If you have a kid who loves to play in the dirt, then we have a party plan for you. This party is a mess, literally. Get your camera set up and prepare to laugh a lot at our messy Disgusting Derby!
The Disgusting Derby
First things first…
Make sure your invitation warns your guests to wear old clothes. Seriously, they may want to throw them away at the end of the party. Here’s our simple invitation:
Now for the activities…
Divide your guests into groups of two people. Each pair will be a team. The activities will include a series of disgusting competitions.
Messy Marshmallow Drop
Supplies: Each team will need 5 large marshmallows, one cup of chocolate pudding, and one chair.
One person from each team will stand on a chair. The other will lay on the ground next to the chair. The goal is to dip a marshmallow in pudding, then drop it into the mouth of your partner laying on the ground. The team with the most marshmallow catches gets the points.
Spitty Sticky Game
Supplies: One roll of LifeSavers per team (14 LifeSavers are in a roll.)
This game is seriously gross. One person in the pair will suck on the LifeSavers, then stick as many as they can on their partner’s face. They have 30 seconds. The team with the most LifeSavers on a face gets the points.
Whipped Cream Toss
Supplies: One or two cans of spray whipped cream.
An adult will spray a blob of whipped cream on the top of each person’s hand. The kids will flip the whipped cream in the air and try to catch it in their mouths. (See video.) Give every player at least three chances. The team with the most successful catches gets the points.
Gross Goatees
Supplies: Each team will need a plastic cup with 1/8-1/4 cup corn syrup in it. They will also need a plastic cup with 1/2 cup of Life Cereal crumbs. (Make the crumbs by pouring Life cereal in a Ziplock bag and smashing it with a rolling pin or your hands.)
Once again, the teams will decide who will do each of two tasks. One person will paint a beard and mustache on their partner with their fingers and corn syrup. Then they will pat Life cereal crumbs on the syrup to create “facial hair.” So funny! Best beard wins the points.
Disgusting Derby (Relay Race)
Supplies: Paper Plates, Creamy and slimy foods such as pudding, refried beans, canned tomato soup, cottage cheese, peanut butter, hummus, whipped cream, baby food, yogurt, and mud.
Combine the pairs into two large teams for a relay race. Players will run across the yard to a table. The table will have paper plates sitting on it. Each plate has one of the following items: pudding, refried beans, tomato soup, cottage cheese, peanut butter, hummus, whipped cream, baby food, yogurt, or mud. Anything slimy, sticky, or creamy will work! The plates will then be covered with a second plate so the contents are hidden. When the runner reaches the table, they point to a plate. An adult removes the cover and the player must smash his face in the contents before he can run back to tag the next person in line. Those who hesitate usually don’t win!
Running toward the mess!Smashing his face into chocolate pudding. Lucky choice!Covered in refried beansOooh! Tomato soup slime.
Water Fight
End the party with an epic water fight! It may help clean up your little mess-makers, or it may just make everything more sticky. Either way, it will be fun.
Treats
You can choose your favorite messy dessert. We served Dirt & Worms at our party. Yum!
Our extended family holds a biannual cousin camp that mimics church youth conferences like For the Strength of Youth and Especially for Youth. Our cousins live all over the country so this is an opportunity for them to spend quality time together strengthening their cousin bonds.
It’s really great to have over twenty teens for this event. We invite all our cousins who are ages 12-18. Then we tell them to invite their cousins from the other side of their family and any close friends they think could be adopted cousins for the week. Our group has varied in size from 20-38 teens.
Our event usually runs from Tuesday evening to Saturday morning. Here’s an example agenda from our most recent camp held in Salt Lake City and Syracuse, Utah. For the Strength of Cousins Agenda 2020
Here are some ideas so you can organize your own Cousin Camp. We’ve divided our ideas into the fun stuff and the spiritual stuff. This is an opportunity to strengthen faith and family unity, so we always schedule faith-promoting devotionals and speakers at our event. However, we know our audience and no one would come if it wasn’t super fun. So, make sure you have a good balance of both and don’t forget to allow lots of free time.
-The Fun Stuff-
company competitions
Divide your group into teams of 5-10 people. Four groups is ideal. You can use these groups for food prep and cleaning assignments, but the main purpose is for everyone to be a part of a team. Every day should include at least one company competition. Here are four fun ideas:
Photo Scavenger Hunt
Set your teams lose on a photo scavenger hunt in a mall, park, or downtown plaza. Make a list of items and activities their team can photograph and video to earn points. Set a time limit and let them go!
Photo Scavenger Hunt in City Creek Plaza, Salt Lake City
Obstacle Course
Create an obstacle course in a back yard or park. We had access to an inflatable obstacle course that served as one leg of the race. Make sure there are enough obstacles that everyone on the team will be part of the competition. We had climbing, jumping, running, and throwing events. We also had a putting golf hole, a trampoline challenge, and then some team challenges like a human pyramid and carrying people. Make it up based on your space. You’ll need a few adult judges to make sure no one cheats. Make sure the rules are laid out clearly before you start. This is supposed to be fun, so you’ll want to avoid any arguments over the rules mid-competition.
Game Show Competition
We created a really fun game show competition that was a huge success. We needed an inside activity for a hot afternoon and this fit the bill. Here’s the link with a full description and clues: Epic Game Show Competition
Cousins Got Talent (Skit Night)
On our last night, all the teams made up a skit and performed for the group. We had a panel of judges (uncles, aunts, older cousins) who scored the skits for the team competition. The groups knew about this all week so they had talked about it and used some of their free time to prepare.
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Water Kickball
If you’ve never played water kickball, you’re in for a treat. This activity costs about $100 but you can use it over and over. You will need 3 inflatable kiddie pools, four rolls of 3’ X 50’ 4 mil plastic sheeting from a home improvement store, baby liquid soap, a rubber kickball, and access to a hose/water.
Roll out the plastic in a 50′ square with kiddie pools for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd bases. Sit the pools on top of the plastic at each corner of your diamond to weigh it down. Pin down the home base corner with a couple of tent stakes. You don’t want stakes in the plastic anywhere else because someone could hurt their bare feet as they run. Squirt baby soap on the plastic, then spray it with water and fill up your kiddie pools. Keep the water flowing and continue to spray the plastic and fill the pools as needed throughout the game. Now, play kickball! You’ll be slipping and sliding and laughing the whole time.
Yard Games
Make sure your event has lots of free time. Yard games should be readily available so the kids can play whenever they like. Volleyball and Four-Square were our two favorites last year.
Water Day
If you have access to a lake or reservoir, take advantage. Our group had a great time floating in the Great Salt Lake. (I’ve lived in Utah most of my life and I had never swam in the Great Salt Lake. It was a blast!) Another year, we went to a water park. Water is just fun– especially on hot summer days. Add a little water to your event if you can.
Swimming at the Great Salt Lake
Ropes Course
We really like ropes courses because they encourage teamwork, courage, and trust. We have had several good experiences with Utah’s CLAS Ropes Course in both Provo and Eden. In addition to the aerial park, we succeeded in several team building challenges on the ground. It was a great day.
More Information on CLAS Ropes Courses in Utah: CLAS Ropes
Giant’s Ladder
Games
Check out some of our game ideas to use throughout your event. Large Group Games
-The Spiritual Stuff-
Devotionals
Devotionals by older cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are at the heart of our cousins camp. There’s something special about learning from people who really love you. Make sure to include as many family members as you can to help promote faith and strength in your teens.
We had a devotional by an older cousin at the graveside of our cousin, Alec. It was a special night.
Speakers
We set aside one day in the middle of our week as our speaker day. We invite two guests to speak back-to-back at 10:00 and 11:00. The speakers are followed by lunch and then one last speaker at 1:00. We invite seminary teachers and friends who we know will connect well with our teens.
Hike with a Speaker at the Summit
It’s fun to go on a short hike with your group and have a speaker at the summit. If you can time it at sunset, it’s even cooler. Don’t forget to bring your flashlights!
Service
It’s also important to add an element of service to your camp. One year, we did a bunch of yardwork. Another, we made posters and delivered them to a nursing home to hang on the residents’ doors.
We hope some of these ideas inspire you to hold your own Cousin Camp! Strong families = Strong world
Looking for great Pioneer Trek activities? We have participated in many Pioneer Treks as Trail Bosses, Ma & Pa, and family members. Here are some helpful ideas to make your Pioneer Trek a fun and uplifting event.
Morning Round-Up
Begin each morning on the trail by gathering everyone together. (This will take place after breakfast, family devotionals, and loading trailers. ) Start with a roll call, draw lots for pull position, family handcart song, announcements, and a company hug. All of this will take less than 15 minutes. It’s a great way to start the day!
Roll Call
The trail boss will call out the family colors or names and each family will respond with a cheer.
Draw Lots for Pull Position
Our favorite way to do this is by putting a handful of Legos in the Trail Boss Ma’s apron pocket. There is a Lego for each family. The Trail Boss calls a youth up to pick from the pocket. She stacks the Legos as they are pulled and that is the order for the day. The order can be drawn again after lunch.
Family Handcart Song
Ask every family to make up a verse to “The Handcart Song”. They can do this as they’re trekking or before Trek. The Stake leaders share their song on the first day before the first pull. Three or four families share their songs each morning at Morning Round-Up. Here’s the song and an example. Handcart Song Music
Share the agenda and any announcements for the day.
Company Hug
A morning “company hug” is a great pioneer trek activity to promote unity. Our treks have been four day events, so we needed four company hugs. Here are some ideas.
First Day/Practice Hug: Everyone forms a big circle, trying to stand side-by-side as close as they can, with arms around shoulders. Then everyone moves one step forward to add an extra squeeze.
Sit Hug: Everyone forms a big circle. Everyone turns so their stomachs are close to the back of the person in front of them. Tighten the circle so everyone is close together. Then, on the count of three, sit down. Everyone should be sitting on each other, so no one should fall!
Magnet Hug: Once again, everyone forms a big circle. The Trail Boss yells for everyone with a birthday in January to run to the center of the circle and make a big group hug. Then he yells “February!” and the February birthdays run to the center and join in the hug. He continues with all the months as everyone gets sucked into the magnet hug.
Cinnamon Roll Hug: Save this one for your last morning. Everyone holds hands, making a big circle. The trail boss lets go of one hand and begins to walk to the center, pulling everyone behind him. The group then goes round and round, forming a tight cinnamon roll. I wish I had a video of our trek kids doing this. They loved it! Here’s an example from YouTube. https://youtu.be/inD620ss3Uc
Trail of Hope
In Nauvoo, during pageant weeks, actors stand along the trail to the river and tell their stories to the visitors as they walk the Trail of Hope. We recreated this powerful experience on our Pioneer Trek. It’s one of our favorite pioneer trek activities. We held our Trail of Hope on our first night, after dinner and a variety show. We staggered the families to begin the trail every five minutes. They needed to be spaced enough to listen to a story, then move to the next one before the following family arrived. We asked 12 adult leaders and youth to learn the parts. (Most don’t need to be memorized, but the actors should know the stories very well.) We gave each actor a lantern. They stood alone on the trail and told their story to each family as they passed. Here is our script: Trail of Hope Script
Variety Show
On the first night, after camp has been set-up and everyone has eaten dinner, it’s good to gather and have some fun. It’s important for the kids to know that even though trek is going to be physically hard, it’s also going to be tons of fun. You want them to know this from the start. Our variety show consisted of several youth sharing their talents, plus a skit from our Pa’s, a song from our Ma’s, and some entertainment from our Trail Boss. This can be really fun. Tap into the talent in your group and make it happen! I’ll attach copies of our Ma and Pa numbers to get you thinking. You’re welcome to use our scripts if they suit your needs. We asked a quartet of young women to end the night by singing “Happy Trails”. It was great!
On Friday afternoon, we always gather for games and competition at our Pioneer Rendezvous. The favorite events are axe throwing, stilts, tug-of-war, and hoop throwing/catching. There are many stations with pioneer games. It’s easy to find other pioneer games and activities through a quick internet search.
Team Building/Get-To-Know You Activities
Here are a few ideas to help build unity within families.
Make up nicknames for family members.
Have a family yell or cheer.
Assign jobs (Load/unload cart, place rocks under wheels when stopped, set-up/take-down shelter, fill water jugs, retrieve bedding from trailer, etc.)
Seven Questions on the Trail: Choose one person at a time. The family gets to ask them 7 questions about themselves.
The BIG Question: Ask a big question and everyone has to answer it. (What super power would you have? Do you have a phobia? Share an embarrassing moment. Who’s your hero?)
Whomp! Memory Game: Sit in a circle. Person in the middle has a pair of socks in their hand. They run to someone. That person ahs to yell out the name of another person before he gets whomped with the socks.
Pioneer Trek Activities: Let’s Trek!
Games on the Trail
You Don’t Say: Game played in two teams- right side of cart vs. left side of cart. Here are the rules: You Don’t Say
Encore: Call out a category. Each team takes turns singing the first few lines of a song until one team can’t think of a song. Examples: Songs from Mary Poppins or Songs with the word “Night”.
Ghost Speller: Take turns saying a letter to form a word. When opponent thinks it isn’t a word, they challenge previous player. Point goes to person with a true word or the challenger if no true word.
Line Up: Challenge another family or two on the trail. Caller yells category and the teams try to line up in order before the other teams. Category ideas: Age, length of hair, shoe size, # of visits to Disneyland, highest bowling score, alphabetically by middle name, height of favorite Star Wars character, alphabetically by first name of favorite Harry Potter character…More detailed rules: Line Up
Games for Down Time
Human Knot: Stand in circle. Put right hands in and grab a hand. Then put left hand in and grab a hand. Try to untangle the knot.
Lucky Stiff: Need lots of people. Everyone takes off their shoes. One person stands in the middle of the circle. Everyone else sits on the ground in a circle with their feet pressed tightly against the person standing in the middle. The person in the center crosses their arms over their chest, stands stiff and falls. The circle passes the person around. Super fun!
Ten Fingers: Everyone holds out 10 fingers. Go around the circle and say something you’ve never done. Anyone in the circle who has done it has to put down a finger. Last player with finger wins.
Ape, Girl, Man: Just like Rock, Paper, Scissors: Ape gets Girl, Girl gets Man, Man gets Ape
Zoom in on this picture to see our handy water bottle pockets.
Family Devotional Ideas
We believe that the experiences the youth have with their pioneer families are the most powerful of a Pioneer Trek. We encourage you to have morning and evening devotionals in your small family groups. These discussions will likely be the most important part of your your trek.
Pioneer Stories, both historic and modern
Great stories from Ma & Pa’s life or other people in the group
Talent show (on the spot, silly talents) or Untalented Show
Book of Mormon/Joseph Smith/Restoration of Priesthood on Earth- Talk about how the pioneers, who were new members of the church, must have felt about finding the restored gospel. Sing “The Spirit of God” and talk about how exciting it would be to find out that God was speaking to His children again through prophets.
How to gain a testimony and feel the Spirit
Ask youth to share testimony, scriptures, pray, or lead devotional
Theme: “You Can Do Hard Things”- “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”
Appreciation Game (Really great on Testimony Night): Sit in circle. Explain rules at beginning. The speaker says, “I love and appreciate _____ because_____.” The person being complimented must look at the speaker and may only say, “Thank you.” Then it is that person’s turn to compliment someone else.
It’s always great to sing together and kneel in prayer.
Use the adult leaders in your family to help with devotionals.
Note: Shorter spiritual thoughts more often usually work better than long ones less often. Try to make devotional more of a discussion than a lecture.
Plan with a purpose
A pioneer trek fosters appreciation for our pioneer heritage, but it also helps youth overcome challenges, observe healthy family relationships, and strengthen their faith. Make sure your Ma’s and Pa’s know how critical their role is in providing this unique experience for the youth. Here is a list of responsibilities to keep in mind.
Ma and Pa Responsibilities
Love the youth in your family
Lead and direct by example
Provide a model of a healthy family relationship
Ensure that the trek experience is completed safely
Assemble necessary family equipment
Prepare and lead family devotionals and activities
Foster an environment for spiritual experiences
Know and share pioneer stories to discuss as inspired
