Here are a few highlights from this past weekend.
Wacky Countdown & Story of Thanksgiving
We started things off with a wacky countdown that showed a turkey being “hunted” by a pilgrim, with a funny ending at the Thanksgiving meal.
Then, we included a fun, short video that told the story of Thanksgiving . . . basically. http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/11000/The-Story-Of-Thanksgiving-Basically
The Interlude
We’ve done this dance before, but had shelved it for a while. Sometimes, a fun factor is about bringing something back again. Not everyone is a huge interlude fan. However, in an “all-play” activity like a crazy group dance, this one incorporated movement, energy, interaction, and just-plain-fun! Here’s the backstory article to the dance: http://www.uni.edu/this-is-uni/interlude-dance
You can watch the instructional video to dance along at home here:
(Special thanks to Jay Reynolds, Middle School Team Player at Hope Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, for introducing this to me. And special thanks to Dave Harris and Steve Stone of digitalstache for putting together these resources to compliment the dance!)
Look Up Look Down
We played a simple game that you could play with your family, maybe even in a vehicle on a long road-trip, although I recommend the driver not play. Here are the instructions. We didn’t include the scream option . . . this time.
Make It Rain
Sunday morning, we even made it rain in the Student Ministries Center! (Don’t worry, no one got wet.) This may not work so well with just your family, but if you get a chance to do this with a large group it is tons of fun. Here’s a video I found of it being done “choir style.” I do have to say, their version of thunder sounds better than ours did. I first did this when I was in middle school and love leading it with a crowd whenever I have the chance.
There are other things I did that aren’t as easy to share. Hopefully, you’ve found something fun here for your family, ministry, job, etc.! As you can see from my links, I collect ideas from lots of different people and places. Sometimes being creative or wacky is more about finding some great idea than it is trying to develop something on your own. However, I have found that as I interact with others and process their ideas, that process often leads to some of the best original ideas I have had. Enjoy and be wacky!
A Note About Images
(A note about the turkey picture. I found some great pictures looking through Flickr using http://compfight.com. Every time I used an image, I included a note somewhere on the image with credit to who took the picture or created the image. On some of our posters, I even contacted the individual if I wasn’t clear what their permissions were for their image. Everyone was very helpful! A little help is never far away! By the way, parents, this can be a great tool to get images for school projects that really stand out in the crowd! Always remember to credit the source and ask for permission.)
Below are some of the images we used to promote the November Wacky Weekend.
Mike's Memos 