What’s Your Leprechaun Name?

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Aunt Mo

Post a copy of this printout at the entrance to your St Patrick’s Day Party along with name tags and markers. Party goers figure out their “Leprechaun” name, write it on a name tag and go by that name during the party.

I put my 1st grade aged grand-daughter in charge of this activity at our St Patrick’s Day breakfast. She really had fun helping everyone’s leprechaun name and carefully wrote it on name tag stickers.

This was a very simple activity that was actually very fun and good for a few laughs. My leprechaun name is Merry McMagic. What’s your leprechaun name?

An Easter Hunt Twist

Posted on February 26, 2017 by Aunt Mo

Get Your Plastic Easter Eggs Now!

Now is this the perfect time to purchase plastic Easter eggs- not only for Easter egg hunts but for other themed parties you may have throughout the year.For instance, fill eggs with small plastic dinosaurs for a prehistoric or dinosaur reunion or fill eggs with small plastic dragons for your medieval reunion or princess party.

Moana and HeiHei Fun!

With all the excitement over Moana you could also fill plastic eggs with HeiHei memorabilia or pictures. (Take a picture or HeiHei and then cut into puzzle pieces. Hide one piece in each egg and when all the pieces Are found you can put the puzzle together.) These eggs would be perfect for a HeiHei egg hunt. I purchased them at Walmart.

How to Play

Hide the eggs around your reunion or party location. Tell the kids that they must find all the eggs before they hatch. The person that collects the most dinosaurs or dragons (or Easter themed prize) is the winner. This may not be the child that finds the most eggs as not every egg will have a prize in it.

A fun twist is to tell kids that if they find an egg that is empty, they have to put it back for another player to find. This way, the hunters will have to remember which eggs they’ve already checked…which adds to the mystery and suspense of the hunt.

Going Away Party For Your College Bound Student

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Aunt Mo

If you have a high school graduate that is looking forward to graduating and heading off to college you might want to plan a going away party. As part of the “Aloha” fun plan a fun “ Day in the Life” relay race.

Use your imagination and personalize challenges to your student’s situation. For instance, you might want to use the following challenges:

Doing Laundry Challenge
Have a couple of dish towels and clothespins that must be hung on the line before moving to the next challenge.

Garbage Challenge
Make several newspaper “balls” by squishing newspaper together. Place a garbage can several feet away. Before moving to the next challenge you must toss 3 newspaper balls into the garbage.

Gym Time Challenge
Pick up a couple of 5 lb. weights and run from point A to point B.

Grocery Carry Challenge

Put a few canned goods in a grocery bag- carry the bag from point A and point B.

Hot Tub Challenge
Use a low bucket with warm water- time ends when BOTH feet are in the “hot tub”.

The person with the fastest time receives a gift bag of apartment cleaning supplies.

Aquaman Super Hero Training

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Aunt Mo

Who is Aquaman and why should he be a featured hero at your superhero reunion or party?

Aquaman is the king of all things aqua. He can breathe underwater, swim at tremendous speeds, and telepathically communicate with sea life. Being able to withstand ocean depths, he gets bonus points on land with his superhuman strength, enhanced senses, and nearly impenetrable skin.

I never knew there was a superhero named Aquaman but I’ve got to tell you- if you’re around a pool or lake or some other water source, Aquaman gives endless opportunities for water competitions and games. Try some of our favorite Aquaman training activities:

Aquaman Treasure Hunt

Collect a bunch of pennies, nickels and other coins and throw them into the pool. Be sure to throw coins in different depths of the pool to accommodate all swim skill levels. Line kids up on the side of the pool and on the word go they jump into the pol and collect as many coins as possible. When all the coins are found, count them and add up the value. The one with the most money is the winner.

Aquaman Underwater Training

Participants line up on one side of the pool, On the word “go” they jump into the pool and swim as far as they can under water. Depending on the size of the pool and the abilities of the swimmers, they may be able to swim more than one lap.

Aquaman Enhanced Senses Training

Use a pint water bottle with a white cap and filled it with water from the pool. Line the swimmers up on one side of the pool facing away from it. When they hear the bottle hit the water they can jump in and begin hunting for it. The swimmer that finds the bottle is the winner. You can play this game over and over.

Of course swimming races are fun and since Aquaman can swim at tremendous speeds, a real natural for your superhero training.

Be sure and check out more superhero family reunion ideas by clicking on the picture below.

Thanksgiving Gumdrop Turkeys

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Aunt Mo

Thanksgiving gumdrop turkeys for your Thanksgiving table.

I’ve searched all over the internet for gum drop turkeys as cool as the ones my brothers and I made when we were growing up, but it appears those turkeys were one of a kind creations from my Mom.

My Mom always put her four children in charge of making the 30- 50 gum drop turkey favors for our Thanksgiving family gathering. The turkeys were so simple to make that we required no supervision and popping a few raisins or candy corns in our mouth as we were creating them took the edge off our Thanksgiving hunger. In fact, making gum drop turkeys soon became a tradition at my house when I had children of my own.

Over the years I exchanged the raisins we used to use for Craisens and brown toothpicks for brightly colored ones. Hint- always use Braches candy corns- they are softer and don’t crumble as easily when you stick a toothpick in them. Large gum drops can be difficult to find, but after extensive searching, I was able to find some on the bottom shelf, hidden behind a garbage can, (no kidding) on the Wal-mart candy isle.

As I was writing this blog, my 32 year old son walked into the kitchen where I was taking pictures and said, “Gum drop turkeys, I remember making those!” Just proves that something doesn’t have to be expensive, complicated or elaborate to make a lasting family memory.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

Aunt MO

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

– Author unknown

Have a Trail Mix Buffet

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Aunt Mo

A trail mix buffet is a fun option for your western or rustic themed reunion or party. If your occasion is more formal you can dress up your buffet with glass apothecary jars for a fancier look which lends itself to fancier parties such as wedding receptions or anniversary celebrations. A trail mix buffet is also a fun treat idea for a movie themed or kid themed party.

For our family reunion of 100 guests we used large tin foil pans to put the many treat options in but using a variety of glass jars, tin buckets, and baskets are great for holding all the delicious goodies your guests can choose from. .

Image result for build your own trail mix bar

Serving guests is a breeze and everyone fills their own containers (paper sacks, sandwich bags, party treat bags, boxes or paper ice cream cups) with their favorite treats.

You can use healthy ingredients for your buffet featuring raisins, nuts and seeds or a kids favorite buffet using cereals, M & M’s and gummy bears. Use your imagination when selecting treats for your buffet.

Image result for trail mix buffet +

Here’s a list of possible options for your buffet:
nuts- almonds, peanuts, pecans, cashews etc.
pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
cereal such as Cheerios, Trix, Chex, Fruit Loops or Captain Crunch etc.
chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, vanilla or peanut butter chips etc.
candy- M&M’s, candy corn, gummy worms, milk duds, sour patch kids etc.
granola
marshmallows
coconut, banana chips
pretzels, goldfish crackers
raisins, Craisins, chopped dates, yogurt raisins
Popcorn makes a great filler.

Make signs for ingredients your guests may not recognize. Custom labels, mini chalkboards and cardboard tents designed to support your theme will do the job. Print off the following food tents for your trail mix buffet.

Provide serving scoops such as ice cream scoops, oversized spoons or measuring cups- you’ll need one for each treat in your buffet. Smallish scoops help control serving size to assure that there is enough if each treat for all your guests.

Pool Noodle Ponies For Your Western Reunion

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Aunt Mo

At our western themed family reunion we created our own pool noodle ponies. Everyone, no matter what their age, made a pony until we had a whole herd of them. DIY pool noodle ponies are a great activity for a multi day reunion. We had the whole first day to create our ponies and used them for fun activities on the second day.

For each pony you need one swimming noodle the skinnier ones work best and you can usually find them for $1.00 at dollar stores.

twine or yarn
felt (9 x 12 sheets work well)
large wiggly eyes
low temp glue gun and glue
scissors
Permanent markers
Decorations

For your ponies head, bend the end of your noodle over and use twine or yarn and tie tightly to hold in place. This will be the ponies bridle. Attach a longer piece of rope to make the reins. You may want to braid this part of the bridle or add bows etc.

For the mane of the pony make a slit, about 1/2-1 inch deep, into the pool noodle with a box cutter, pocket knife or one side of a pair of scissors. Cut felt so it is fringed on both edges then stuff the felt (center first) into the slit.

The felt will stay put without gluing.

Image result for pool noodle horses

Cut another strip of felt with points on both ends to make the ears. Put the ears under the bend of the head and pull upward.

Encourage pony creators to be creative. Provide permanent markers, stickers and jewels and see what they create. We have found that the more time you give them the more creative the ponies got. We even got a long necked giraffe (made from two pool noodles).

Finally, put together a rodeo or horse show for your horses to compete in. Give prizes for

Helpful hint- If you have a large crowd making ponies, write names on your trusty steeds. Although each is unique they may still be difficult to pick out of the crowd.

For more fun ideas for your western themed family reunion or party check out familyreunionhelper.com

Human Piñata Chase

Posted on October 23, 2016 by Aunt Mo

This fun variation of the traditional piñata may very well become the highlight for the kids at your next family reunion or party.

One of the highlights of our 2016 reunion was the human piñata chase held for all the children. It’s an interesting and fun twist on the traditional piñata game.

To prepare the human piñatas hot glue onto the front and back of a t-shirt. You will need one shirt for every piñata. Use old or cheap shirts because they will be destroyed in the chase. Use small snack sized candies, fruit snacks and small cookie snacks with a full sized candy bar thrown in for good measure.

You can also glue money on the piñata shirts if you put it in a zip lock bag. Pencils and small toys can also be glued to the shirts.

To play, divide children into age groups. Ask for someone to be the piñatas. You may do 1 piñata at a time (1 piñata for each age group) or let all of your piñatas be chased at the same time but put a time limit for each age group. Give the human piñatas a head start then send the kids out to collect their treats. When they get close enough kids grab hold of the prize and pull it off. Some can be hard to pull off but that is just part of the fun.

Olympic Themed Family Reunion

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Aunt Mo

“OWN THE PODIUM!” An Olympic Inspired Family Reunion or Party

There are few times that the world comes together to celebrate, cheer and honor its people – the Olympics is one of those occasions. This global event has the power to unify the world and inspire peace for a moment in time. To celebrate this extraordinary event and its athletes in your own corner of the world, host an Olympic Family Reunion! Everyone can be a gold medal athlete at your Family Reunion Olympic Games. No training is required; all you need is the desire to have a good time. Enjoy classic Winter and Summer events plus amusing twists in “Silly Olympic”contests. This Olympic reunion includes more than 40 pages of tips, tricks and shortcuts for “Owning the Podium” at your next Olympic games.

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Nail It Game!

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Aunt Mo

I love finding a new game to share with my family and friends and the game I’m sharing today is a good one. Simple to put together and simple to play. This version of the “stump game” can be played by everyone and we call it “Nail It”.

Nail It Game Tools

To play you need a tree stump, as many nails as there are players, and one hammer. The nails we used are pictured below.

How to Play the Nail It Game

Everyone puts their nail into the stump just enough for it to stand nice and sturdy (in the order that you are standing in the circle). Each player then “claims” a nail by placing his or her finger on the nail to claim it as theirs. This will be his nail for the duration of the game. It is generally understood that people will claim the nail directly in front of them.

The first player taps the hammer two times on the stump and then takes a swing at any of the nails but their own. They either hit the nail or miss the nail- either way the hammer is then passed to the next person in the circle and they repeat.

Winning the Game

The goal is to hit everyone else’s nail until it is flush with the stump and to be the last nail standing. A player is eliminated from the game (and thereby takes no more turns) once any part of the head of his nail passes below the level of the surface of the stump (including bending over the edge of the stump without actually entering it). Use your fingernail to test if the nail is flush.

It is common for the winner of the game, should he choose to do so, to drive his own nail fully into the stump in a victory drive.

I have to say I was a surprised when, doing research for this blog, found that the “stump” game is actually a drinking game. So, as a disclaimer, let me say that we have played this game and never, at any time, have we had to have a can of beer in our hand to have fun playing it. It’s a great game for family members of most ages and abilities. Sometimes the most powerful hammer swingers are the worst players.

Nail It Game Tips:

*You may all stand or all sit to play
*Keep your face a safe distance from the stump so you don’t get hit in the head.
*Be careful reaching across the stump to hit a nail- you may hit your palm on a nail and it doesn’t feel very good.
*Choose good, sturdy nails- too small and some players can drive them in one swing.

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