Balloons - Youth Workin' It

Michelin Man Game – Youth Group Games

September 2, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Here’s a great youth group game that can be played with all your young people in teams or with just a handful of them up front – the Michelin Man Game.

Here’s how to play it:

Resources

Balloons
Oversized clothing
Rulers

Preparation

Get hold of some oversized clothing from a thrift store. You’ll need at least one large top per team (either a T-shirt or sweatshirt), but also having a pair of large pants for each team will make this even funnier.

If you’ll be playing this as an up front game, blow up all the balloons in advance so that they’re about 5″ – 6″ in diameter – this part can be skipped if everyone will be playing in teams.

Teams

If you want everyone to participate, split them into equal sized teams by gender – this will hopefully reduce the risk of wandering hands.

For use as an upfront game, pick two to four teams with two or three people in each team.

Instructions

Entire Group Playing

Give each team the same number of balloons and the same items of clothing. They have to pick one person on the team to wear the clothing – it’ll work out best for them if it’s the slimmest person.

The rest of the players have to blow up the balloons so that they’re 5″ – 6″ wide – they should use the ruler to make sure they’re large enough. The person wearing the clothing then has to stuff the balloons inside their top (and pants if applicable).

Do this for about 5-10 minutes – the length of time will vary depending on how many people are blowing up the balloons and how large the clothing is.

Towards the end, the player wearing the clothes will probably need help stuffing the last few balloons in – make sure there are leaders on hand to ensure things stay appropriate.

Up Front

This version is much more fast and furious. As the balloons are already blown up, it’s simply a race to try and shove the balloons inside the clothing.

Initially the non-oversized clothes wearing players should help their teammate by passing them the balloons to stuff inside, but towards the end they’ll probably need to assist by pushing the last few balloons in.

Winner

The winning team is the one that has the most unburst balloons inside the clothes at the end. There will probably be some burst balloons along the way, so those don’t count.

Tip

Don’t forget to get photos!

Question: How would you make the Michelin Man game even better? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

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Balloon Soccer Relay – Youth Group Games

July 15, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

If you like to organize fun and competitive youth group games, here’s another one to add to your collection – the Balloon Soccer Relay.

This is a great relay game for teenagers, but can be played with young people and kids of any age. It’s therefore perfect for using even when you have a wide range of ages taking part in youth group activities.

Here’s how to play it:

Resources

Balloons
Cones
Masking tape

Location

This game can be played both indoors and outdoors, providing you have enough space to play. It’s best not to play outside on a windy day though, as otherwise the balloons can blow everywhere.

Preparation

Blow up the balloons – do one for every team and have a few spare just in case any burst during the game.

At one end of the playing area, lay out a line of masking tape – this will be the starting line. Alternatively, you can use a line of cones if you have enough of them.

In a parallel line about 20-30 feet away, make another row of cones. There should be one cone per team and they should be about 5 feet apart.

Teams

Split the youth group into same-sized teams, ideally with at least four people on each team.

If you have a small group and so only have enough players for two or three on each team, have the teams do the relay two or three times round to make the game last a little longer.

Balloon Soccer Relay Rules

Have the teenagers line up behind the masking tape (and with a cone in front of them at the other end) and give the first person in each team a balloon.

Explain that they have to kick the balloon like a soccer ball from the start line, around their cone and then kick it back to the start line. The next person on their team then has to do the same thing and so on.

The only part of the body they’re allowed to use is from their knee down – no hands allowed!

Winner

The winning team is the one that has all their players complete the relay game first.

Difficulty Level

If you want to make the Balloon Soccer Relay harder to play, here are a couple of ways you can do this:

Make players use their right foot to kick the balloon up to the cone and then their left foot to kick it back
Add extra cones along each team’s course that they have to dribble the balloon round, like it’s a soccer drill

If you liked this idea check out all our relay games, as well as all our other games that are great for using with youth groups.

Question: How could you make the Balloon Soccer Relay even more fun – or difficult? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

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Back To Back Balloon Relay – Youth Group Games

July 1, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

This week’s addition to our youth group games is a fun and challenging relay game for teenagers.

It’s also a great way of encouraging team building between your young people by having them work together towards a common goal, in both pairs and as part of a team.

Here’s how to play the Back To Back Balloon Relay:

Resources

Balloons
Cones / chairs

Location

If you have a large enough room, this can be played indoors. If playing outdoors, it’s best to play this on a grassy area rather than in a parking lot or anywhere else that has a concrete floor.

Preparation

Blow up the balloons – you’ll need one per team, plus a few spares just in case any burst
Mark out a line at one end of the room using some cones or chairs – one for each team. Leave about 5 feet between each one so that players have enough room to move without bumping into each other
At the other end of the room (or 20-30 feet away), lay out a duplicate row of cones or chairs that’s parallel with the other line

Teams

Split the youth group into smaller teams – the same number of teams as you have cone lanes. Ideally, you’ll want to have an even number of players on each team.

Have each team group themselves into pairs – they’ll probably find it easiest if they’re paired by similar height.

Instructions

Give the first pair in each team a balloon. Have them stand back to back and put the balloon between their backs – they may need a teammate to help with this.

When you say ‘Go’, they have to walk to the other end, around the cone or chair and then back to their team, with the balloon staying between their backs the entire time.

Once they’ve made it back to their teammates, the next pair has to do the same thing, and so on.

Back To Back Balloon Relay Rules

If the balloon drops to the ground, they have to stop where they are, place it between their backs again and only then can they continue.

If the balloon bursts, they have to return to the start line and get another balloon from you.

Too Easy?

If the youth group finds this game a little too easy, play it again but set an additional rule that if the balloon drops to the floor, that pair has to return to the start line and try again.

Too Difficult?

If you think your young people may struggle with coordinating with their partner, give them a couple of minutes before you start playing to come up with a strategy.

(n.b. The best way to make sure they walk with the same rhythm is to have one person in each pair say ‘Step, step, step’ as they’re walking along, so that they keep sidestepping at the same pace.)

Safety

Your youth will be trying to complete this game as quickly as possible, while potentially being off balance while doing it.

If you’re playing inside, it’s therefore best to move anything that could cause an injury if they lost their balance and fell onto it. This is why it’s also best played on grass if you’re going to be doing it outdoors, rather than in a parking lot.

Winner

The team that has all their pairs complete the course first.

If you liked this youth group game idea, check out all our other relay games for teenagers.

Question: Can you think of any ways to make this balloon relay even more fun? We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.

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Balloon Hockey – Youth Group Games

June 17, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

If you like planning fun and energetic youth group games, this week we have a great game idea for you – Balloon Hockey.

Here’s how to play it:

Resources

Regular balloons (only a few needed)
Long balloons (one for each youth with a few spare)
Cones

Preparation

Blow up all the balloons
Arrange the cones to make two goals at either end. If you don’t have any cones, you can use any other kind of markers to make the goals.

Location

As you’ll be playing with balloons, this is a game that’s best played indoors.

If the air’s still on the day you play this though, you could always play it outdoors. Even if it’s a bit windy, you could still play it outdoors and it’ll just be a little harder for the young people to play.

Teams

Split the youth into two teams. If you have a very large youth group and have enough playing space, set up two playing areas and split them into four teams.

Balloon Hockey Rules

Give each young person one of the long balloons and put one of the regular sized balloons in the middle. Get each team to allocate one of their players as a goalkeeper.

The rules for balloon hockey are then simple – each team has to try to score goals by hitting the regular sized balloon into the opposition’s goal, using only the long balloons to hit it. Players therefore aren’t allowed to deliberately touch the ‘puck’ balloon with any part of their body.

Tips

If this game ends up being a bit too frantic with everyone piling in to hit the balloon puck, create zones on the floor using masking tape. Allocate a player from each team to each zone – they’re not allowed to step outside that zone, although they are allowed to reach into a neighboring zone with their long balloon to try to help a teammate. If a player does step into someone else’s zone, have them sit out for x amount of seconds – the amount of time will depend on how long you’re playing for.
Have a few spare long balloons and split them evenly between each team. If a team uses all their spares, any further players that have a burst balloon have to sit out for the rest of the game. If this is due to another player deliberately bursting their balloon though, the player that burst it should have to hand over their balloon and sit out instead.
If you aren’t able to get hold of any long balloons locally, you can buy them here. Alternatively, consider using pool noodles from the dollar store cut in half.

Winners

The winning team will either be the team that scores a pre-specified number of goals first, or who scores the most goals by the end of the game time.

Question: What others ways can you think of to play balloon hockey? Let us know in the comments below.

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Image courtesy of Clydeorama, Flickr

Getting To Know You Icebreaker – Youth Group Games

May 6, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

This Getting To Know You icebreaker provides a good opportunity for your students to learn more about each other, so it’s perfect for using when you need some team building activities.

It also helps you and your volunteers get to know your young people better, something that’s particularly helpful if you’re with a new youth group or if it’s in the forming stage of group development.

Here’s how to play the icebreaker:

Resources

Pens
Paper
Scissors
Balloons – one per person, plus some spares in case any get torn

Preparation

Cut the sheets of paper into strips – enough for one per person – and number each of them from 1 to however many students you have.

On a separate sheet of paper, write down the names of all the youth and allocate each of them a number (don’t let them see this list though!)

Icebreaker Instructions

Give each of the teenagers a piece of paper and a pen and ask them to write down three facts about themselves. Explain that as the objective of the game is to help them get to know each other better, they should try to write facts that other people wouldn’t already know about them.

Once they’ve done that, roll each of the slips so that they’re a thin cylindrical shape. Carefully slide each slip of paper into a balloon so that it doesn’t rip, then blow up each balloon and tie the end.

When putting the slips in the balloons, check the number against the list of names to make sure the blown up balloons aren’t handed to the same person.

Give each young person a balloon, taking it in turns to burst it. They then have to read out all three facts from the slip of paper and guess which member of the youth group wrote it.

Tip

Once you’ve finished playing this icebreaker, collect up all the slips of paper and write the corresponding teenager’s name on it (this could be a good job for one of your volunteers).

Keep hold of these slips and try to memorize the facts about each of them over time. This will help when having conversations with them in the future about their interests and might also help you plan youth group activities that interest them.

Discussion

Once the game’s over, you could take some time to have a discussion about some of the different facts they learned about each other. Did anyone hear a fact about someone else that was also true for them?

This discussion has the potential to go in a couple of different directions:

Youth find that they have things in common with other members of the group
Youth find that they have nothing in common (or nothing mentioned during the icebreaker anyway)

If the first option happens, highlight this as a way in which they have common ground with each other, thereby helping them to bond.

If the latter happens, use this as an opportunity to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of your group. If you’re a church youth group, you could also use this as a way to talk about the church being one body made up of different parts.

If you liked this idea, check out all of our other youth group games.

Question: What would you do to make this Getting To Know You icebreaker more fun? Let us know in the comments below.

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