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JennyMaine
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| Posted: Oct 24 2008 at 6:28am | IP Logged
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What have been some of the best All Saints party game ideas that you've done or seen?
Just wondering if anyone has some fresh, fun ideas?
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--JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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Lucia
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| Posted: Oct 24 2008 at 7:05am | IP Logged
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Hi Jenny,
This is what our home schooling group does - it is more of a celebration than an actual game.
All of the children dress up as Saints, of course, and then we have Mass at a local assisted living facility (they have a divine mercy chapel) - after Mass we do a Litany of Saints "parade" for the elderly residents. Each child has made one or two holy cards to hand out to the elderly residents as they parade through their living room/dining room area. The elderly enjoy this so much.
After that we have a pizza party -(each family pre orders/pre pays for their pizza). Then... comes the real fun part. Ahead of time, on the grounds of the assisted living facility, we set up tiki torches with pictures of a saints on them. After everyone finishes their pizza - Teens and/or adults stand at each Tiki torch station and the kids visit each tiki torch and learn a prayer/saying from that particular saint. once they repeat that prayer/saying they get candy! This activity mimics "trick or treat." Each child contributes two bags of candy. After they have gone through the "way of the Saints" we have some games set up; like these:
Tic-Tac -Toe Game- three rows of three baskets, apples and oranges
one child is using the oranges, another the apples, and who ever gets three in a row wins
Bean Bag Toss Game- three bean bags per child, try to get them into the plastic pumpkins
Balloons and Darts Game- blow up small balloons, tack them up to a piece of plywood, a child gets three darts, and standing about 6-7 feet away throws the dart, to try to pop a balloon
Clothes Pin Game- a child gets 5 wooden clothes pins, standing on a stool, has to try to drop them into the glass jar ( on the floor at the foot of the stool)
I have been organizing this activity for several years and it is great fun for our group. If anyone wants more specific details, just email me.
We have also done the mysteries of the Rosary, with simple prayers at each "station" and also the stations of the cross. This year we are doing the saints and I have found a good website to download some nice pictures of some saints.
The biggest challenge is to find a place to have it and we are blessed to be able to do it at this assisted living facility and have Mass and do something special for the elderly at the same time.
Hope this helps,
God Bless,
Maria Lucia
P.S. I also found this article that has some good ideas about games::
http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/magazine/calling_all_saint s/
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BlessedBGod
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| Posted: Oct 24 2008 at 7:23am | IP Logged
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Hey Moms,
Well, I made a big pinata type of whale which you stick your hand in it's mouth and into it's stomach. There was a big bowl of spaghetti in there with little items, like a coin, a plastic figure of Jonah and other items. The kids loved it. We kept a roll of paper towels right next to that game. One year we called it something about St. Anthony preaching to the fish and another year we called it something about Jesus collecting the tax money.
Another pinata type of project was a dragon. We had the kids shoot beanbags at the dragon. The beanbags had sins written down on them.
I like to have twelve lunch paper bags and fill them with items from nature. We blindfold the kids and call it, "Limbo" or, "Purgatory". They stand single file in line and one at a time, try to guess what's in each bag. The bags can be filled with sand, sticks, pine cones, (though they are picky), pine needles, rocks, etc.
Musical chairs with paper clouds on the floor instead of chairs are fun. The prizes are big plates of cupcakes that the Ladies Altar Society donates. Instead of clouds, we've used animal pictures, saint's names, musical notes, etc.
One year, I did a giant Candyland game and made a two-foot high cube to roll. I used a sheet of colored construction paper for each space. It was time consuming to lay out but it was loads of fun. Instead of playing pieces, we used people.
I always like to do a candy corn counting contest where you guess how many candies are in a glass jar. For that we give the candy corn as the prize.
If you hang white little doughnuts on a string...like three to a string and then about five strings, then the kids can put their hands behind their backs and treat it like an apple bob. Time them to see who can eat the doughnuts first. It's less germy than having all the kids stick their heads into a tub of water for an apple bob.
I have so many more games, but this will get the wheels turning, I hope. God bless you all with your parties. -BlessedBGod JMJ
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MaryM
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| Posted: Oct 24 2008 at 10:56am | IP Logged
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Well the best compilation of party game ideas (with pictures even) that I have seen this year is on Jessica's blog - Shower of Roses! I was really impressed.
Saintly Games
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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Matilda
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| Posted: Oct 24 2008 at 11:10am | IP Logged
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I left this in Jessica's combox but thought I would share it here too:
1)Pin the halo on the saint. Just like pin the tail on the donkey only with halos and a saint.
2) A variation on the hanging apples game that a friend of mine did (although now, I can't remember the saintly connection) was to hang powdered sugar donuts and tell the contestants that they had to eat them without the use of their hands. You basically end up with powdered sugar all over your face, but it is funny! Personally, I can't get over the germ factor behind bobbing for apples. Everybody's open mouths in the same water. Blech!
3) Guardian Angel (or Patron Saint) obstacle course. Two players at the same time. One is the person (blindfolded), the other is the angel or saint who leads them through an obstacle course. For the older kids, the angel or saint can only tell them what to do from the sidelines. For littler ones, they can actually lead them through. This one always included a "Leap of Faith" section.
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Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11 , 10 , 9 & 5 ) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
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~Jessica~
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| Posted: Oct 24 2008 at 12:17pm | IP Logged
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Thank you Mary!!  You are so sweet! I had fun putting that list together.
I was speaking to one of the moms that is coordinating our party this year, and she mentioned a couple games she will be adding. It is always so nice to have new games for the children!!
One will be called "Noah's Ark". Her husband is making an Ark out of plywood, and she is collecting Beanie Babies for the children to try and toss into the ark. I am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
Another game she is adding is called "Canonize the Saint." Basically it will be a "Halo" toss onto some Old Bowling pins made to look like saints.
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Jessica
Momma to DS(9),DS(8),DD(6), DD(4),DS(2), DD (0)
Shower of Roses
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TxTrish
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| Posted: Oct 24 2008 at 3:38pm | IP Logged
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A friend just sent me these -
Trish
ALL SAINTS DAY PARTY
Halloween has eclipsed the feast of All Saints for our kids. We can reclaim the feast while making it a Catechetical tool, service project and concrete celebration of the communion of the saints all rolled into one! For the last 13 yrs. my parish has hosted a big family All Saints Day costume party, either as a Halloween alternative, or on another day near the feast. Researching a saint, or incorporating their symbols into a costume is a great learning tool.
Teens love to work on the project, and younger kids like being participants. In our parish, teens help plan, make games, decorate, set up & clean up. Cost is minimal if you set the admission as a bag of candy per family. Because it is a family party, there should be plenty of adults around to bolster your numbers if your youth group is small. (Schedule it on your religious ed. night, and enlist your Catechists to help! Captive audience!). We have kept refreshments simple- just popcorn and koolaid. I also solicit donations of small religious articles and toys from parishioners, which are used to supplement the candy prizes.
The idea is to dress up as saints or other Biblical-themed costumes (adults invited to dress up, too!) & to “Christianize” carnival games you already have to fit the All Saints theme. Costumes don’t have to be just bathrobes and towels on your head. Virtually any costume can be tied to some saint or Biblical story (Lazarus as a mummy, “fruit” of the Spirit, hockey goalie as “defender of the faith”, etc. The more games you have, the less waiting around for the kids. We typically get about 100 kids (though once we had 300!!!), and run about 15 or 16 games. The children get “blessing bags” at the door (brown paper lunch bags work fine) and collect candy prizes at each game. At the end of the party seat all the children in a huge circle, then have the adults go around and dispense all the remaining candy.
We have used this party as a Halloween alternative on Halloween night itself (invite the kids to process into mass in costume, then have the party afterwards) or on another night, so as to not force a party/trick-or-treat choice. Both have worked well. Remember that even though your teens may have outgrown trick or treating, they enjoy participating, and this is a constructive alternative to wandering the streets.
Samples of Christianized games we have used in the past:
Canonize the Saints : ring toss “halos” over hand-made saint figures
variations : Greatest Virtues: rings over posts labeled faith, hope & love
Pin the Sacred Heart on Jesus- kid is blindfolded; tapes a heart on a Jesus picture
Slay Goliath- (we build a big Goliath out of a stepladder with a bucket head. The kids sling a tennis ball held in a sock at him & knock his head off!)
Baptize Barbie: Being unskilled with tools, I made a crude dunking booth by having the kid throw a ball at flyswatter balanced between some pegs so it knocks Barbie in a bucket of water. I bet you could find someone to build you a real working miniature!
Saint Walk: use saint names on the floor for a cake walk. When the music ends, draw a holy card- the saint chosen wins.
St. Lucy's Eyes: Yes, this one takes an artist. Paint a large picture of St. Lucy (I used a full posterboard for a picture showing her from elbows up). Have posterboard arms sticking out, holding a cup. The kids toss pingpong ball eyeballs into the cup.
Capital Sins Game: throw darts at balloons by each of the seven capital sins- pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth (safety note: have adults run this one)
}variations: use the cardinal virtues, the works of mercy, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc...
Noah’s Ark beanbag throw- throw beanie babies in a cardboard ark
Beanbag variations:
Feed my Sheep- throw beanbag in sheep’s mouth
Heaven or Hell- make a “heaven” heart surrounded by purgatory flames, with rest painted black for hell. Heaven wins a prize. If
they land in purgatory they move closer & try again. No more
chances if they land in Hell.
Fishers of Men: fishing game; clothespins on fishing lines are dropped behind a sheet or cardboard barrier painted with fish. Candy gets put on the “hook”
Holy Souls sucker pull: make a ghost out of each sucker with a tissue tied with a rubber band. The kids love putting faces on these when we made the game!
Tower of Babel: bring a big bin ouf building blocks; see how tall they can build it before it falls
God Chooses You: Spin the bottle. Put a tape cross on a bottle. The one it points to wins.
Living the Faith: If you have a number wheel, tape labels on each number listing positive & negative behaviors (go to mass, lying, confession, greed, etc.) If kid spins positive, give them a prize. Negative sends them to purgatory where they must be “prayed” out (we use St. Gertrude’s prayer for souls in purgatory). Put a heart stamp on their hand when they are released.
Treasures in Heaven: the traditional shell game. Put a coin under one of three cups & shuffle them around. Kid guesses which cup has the coin.
Quench the Fires of Sin: squirt out candles with squirt guns (safety note: have adults run this one)
Knock & It Shall Be Opened: Make a house out of a refrigerator box with a door that opens. Have a teen dress as Jesus (we gave ours a face-paint beard & wounds in his hands)- when the child knocks, Jesus opens the door & gives them candy. Give Jesus a break every once & a while, and send Him out to mingle. Ours stayed in character, blessing the kids. They loved it!
Walls of Jericho (adults hate the noise of this one, but the little kids love it!): Build a wall out of those big metal popcorn tins. Have the kids march around seven times blowing a toy horn (we also have them carry an “Ark” made of a fancy tin with stick handles taped on) then kick the walls of Jericho down
How Many Saints?: guess the jelly beans in a jar. Winner gets the jar.
Get behind Me, Satan!: Have a volunteer stick their head through a hole in a board painted as the devil. The kids throw a big wet sponge in his face while shouting, “Get behind me, Satan!” It took me years to get a volunteer for this one, but it was very popular this year!
Run the Good Race: wooden gingerbread-shaped figures are jiggled down a string to heaven (a sign at the finish line). I painted ours like a boy, a girl, a nun, a priest, and an elderly person
Pinata: bash Satan!
The Pearl of Great Price: search for a pingpong ball in a box of white packing peanuts
variations:
St. Helen’s search for the True Cross: search for little crosses
St. Anthony’s Lost & Found: search for little prizes or candy
Heaven Our Goal: If you have access to a balance beam, have the kids walk down it toward a Heaven sign. "Saints" around can help the little ones when they wobble!
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Veronika
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| Posted: Oct 27 2008 at 10:21pm | IP Logged
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Hi Moms!
I have a party game for you! It's more like a game for All Souls Day than All Saints Day, but still we do it every year at our parish All Saints Day party and its always a great success. My dad built a little wooden catapult from which we launch a "holy soul" (made from a tp roll to which we rubber-band a white handkerchief with a cute little smile on it...like a ghost) into a blue bed sheet "heaven" complete with clouds of quilt batting, which is lit up from behind by a big flashlight. The children get to toss a bean bag at the catapult and thus send our dear friend home, after reciting the St. Gertrude prayer which releases 1000 souls from purgatory each time it is said. I found it a good idea to glue a copy of the prayer right onto the beanbag so that they could just read it. My daughter brings a small easle and chalk board so we can tally up how many thousand souls we send to heaven during the party. The children just love it and I'm sure the souls in purgatory like it too! 
Have a happy All Saints Day!
Veronika
http://olrl.org/pray/stgertrude.shtml)
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Favorite All Saints party game ideas?
