Punch a Bunch Party Game- DIY

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My family is really enjoying punch boards. A punch board is an exciting way to award prizes. This game show activity allows each person to punch ​through the tissue paper to find a toy or treat, or whatever you decide to put in it. We have even put gift cards in  them. Punch boards are perfect for family reunions, especially if your theme is a circus or carnival  theme.

You’ve seen punch boards on the popular TV game show, The Price is Right, but a punch board can be a fun addition to your family reunion.  A punch board is a fun way to distribute prizes bit you can also use a punch board to make assignments or choose what activity you will do next.

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A larger board can also be a fair way to divide into teams- for example- write families names on slips of paper (Aunt Geri’s family or Uncle Dan’s family etc.)  Punch two or more holes- those families join  together to make a tug a war, softball or family skit group.  You can use the same strategy to assign seating for meals to mix things up a bit.

We have one punch board at our house that we change to fit the theme of  the party we are having.  If you’re having a super hero party or reunion the punch board becomes the perfect- Smash Hulk board.

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Creating Your Punch Board

To create your punch board you will need:

  • sturdy poster board or a piece of cardboard
  • tissue paper
  • Plastic disposable  bowls, lunch sacks or sandwich bags
  • prizes
  • tape & hot glue
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  • The first  punch board we created we used one  sheet  of tissue paper to cover the entire back of the board.  Since then we have found that covering each hole with individual squares seems to work best as  punching one hole may pull the paper from around other holes.  Tape each square securely around individual  holes.

  • Behind the Punch Board

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There are several  options for hiding prizes behind your punch board.  My favorite option is plastic bowls. Carefully run a line of hot glue around the rim of your bowl and attach it to the inside of the tissue covered holes, with the prize inside.  Be sure and put your prize or secret message inside the bowl before attaching it to the board. Other options include taping a lunch sack to the back of each hole or plastic sandwich bags.

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Punch boards also make fun advent calendars.  Create yours with 24 holes and 24 prizes.  Punch out one prize each day to help count down days until Christmas or your favorite holiday.

It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t admit to you  that building your own punch board may drive your crazy.  Taping all the bags on the back and making sure the prizes stay in place can be frustrating so if you don’t want to go through the hassle of making your own punch board you can purchase a reasonably priced board by following this link.

https://www.shindigz.com/personalized-prize-punch-game/p/GAMPAB?gclid=CjwKCAjwypjVBRANEiwAJAxlImgxyEZ7zdpjd0JzEVlt4UsIbx24ynwBLB78oJ53fDilfdoFGewT2xoCFD8QAvD_BwE

Personalized Prize Punch Game

Shrink, Shrank, Shrunk

ShRink Art for Your Family  Reunion

I’ve been a Shrinky Dink  fan  for probably 30 years or better, way before they had the fancy kits they have now.  When  I  first started making Shrinky DInks we called them  Shrink  Art and we used either plain sheets of plastic or clean or  clear #6 plastic we got from the bakery.

In case you don’t know what I’m talking  about, Shrink Art is made with thin plastic sheets that shrink down about 45% when you put them in the oven. Not only does the material shrink, but whatever artwork you draw/print on them will also shrink with it. So, you can draw and color a design in  it’s  large form  where it is easy to see and work  with  and then shrink it down so  it is more the size of a charm or an ornament.

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I love to use shrink art for family reunions and parties.  They make great dog tags, charms, pins and beads. Our Oz inspired family reunion includes a template to be used with Shrink Art.  We had so much  fun making the dog tags and our family  loved wearing them  during the reunion.

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To make Shrink Art,preheat your oven  to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

Trace your design on the plastic using a   permanent marker such as a Sharpie marker.   You can draw your own design or trace a  clip art picture you  found  on the internet or use a coloring  page.

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Color your picture with permanent markers or colored pencils. If your plastic has a rough side,  color on  that side.

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Cut out your picture and if you will be putting it on a string or chain punch a hole in it.  You will not  be able  to make any holes  or cuts once your  picture has baked as it will be too thick.

Line a cookie sheet or tray with foil or baking paper. Arrange your pictures,color side up on the tray.

Bake in  the oven for 3- 5 minutes.  Keep your  eye on  them as they bake (that’s half the fun).  At first your pictures will curl up but don’t panic, they will flatten out again.  Once they flatten out bake for a few more seconds then remove from the oven.  If they aren’t quite flat you can flatten them by  pressing them a little more with a hot  pad or wooden  spoon.

When  cooled remove them from the pan  and you’re ready to use and enjoy your Shrink  Art.

The Shrinky Dinks brand makes some fun pre-printed designs that you can  purchase if you want to try out the process before striking out on your own.  You can purchase the pre- printed Shrinky Dink designs or sheets of plain Shrinky Dink plastic by following the  link below. 

 

Saddle Up For an Easter Egg Hunt on Horseback

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Easter Eggs, Horses & Family

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Our Stewart family’s horseback Easter egg hunt has become a tradition that we have celebrated for the past seven years, ever since we moved to Bear River City.  Easter is one of my favorite holidays and horses are my favorite animal, so it just seemed natural to put them together.

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I tell my adult children, “I don’t care if I have to share you on Christmas and Thanksgiving, but I want you for the Saturday before Easter.”  And they come, sometimes bringing friends or other family members.  Each year it seems our family changes and grows and we plan our Easter egg hunt around those changes.

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To make things more fair for the inexperienced and younger riders, Uncle Steven and I hide the eggs according to color. Each rider has a different color or style of egg.  For instance, last year we had basketball eggs for Kory, purple eggs for Megan, football eggs for Ryan, chicken shaped eggs for Brynna, pink eggs for Janie, and so forth. 

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We’ve been collecting eggs for years, and since we ask everyone to leave their eggs and just take the candy home, we have quite a collection.  Assigning each rider their own color makes it possible for us to hide the eggs according to the rider’s ability.  Uncle Steven especially likes to hide eggs in unusual places- like hanging them from tree branches.

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A few of our family members are experienced riders and we love hiding their eggs in difficult locations- over ditches, in trees, through gates and around obstacles such as wood piles and water hazards. For our lower level riders, we have a rule that you have to be touching some part of your horse when you pick up an egg. This makes it possible for riders with less experience to get off their horse to get an egg.

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Last year we added “jumbo” sized eggs to the hunt and they sure made things more challenging and interesting .

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After the riders find their designated colored eggs, they are allowed to hunt for the prized golden eggs, which hold items like movie tickets, gift certificates and money.

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This is the most exciting part of the hunt, as riders become a little more daring and often find themselves racing for the same golden egg as another rider.

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Last year we had more little ones, so we did a hunt for them before the adult riding hunt began. We have to work the hunt around the weather, so it  usually begins at about 11:00.  Following the hunt, we usually play with the horses, give them their annual vaccinations and worm them, eat barbecue and potato salad and play badminton.

This year we add a new son-in-law and grandson to the mix so we’ll need two more colors of eggs and two more chairs at our Easter table.  And as our family continues to grow and change, so will our Easter Egg hunt.

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As for our horses, they aren’t too fond peanut butter eggs or jelly beans but they do receive their own prizes in the form of carrots, apples and other treats.

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Rules of Chocolate Easter Eggs

If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you’re eating it too slowly.

If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge.  Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

Fool Your Family With These Family Friendly Pranks

Our top 5 April fools tricks and treAts

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When my kids were little, it became tradition at my house to have “funny” food for one of our April Fools Day meals.  For many years I made “Flannel” pancakes.  I don’t know why but I fooled my family for probably 5 years in a row with my flannel pancakes. 

Now that my kids are grown  with kids of their own we continue the tradition but have added additional pranks- my favorite being my delicious Aprils Fools Brownies.  Actually  they are BROWN- E’s.

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To make my delicious Brown-E’s  I put a bunch of brown capitol E’s in my  special brownie pan and cover it with foil. At the end of  dinner I ask everyone if they still  have room for a brown-E.  This prank has been going on for about 3 years and I’m afraid this year the older grandkids will remember this trick.DSCN4341

For Sale Sign

Another fun way I’ve fooled my grandkids, which all live with a 1/2 mile of my house, is to put a “For Sale” in my front yard. They didn’t that was very funny and fortunately, neither did our good neighbors.

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Frozen Breakfast

Put cereal and milk in a bowl and let it freeze overnight. You can freeze it with the spoon in it or not. The next morning right before breakfast, take the bowl out of the freezer and pour a little bit of fresh milk on top.When your hungry kids try to dig in, they’ll find that their cereal won’t budge.

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Flannel Pancakes


When cooking pancakes put a piece of white flannel, about 3”x3”, into each pancake and cook as usual. Flannel makes pancakes impossible to cut and eaters will become quite frustrated until they realize they’ve been fooled. This is an easy trick to do when serving many people. Put one flannel pancake on a plate with two or three other pancakes.

Non-drinkable Juice


What you’ll need:
Clear drinking glasses, Jell-o, Straws

The night before make some jell-o in clear juice glasses.  Use a flavor that matches the juice they drink – such as grape, orange etc. Fill the glass about ¾ full and after it starts to set, insert a drinking straw. Once it is set, it will look like a normal glass of juice with a straw in it. Simply set it at their place at the breakfast table.  Provide spoons so they can eat the gelatin when they realize they can’t drink it.

And here’s one more fun idea.  Take a few quarters and Gorilla glue them on the sidewalk or walkway leading up to your house.  When the grandkids, or your guests, try to pick them up they’re stuck. Warning- the glue will leave a dark spot on your concrete when you pry it off.

What is a Reunion Theme Package?

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At Familyreunionhelper.com we sell reunion  theme  packages.  What’s a theme package you ask?  Most of our digital downloads include 45 or more pages of invitations, name tags, water bottle labels, games,activities, templates and printables that compliment the theme you have chosen.

The following is an  example of a name tag from our Heritage Reunion.

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This cute invitation is from our Circus reunion.  Just print it off and then fill  in the blanks with  your personalized reunion information.

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Our Caveman reunion invitation is sure to get the kids excited about attending all the prehistoric fun.

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Water bottle labels are a wonderful  way to address your reunion theme and if everyone writes their name on the label, bottles don’t get mixed up or lost as easily.

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Our theme packages also include pages and pages or games and activities that go along with the theme you’ve chosen.  You can spend hours searching the web for your ideas but these have been tried and tested and we know they work.  Here’s a page from our Superhero reunion.

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Our reunion  theme packages include tons of extras like these certificates from  our Medieval Reunion and printable signs from our “No Place Like Home”, Oz inspired reunion.

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Each of our reunion theme packages includes printable games and puzzles that go along with your theme. Like this  Valentine’s game that is part of our “Home for the Holidays” reunion.

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Our reunion  themes also include food ideas that compliment your theme.  Check out this recipe for “Parrot” (tastes a lot like chicken”)- it serves 100.

Barbeque Captain’s “Parrot”

Serves 100.

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2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 ounces dehydrated onions
7 pounds 3 ounces catsup
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 pound 8 ounces brown sugar, packed
48 pounds chicken, cut-up

For barbecue sauce: Simmer chicken stock and onions over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add catsup, garlic powder, and brown sugar. Simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside.

Rinse chicken in cold water. Drain well. Arrange 25 pieces of chicken on each sheet pan (18 x 26 x 1 inch). Brush 3/4 to 1 quart of barbecue sauce over chicken in each pan. Bake uncovered until tender, checking frequently. Cook in conventional oven at 425 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Many of our themes have printable food tents like our Western  Reunion food tent featured here.

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We’ve tried to think  of everything we could to make your reunion planning  easier and  less stressful.  Check out Family Reunion  Helper.com today and choose the reunion  theme package that best suites your family.  You can be sure that each package is jammed packed of ideas, game, activities and printables to get your creative juices flowing. Click on our logo below and follow the link.

FamilyReunionHelper

St Patrick’s Day Party Games

Game Ideas for Your Irish Party

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Whether celebrating St Patrick’s Day or considering your Irish roots at your next family reunion here are a couple of fun Irish game ideas.

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Musical Shamrock Game

Make very large green shamrock shapes about  2 feet square.  They don’t need to be fancy just simple shamrock shapes.  The ideas is similar to “musical chairs” game- you want to have fewer shamrocks than players. Scatter shamrocks over the playing area.  Explain that as the music plays all the players must keep moving but must stay off the shamrocks.   When the music stops players run to a shamrock.  However, each shamrock must have three players on it. Those with only one or two as well as those that have nowhere to stand are eliminated.  Remove a shamrock or two after each round.  (You always want to have fewer shamrocks than players)  Winners of the game  are those who have not been eliminated when only one shamrock remains.  Give out green lollypops, cupcakes or stickers for prizes.

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Irish Scavenger Hunt

Divide into teams, giving each team an identical list of green items.  Tell each team that they must stay together when searching for their green items.

Some ideas to search for:

  • Something that grows green
  • Something you are wearing that is green
  • Green crayon, green colored pencil, green marker
  • Find a plastic item that is green
  • Find something soft that is green
  • Something hard that is green
  • Find something you can build with that is green
  • Green snack
  • 3 leaf clover
  • Fruit that is green
  • Vegetable that is green
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Irish “Road Bowling” Game

Croquet is supposed to have come from a game called Crookey in Northern Ireland but another fun “real” Irish game is “Road Bowling”.
Road bowling is an unusual version of bowling that is particular to Ireland. It is played with a steal shot, (or use your own idea for a ball of some sort) which is tossed under arm by the player down a twisty road. The player who gets to the finish line with the least amount of throws wins.

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Why should you never iron a 4-leaf clover? You
don’t want to press your luck.

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.

Olympic Crossword Puzzle

Check out this fun Olympic themed crossword taken from the pages of our Olympic themed family reunion and party.
http://familyreunionhelper.com/products/products.php…

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Cute Christmas Treats for Your Family Party

Perfect Treats for Your Family Christmas Party

Simple to make and delicious to eat!

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These cute reindeer and snowman  stole the show at our family Christmas party last year.  They are simple to make and delicious to eat. You can make them  yourself or use these goodies as an ice breaker activity when your family first arrives at the party.

The Snowmen are easy to make using Hostess Sno balls.  Just keep your eyes open for them because they seem to only be available at certain  times of the year.

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Use a little white frosting to glue an orange candy like an M&M or Skittle or Sixlet to the Sno Ball. You can also just do a dab of orange frosting. Use black frosting gel in a tube to make the eyes. Cut a paper straw in half and press it inside of the Sno Ball.

Hostess Sno Balls -6ct Box

Reindeer

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Making the reindeer are a little more complicated though once I figured out the process,even my little grandchildren were able to make their own reindeer.

LITTLE DEBBIE SNACK SWISS ROLLS CHOCOLATE & CREME 12 CT

Purchase a package of Little Debbie’s Swiss Rolls.

First you will need  to cut two small slits on each side of the Swiss Roll and gently place one pretzel on each side. 

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Put a dab of white frosting where you want the eyes to go and  carefully press the point side of two white chocolate chips into the Swiss Rolls to make the eyes. Use black gel to make the dots for the eyes.

Put a dab of white frosting to glue a red M&M nose below the eyes. Cut a paper straw in half and press it inside of the Swiss Roll.

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HINT: Be very careful when placing the antlers and the eyes.  If you push to hard your reindeer may look  like this…

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Black Friday-ish Family Reunion Sale

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Never happened before and may never happen again- it’s a family reunion “Black Friday” sale! This year Family Reunion Helper is giving you a jump start on your 2018 family reunion. Buy one family reunion and get one family reunion theme package for free.

Purchase any of our family reunion theme packages through our website store- www.familyreunionhelper.com. When your purchase is complete send an email to auntmo@familyreunionhelper.com with the name of the reunion theme you’d like for FREE and Aunt Mo will email your free reunion theme package to you within 24 hours.

This offer is good today through midnight (mst) November 25, 2017.

Thanksgiving Jeopardy

Looking for a fun game to play  with your family between Thanksgiving dinner and the Pumpkin  Pie?

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Our family tested our knowledge of Thanksgiving traditions and history at our family dinner last Thanksgiving. I came up with the questions and printed them  off on half sheet papers.  We followed basic TV Jeopardy rules and adapted as necessary for our situation.An example of answers and questions  for the “First Thanksgiving” topic are as follows:

First Thanksgiving Answer Key
100: When was the first thanksgiving? 1621
200: The president who made Thanksgiving a national holiday? Abraham Lincoln
300: How long did Thanksgiving last? 3 Days
400: How many people where at the first thanksgiving? 140
500: What Indian Tribe? Wampanoag

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You can download a pdf file of the Jeopardy game we used by clicking on the link  below.  It’s ready to print with 1/2 sheet question cards and a list of answers.  Heading cards are on a half sheet and feature the graphics shown in the photo above.  Take a quick look at the questions before printing and make sure they are still applicable.  Happy Thanksgiving!

FREE Thanksgiving Jeopardy printable