we played we had all the teens who wanted to play put their names on slips of paper and then we drew them out randomly. For most rounds we did guys with guys and girls with girls. Each player was able to play in two back to back rounds. For hype, I would try to get the teens to make hippo noises and I would yell “One Two Three Hippo!” to start the match. Most years we just pretended to keep score, although this past year I did give a prize to the student who go the most balls. Keeping score helps them keep motivated; however it is hard to make it fair since some teens will probably receive more slack than others. The most important thing is to keep it fun.

Muggle Quidditch

1. 
   1
   Gather all needed materials and players (see Things You'll Need section below).
2. 
   2
   Know that all players can play while riding a broom. Brooms can be a hindrance however, so feel free to not use brooms.
3. 
   3
   Place the quaffle and two bludgers in the middle of the field. Ideally the quaffle and bludgers should be slightly deflated so that they are easier to throw and catch.
4. 
   4
   Start the game. Both teams start from the edges and attempt to obtain the quaffle and bludgers.
5. 5
   Follow your duty depending what type of player you are:
   • Chasers try to score by throwing the quaffle into one of the three goal hoops. Each score is worth 10 points.
     
   • Beaters try to peg players with their bludger. If a player is pegged they have to stop what they're doing and pay a penalty; i.e. (drop the quaffle in the case of a chaser) and run back to and touch their goal post or alternatively sit down for 10 seconds.
     
   • Keepers guard the goal posts at each end and attempt to block chasers' attempts at scoring. If Keeper is close to their hoops they are safe from being hit by bludgers.
     
   • Seekers try to tackle the snitch (a person) or obtain an object attached to the snitch such as a sock or flag. You can establish you own rules as to how a player catches the snitch. A common way to play is to make the snitch a person, and give the snitch a head start to run and hide in defined boundaries. Then the seekers search for the snitch, and attempt to tag the player. Other methods, such as the method adopted in 2005, makes the snitch a tennis ball in a sock, hanging out of the running shorts of the snitch runner. Regardless of method, the winning seeker wins 30 points for his or her team, unlike the books, in which the snitch is worth 150 points. The creators of Muggle Quidditch thought that it was worth too many points so changed the value of the snitch for muggle Quidditch.
     
   • The snitch, generally a track runner, runs around (usually the boundaries) trying to evade the seekers.
     
   • The referee should ensure that rules are being followed. They also keep track of the score.
     
6. 
   6
   Play the game! The object of the game is to score the most points and the game ends when the seeker snatches the snitch.
7. 7
   Feel free to alter the game rules. See the Tips section for suggestions.

Penny Chinny

Give everyone a penny. On ‘go’ they must balance the penny on their chin while trying to knock everyone else’s penny off. This means the penny will lay flat on the chin and the students will be looking up into the air. Last one standing with the penny balanced wins. It is quick and easy and the perfect game if you are waiting for doors to open before a conference.

Name That Tune!

Divide students into teams and have one student face off against another student from the other team. Play five seconds of a popular song from iTunes and have them guess. If both students don’t know, let anyone call it out.

Tap It Out Telephone

This ones great because you don’t need any supplies. It’s like telephone but instead of whispering something, you use your finger and draw the word on the person’s back. Everyone is in a straight line, with multiple teams doing this. First team that gets to the last person and has the correct word wins.

Ultimate Duck-Duck-Goose or Duck-Duck-Goose-Inception

When there are more than 50 students, this game is a lot of fun. Play duck-duck-goose as you normally would, however when a few people get tagged and they go to the middle, then they begin another game of duck-duck-goose. I’ve played this game with 100 students before and they began a game within a game within a game within a game. Two other twists you can initiate are using a sponge while the person is going around and ducking to hold over people’s heads or having more than one person go around at a time.

Tug of War

This is another classic, but is always a hit with youth groups. Make it extra fun by doing it once a year and utilizing interesting competitions: students vs. leaders, boys vs. girls, senior high vs. junior high. The key to a good match-up is to put a small number of the strongest against a large number of the weakest. For example, take a handful senior high boys and place them against 30 middle schoolers.

Capture the Flag

This one needs no explanation, but feel free to add twists. Include more than one flag, take turns having the teams play offense and defense, play with three or four teams going against each other, etc.

Slip ‘N Slide Kickball

If you have a group of athletic, competitive students this one is for you. Basically it’s kickball but you add a slip ‘n slide between the bases. Keep some band aids on hand for this one just in case.

Red-hot Poker

Everybody stands in a circle and hold hands. You have something in the middle of the circle (anything works, try a big 50 gallon trash can) and it is the red-hot poker. You then try to drag, push and pull one another into the red-hot poker. If you touch it or break hands then you are out. Play until you have the last one standing.

Four on the Couch

The goal is to get 4 of your team onto the same couch. There must be one less seat than people in the room (must have a couch; you can play three on a couch if necessary). Divide into at least two teams and have everyone put their name in hat. Everyone draws a name and that becomes his/her new name for the game. But everyone should keep their names a secret. Now the person to the left of the empty seat in the room calls out a name. The person, who drew that name, now moves to the empty seat, and switches names with the person who called out the name. Now the person to the left of the new empty seat calls a name. You repeat the process. So you have to try to get to the empty the couch and call the right names to get folks on the couch. This takes some thinking but is fun and competitive in a non-athletic way.

Draw It

There’s two teams, each with a white board. Give them an word and the team has to guess the word they drew. This would be a good ice breaker activity before a lesson if you tie in themes from the lesson into the drawings.

Minute to Win It

This is a game show on NBC and its full of mini-challenges that must be completed within one minute. On the NBC website, you’ll find a list of all the games including a video tutorial, official rules, and a list of supplies needed for each game. There are more than 50 games you can choose from! Pick a handful of the ones you want to use then make sure you have all the necessary supplies on hand. Watch an episode of the show on the website to play it like the pros do or create your own twist on the game.

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Assign points for odd items that students can find to take a picture with around the Church property or within a designated area. Get creative with your lists. Plan to do this at a time like VBS when much of the church staff is present so you can include silly ones like “do the air guitar with the worship pastor” or “do the disco with the children’s pastor.” Give them a time limit and deduct points for every minute they are late returning. The added bonus of this game is you automatically have some great photos of your students that you can put in the youth group room. If your at Ichthus this is a great way to capture photos of the week.

Fear Factor

Set up several stations that vary in grossness or scariness. Break kids in two teams and let them choose which stations they play. Assign points for each activity earned then add them up at the end to determine the winning team. Cuisine Station: Fill several large plates or bowls with your choice of sardines, pigs feet, frog legs, seaweed, etc. (look in the foreign food section at your local supermarkets). Place another empty container at the other side of the stage or the other end of the room. The student has a designated amount of time to grab one of the items in their mouth, run across the room and drop it into the empty container. They must transfer as many food items as possible in the amount of time given.

Here’s a fun, sneaky trick: melt a snickers in the microwave for several seconds. It will look like something else entirely and it takes some time before students realize its candy.

Free Fall Station: Contestant stands on raised platform and falls backwards into arms of catchers. Use mats just in case. Proof is in the pudding Station: Contestants dig sardines out of chocolate pudding with their toes. Use time limit for elimination.

Digging For Gold: Fill a huge (clear) Rubbermaid storage container with water and enough potting soil to make it cloudy and dirty looking, along with a few worms, and a few other gross things (be creative). Put several coins in it and each team member has to grab two coins out.

Don’t Crack station: Put garbage bags down for this one or go outside. Put eggs under both of the students’ heals. They must stand on the their toes to avoid crushing the eggs. The person who can last the longest without crushing their eggs wins for their entire team. Get creative with different station ideas and customize it to fit your students.

Lifesize Clue

The youth group gathers in the evening when it is dark. They congregate in one lit room and one person goes to hide a large doll (any stuffed animal will work). That person also hides a “murder” weapon (hint: use goofy items to keep it light such as a spatula or telephone), then comes back and releases people out of the room one at a time. One random person will be given a flashlight and they are the “killer.” Players walk around and have to find the weapon and victim (doll). Players also need to know who the “killer” is without getting caught. Players are caught when the “killer” flashes the light at you. If the “killer” catches a player, they are out and have to go sit in the main room. To make things really exciting, play in an old abandoned/spooky house or shop.

Scatterball

Dodge ball with a twist. To start, everyone must have a hand on a nerf ball. Throw the ball up in the air and everyone scatters. Somebody grabs the ball in the air or off the ground. Whoever has the ball can only take two steps. After two steps, the player must throw the ball — dodge ball style — at another player. If the ball hits a player, that player sits down right where they are. BUT, they can still play, they just can’t move from their seated spot.
 If a player is hit by the ball and catches it, then the throwing player sits down. At any time sitting players can snag the ball if it rolls by, and they can throw it at standing players trying to get them out. The game ends when only one player is standing. Hint: it’s a good game for larger groups but its lacking in action if you have less than 10 people.

Sardines

This is the game of sardines, but explain it with the story of how the early Christians met in the catacombs, but they still increased in number. One person hides in a dark place, and then as people find them, they join in hiding, until one person remains. It’s hide and seek, backwards.