1 / clothes swap
my youth group did this right before school started. we had each one of the girls bring any clothes / shoes / jewelry that they didn't need, and had a swap! one of the rules my advisor sat was that how ever many things you brought was how many things you got to pick out, so it was fair. (ex-if you brought 2 things, you got to pick 2 things) if there is any left over, take it to your local d.i. / goodwill / thrift store.
2 / family feud
we came up with some questions, and "surveyed" our priesthood / relief society members for the answers. we then split into 2 families, young men and young women. we had a gameboard, a bell to ring, and a ton of fun!
3 / makeover
we had a makeup artist in our ward who came in and taught us how to use our makeup / what products to use / how to clean/prepare our faces for makeup, and how to clean our brushes. it was super fun and i got a ton out of it!
4 / card night
we had a youth leader (who loved cards) come and teach us how to play (appropriate) card games. we played cards all night long!
5 / make your own pizza party
we had a make your own pizza party in the kitchen of our church. we bought some already made (roll ) dough, sauce, cheese, and a ton of toppings, and made little tiny pizzas for everyone in the group!
6 / recipe exchange
around the end or the beginning is the best time to do this activity. everybody is to bring 3 recipies of their choice, print out enough copies for everyone, and everybody gets to go and take some.
7 / game night
perfect last-minute activity. have everyone bring a board game of their choice, and play them! super simple and super fun.
8 / talent show
another fun one to do at the end of the year. have each girl show a talent! it can be a dance, playing an instrument, singing, showing some artwork, whatever they want to do to show off their talents!
9 / temple pictures
the wednesday before school started, we went to the temple and took group pictures, we went and had ice cream as a treat after.
10 / cupcake wars
this is a fun combined activity. give each team some random ingredients (syrup, chocolate eggs, candy canes, oranges, etc) and give them a time limit to make cupcakes. have the leaders be judges. and decide a winner!
11 / diy night
have a night where you do a couple easy diys on pinterest. super simple and easy!
12 / target scavenger hunt
split into teams, give each team a list of items they need to collect, and tell them not to be rude to customers while doing it. first team that doesn't break the rules and comes back with all the stuff is the winner!
13 / grocery shopping list
give each member a $300 fake shopping budget, have them make a list, and take them to the grocery store. see if all the groceries they get match their budget. closest one wins!
14 / a "walk into your future"
we did this, and it was by far one of my favorite activities! we had one room that was "the wedding room". there was wedding photo albums, a wedding dress, wedding decor, flowers, and a wedding cake. we went in and talked about everything that went into a wedding. themes, dresses, flowers, venues, bridesmaids and groomsmen, receptions, etc. we then walked into "the newlywed room". it was filled with ramen noodles/macaroni and cheese, $200 worth of fake money, toilet paper, toothpaste, presents, wedding thank you cards, a christmas stocking, etc. the ramen noodles and macaroni represent what you will more than likely be eating for a bit. the 200 dollars represented the "newlywed paycheck", the toilet paper and toothpaste represent the coomon debates, toilet paper over? or under? squeeze the tube or roll the bottom of tube? , presents represent the little gifts your spouse will leave for you on occasion, wedding thank you cards, you get the point, and the christmas stocking represents the constant decision of which holiday will you spend which family with. the last room was "the children's room". toys and books scattered, baby books, backpacks / homework, dance costumes and baseball stuff, and so on. we went into what it is like to have children, and the fun experiences that went along with it. very fun, special activity.
15 / quilt night
we had a yw who had just recently lost her mom. we put up a quilt and tied it. we then took fabric markers and we each wrote a message in each one of the squares for her. it was very sweet and fun.
16 / birthday dessert
on each girls birthday, we take every one of the girls out for dessert. each girl gets to pick a dessert, and eat it for each girls birthday. it's easier then having to pick out gifts for them every year!
hope this post gave you some ideas on things to do for youth activities!
if you do any of these activities, please tweet or instagram photos (@candireviews) or email them to me candireviewsblog@gmail.com. i would love to see them!
