A hunting we will go...

     I work with the junior high youth group at the church that raised me.  Lately, I have been put in charge of the games. This years games have been...difficult. There are usually only 4-5 five kids present, and they are usually quite opinionated girls.  Their favorite line is "We always play that game! Why can't we just play hide and go seek?"  So, I have been trying to come up with games that catch them off guard.

     I had a vague memory that the DollarTree was good about putting holiday stuff way before anyone else.  While out running errands with my friend Morgan, I asked if she minded stopping by the DollarTree.  Jackpot!  They have Easter eggs!  So I bought them, and Morgan helped me stash candy in them.  I went to church earlier, and hid them around the church grounds.

     As the kids walked in, I handed them paper bags and told them to put their names on them. They were itching to know what the game was, however I have figured out two things. First, a general rule about this group, and maybe all junior high groups: the more time they know about a game before it starts, the more time they have to figure why it is not a good game.  And Second: You never tell a kid there are Easter eggs hidden somewhere until you are ready to let them run out immediately to find them!

     I told them the rules, without letting on to what the game was yet.  You must put your basket in one spot and never move it.  There are ping pong balls, the ping pongs are snake eggs, if someone puts them in your "basket" they are negative points. You may "steal" from other people's baskets, but if you are caught by them, you must hand over everything.  And finally, there are over 37 Easter eggs hi- EEEEEeeEeeeeEeeeeEEeEEeeeEEeEeeEEeeeEeeeeeEE!!!!!!! EASTER EGGS????!!!!  WHERE!!!!!!!???  Yes, there are Easter eggs. Sit down! I'm not done explaining yet. Daisy, I see you. Each one counts as different points. The big ones count as fi-OHHHHHH!!!! IS THERE CANDY?!!!??!?!? Yes, but- EEEEeEEeEEEEeeEEe!!

     The rules sort of continued like that for the remainder of the rule telling. Fortunately, I only had to tell them the point values before releasing them.  All in all, we had fun.  The kids strategized on where to hide their baskets, and whether it was better to hunt eggs or stay near baskets and steal eggs.  Mostly, I enjoyed the fact that you can say "Easter egg hunt" to a bunch of 12-14 year olds, and they still get as giddy as 6 year olds.  And I enjoyed the fact that for the entire game, nobody said, "This game is stupid. Can we play hide and go seek now?" (That's a first time for this group)  As a kid, I liked hide and go seek. As a leader, I have learned to despise hide and go seek.

     One thing I did not think about was that by the time the kids got there, it would be pretty seriously dark.  Good. They're teenagers, they should have to work for their candy.  It was really challenging though, because even the "easy" eggs that I stashed in obvious places were really difficult to find.  As it turns out, all bright colors go to a black or dark gray when there is no sunlight...and finding a dark gray egg in the midst of a dark gray bush is much more challenging than finding a bright yellow egg in a dark green bush! 36 eggs came back, which I believe means that there are 7 eggs left out there, if any of you RBCers care to know.  I don't know how they'll fare after the sprinklers come on, but you are more than welcome to them if you find them. Just tell me you found one...I'd like to know.

    I think I kind of like this youth group....usually. Now... what on earth are we going to play next week?