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Well Over 100 Ideas for Things to do with Young People During the Summer Holidays!

Well Over 100 Ideas for Things to do with Young People During the Summer Holidays!

About This Event

We claim little or no credit for these ideas – they have come from the collective experience

and practice of youth workers over many years! The list has been developed following a

training session delivered for the SNAP project in Derbyshire and those who attended the

the session also added their ideas to those suggested by FYT staff, other colleagues and

practitioners; many thanks to all.

These ideas might not suit every situation and before undertaking any of them, they need to

be risk-assessed with relevant attention being given to health and safety considerations.

We offer no opinion on the suitability, safety, copyright and legality of any of the ideas for

individual contexts and also need to disclaim any liability relating to how these ideas are

used.

We hope they are useful tools in work with young people. Should any of the ideas need

further explanation, then you can contact us for possible help.

Thanks

Frontier Youth Trust

Games

1. Wide Games

2. Crab football

3. Rope games

4. Dance battles

5. Rope handcuffs

6. Who is in the envelope?

7. Up and under rugby

8. Guess who?

9. Flour tower – cutting with a knife

10. Heads and volleys

11. Flying egg – build something to protect an egg

12. Dodge ball

13. Step Game – move up and down as questions are answered around asset of steps/stairs

14. Racing game will a ball in the middle – first to get the ball wins

15. Magic bamboo

a. Get hold of a garden bamboo cane. Split the group into teams of 4-6, standing in two

lines facing each other. Ask them to hold their hands out at waist level and stick out one

finer from each hand. Then place the cane on top of everyone’s fingers. Simply ask the

group to lower the cane to the ground, whilst everyone’s fingers stay in contact with the

ground. Chances the cane will go up not down!

16. Monopoly – invent a local version

17. Make a newspaper tower

18. Blindfold obstacle course

19. Peg boxing (can also do with ballons)

20. Pool and snooker games

21. Giant jenga

22. Pick up the sticks

23. Blindfold/dizziness games

24. Making sandwiches – blindfold

25. Ultimate Frisbee

26. Trecking – big version of hide and seek

27. Retro games

28. Anagram games

29. It’s a knockout

30. Anything with water!

a. Games – water balloon, sponge ball

b. Fights

c. Challenges – relays, water courses, carrying and measuring

31. Sports days

32. Relay races – with sand and/or jelly!

33. Clock football

a. 6 teams, 40 balls, 6 adults counting, 2 minutes per goal, then move clockwise

34. Blanket volleyball

a. You can use a volleyball net if you prefer, but not necessary. Set up teams and each

team should have four people on it, so that there will be one person holding each corner

of the blanket. Have one team serve the volleyball by placing the volleyball in the middle

of the blanket. They are to lower the blanket and then raise it quickly as a team, to allow

the ball to become air borne. The opposing team must catch the volleyball in their blanket

and toss it back again.

35. Earth ball games

a. End Zone

Two opposing teams play indoors to defend a wall at each end of the room. The team

earns a point each time the ball is allowed to touch the oppositions wall. Make rules

disallowing constant contact with the ball to stop it becoming a crush. No kicking.

b. Roll Over

Set up a goal for each team to defend [2 or 4 teams] using old tyres, inner tubes or hula

hoops. The team earns a goal each time they get the ball to sit on/in the goal circle.

c. Keep It Up

This works like pass and catch where more than one team member will usually be

required to do so. Teams earn a point each time they can keep the ball off the ground for

10 catches on the full. Use one bounce maximum as a variation.

d. Dodge Ball

Use a defined space and eliminate players who come into contact with the ball with other

than their hands. You can restrict movement by ruling an area where they must stay

within and keep one foot on the ground at all times.

e. Circle Time Trial

The whole group lie down on the floor in a circle or oval shape with heads in the centre

and feet on the outer. Place the earthball on a participants stomach at the start point and

encourage the group to roll the ball around the circle/oval. Use a stopwatch and see how

quickly the group can successfully get the ball rolling once around at a time. Spotters

stand outside the circle and push the ball back on when it rolls away.

36. Duck races

37. Flour tag

a. Simply place about ½ cup of white flour in a clean sock, and tie a knot in the top. Each

player receives a flour-filled sock. Form two separate teams wearing different coloured

tops if possible. The teams attempt to tag players on the opposite team. The last person

to be tagged is the winner. The flour can easily be wiped off when the game is over.

38. Raft races - relays

39. Parachute games

40. Alphabet game

a. Scrabble letters needed (or paper versions of same) in a bag. Divide group into teams.

Select 5 categories (e.g. names, countries, pop/rock bands, colours, football teams,

designers/shops). Pick out a letter from the bag and then it is a race in teams to come up

with the 5 things all beginning with that letter.

41. Memory game

a. Classic game using a tray. Leave it uncovered for 30/60 secs then remove it or cover it

up and ask people/teams to write down all they can remember being on the tray.

42. Archery – decathlon fairly cheap suppliers

43. Card Games

44. TV Games - adapted

45. Board Games - adapted

46. Share doughnuts – asking the young people to eat them without licking their lips.

47. Duelling Mobiles

a. Make sure two young people have each others number (to be keyed in manually – not

direct or stored!). Phones switched off and in their pockets – back to back – 5 paces –

turn and draw!! They have to switch on the phone and dial the other person. The one

that gets the other persons phone to ring first is the winner! You could award a ‘hands

free set’ as a prize – a thick elastic band to strap the phone to your head!!

48. Last mobile ringing

a. On the word go - everyone who has access to a phone (you can share them around)

rings another person in the group who has a phone (you should have listed all the

numbers before starting - to be keyed in manually – not direct or stored!) – those phones

that ring first are out – continue until only one person is left with a phone not ringing!!

49. Quizzes

a. Round the room, field, club,

b. Pub type,

c. Worksheet based,

d. International/country based (different theme each day: e.g. India, China, USA, Africa)

e. Conundrum type

Activities

50. Cooking

a. Themed

b. Ready steady cook

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c. Dinner party

d. Bread making

51. BBQ/street party

52. Gardening

53. Guerrilla Gardening

54. Environmental work

a. Tidy up local park/area

b. Create wild flower area

c. Litter picking

d. Collecting and recycling cans

55. Treasure hunts – on foot or in cars

a. Why not collect evidence of visiting places/achieving tasks with a camera

56. Mirror drawing

57. 70’s and 80’s themed events – food, clothes, music, tv etc

58. Go camping

a. Overnight in someone’s garden

b. Somewhere more adventurous

c. With a theme

59. Go for a night walk – why not go in teams of 4 or 5 and have all but one of the team

blindfolded

60. Social action

a. Local Campaign – about an issue, area, people group

b. Painting ‘public’ buildings/spaces

c. Live like someone in the developing world for 24 hours

d. Serve only vegetarian food in the club/venue for the week

61. Consultations/quizzes with community

62. Intergenerational stuff

a. Knitting

b. Sewing

c. Visiting old folks home

d. Singing/music

e. YP teaching older people ICT skills

63. Girls hair and beauty day

64. Hair braiding

65. Fashion shows

66. Henna/face painting tattooing

67. Dancing classes

68. Watch a film

69. Fishing

70. Scrapheap challenges

71. Kite making

72. Stress ball making

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73. Multi cultural days

a. food

b. customs

c. rituals

d. clothes

e. history

74. Chipnic – picnic with chips

75. Den building

76. Survival stuff

77. Car cleaning

78. Tacky Shopping

79. Scavenger hunts

80. Barn dance

81. Make a beach

82. Balloon modelling

83. Bin Bag Fashion

84. Britain’s Got Talent

85. Making and sharing a chocolate fondue!!!

Arts

86. Face painting

87. Graffiti projects

88. Circus skills session

89. Percussion drumming workshops

90. Multiple team art session

91. Scarecrow competitions

92. Wishes tree

93. Dream catcher

94. Body outlines

95. Pop art pictures of YP

96. Weaving activities

97. T-shirt designing

98. Mod roc

99. Plaster of paris

100. Crochet

101. Weaving

102. Using old carrier bags – melt with an old iron and sculpt/craft

103. Hair gel pictures in a plastic sleeve

104. Play dough making

105. Collages

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106. Positive painting – fingers/hand prints

107. Sculptures

108. Chalk painting on pavements

109. Painting on hardboard

110. Mosaics

111. Soap carving

112. Brown paper and drum drums

113. Vehicles - out of scrap

Crafts

114. Willow shapes

115. Jewellery making

116. Friendship bracelets

117. Flag making from old material

118. Making peg bags

119. Paper mache

120. Salt dough

121. Making pasta and glue pictures

122. Soap making

123. Rag rugs

124. Shrinking old t-shirt and jumpers and using

125. Flower presing

126. Card making

127. Tile painting

128. Tie dying

129. Magazine beads

130. Puppet making

131. Fimo activities

Trips

132. Theme parks

133. Seaside

134. Outdoor adventure play

a. Climbing

b. Walking

c. Canoeing

d. Fruit picking

135. Cycling

136. Hide and seek in Ikea

137. Real monopoly in London

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138. Farm

139. Airport

140. Museum

141. Overseas trips to help in development situations

142. Nature trails

143. Woodland festivals

144. Arts festivals

145. Boat/canal trip

146. Pony trekking

147. Car snooker and other in-car games

148. Guess the pub name – as soon as you see a pub

Stories

149. Guided image journeys – favourite meal, desert, lake, treasure island

150. Virtual voyages – around the home, school,

151. Fortunately and Unfortunately

a. The story proceeds around the circle, a sentence at a time, each beginning with either

"Fortunately ..."; or alternating between "Fortunately ..." and "Unfortunately ...". The

objective is to keep the story going to a satisfactory conclusion.

152. 'Where I'm at' storytelling

a. using maps, pictures of roads, road signs or getting young people to draw their

journeys ... Seems to be something all young people can get involved with regardless

of age, confidence and where they're at with God.

Reflections

153. Dough/wax/bluetac modelling

a. Give out a lump of Bluetac (you can use plastercine/wax) to each member of the group

and offer a phrase for them to model (see suggestions below). Give them a few minutes

to think and create something and then go around the group asking for a description of

the model and some explanation – remember to stress that this is not about artistic ability.

Some starter phrases: How you are feeling just now? Your hopes for the future?

Something that reminds you of how this day has been for you? What you want from a

friend? A special place in your life? Someone/something that you admire?

154. Thought for the day

155. Blobs

156. Tree of live activities

157. Making a totem pole

158. Message in a balloon

159. Labyrinths

160. Stone Balancing and Cairns

161. Going to plays, drama, functions then reflecting on them

162. Enable young people to make their assessment of their neighbourhood/community

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a. Its strengths and weaknesses. Do so by photography, interviews, small group

discussions. Then publish it as a booklet.

163. One thing that makes me happy is ...

164. Lots of things from Glimpses!

Technology

165. Wii

166. Playstations

167. Video making

168. Music writing

169. Music recording

170. You’ve been framed – throw away cameras, themed topics?

171. Photo competitions

172. Making animations

173. Doing vox pops and crafting into 60 second adverts/programmes

174. Internet hunt

Evaluation

175. Cotton buds

176. Heart head bin bag

177. Photos

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