Q: This is for my 12 year old daughters party. It will be boys and girls, and it is a Mardi Gras theme. There will be 16 kids, and I am not sure how we are going to break them up in teams yet. Also, if anyone has any other ideas on activities that they could do besides this, that would be great. I know they want a dance off, we have a pool table, foosball table, and a pin ball machine for them to play with too. Thanks in advance for the ideas!
A: Hopefully you can get some ideas from this: The scavenger hunt could look for coins, masks, bracelets, necklaces, hats, blowouts, party horns, any Mardi Gras type clothing they can find. Some activities, depending on whether you have the time to make up some games: # Crown a Mardi Gras King and Queen. Have a vote. You could do this every hour to add to the excitement. # Limbo, just need a stick, 2 people to hold it and some great music. Keep lowering the stick until there is a winner. # Blow and Suck All you need is a pack of straws, a ping pong ball or card and two teams of people. You simply pass the ball or card from the front of the team to the back using only the straws. # Stalls with water pistols to be fired at cans. The cans are to be pushed back off a ledge to win a prize. Can they do it before the water runs out? # Penny Roll, on a large cloth paint lots of colored circles. Contestants must roll pennies and land them wholly within a circle to win a prize. Bigger prizes for further away circles. # Throw soft balls at ducks lined up on a ledge, a prize for getting all of the ducks off the ledge # Juggling contest, just supply juggling balls. Prize for keeping the 3 balls in the air for say 2 minutes # Mardi Gras face painting. You could have prizes for the best face painting artist and face painting subject. # Mardi Gras Jester pinatta. For a big party you could have extra candy on hand. # Put up large murals with harlequins, jesters and carnival scenes drawn on them. Each party goer is to color in an area and sign it. # Set out a giant Mask with feathers, pens, beads, coins and safe glue. Guests can decorate a part of the mask and leave messages. # Races such as normal 50 yard sprints or sack races # Throw a ball into goldfish bowls. Line up 10 to 20 goldfish bowls. Get three soft balls which will just fit into the bowls # Spin the Wheel and win a prize, you will need to hire the spinning wheel, make up the prizes and find a brilliant, confident MC. # Make up a Coconut Shy. # Make your own Mardi Gras mask. Provide blank masks and the items to decorate it. # Decorate a King Cake, just supply a basic cake and the decorating tools and supplies. # Guess Who. In advance of the party take photos of a number of well known guests hidden behind a Mardi Gras mask. Ask people to write down their guesses. # Have some brave people sit in stocks and have water soaked sponges thrown at them Good Luck