Sunday, January 20, 2013

Christmas Candy Ball Game

What does this have to do with Seminary, you may be asking. 
This was an ideal alternative to a class Christmas gift exchange. I did not want to ask anyone to bring a gift as it may have been a hardship for a few of my students and I did not want to single out any one of my 24 students. 
However....I wanted to have a fun gift-type game. The Candy Ball game fit the bill on so many levels. It was so much fun and very different than a regular gift exchange. 
I got the idea on Pinterest. There was a photo and no instructions so I had to figure it out on my own. Scroll to the end of the photos for instructions on how to make the ball and play the game. 










To make the candy ball:
I used about 75 pieces/ packages of candy. I used all sizes and types. 
To start the ball, I used a large jingle bell elf as the center. (It was fun for the kids to hear the jingle inside as they pulled off layer after layer. The closer they got to the center, the louder the bell jingled)
I wrapped it in bubble wrap and taped it with packing tape.
Then I placed a piece of candy on the ball that was forming and wrapped it up with shrink wrap (the sturdy wrap used for packing and moving) I would not recommend saran wrap as it is not sturdy enough.
I continued this process of placing a candy on the wrapped ball until it was a little larger than a basketball.
Every few layers, I would use tape to seal up the recently wrapped layer (this made it a little more challenging and I recommend doing this)

To Play the game:
A player hold the ball and starts removing the layers.
The player on their left is rolling 2 dice as fast as possible in an attempt to roll doubles
When the player to the left rolls doubles, they pass the pan and dice to their left and the ball is passed to them.
They tear as many layers as possible while the player to their left is rolling the dice
And so forth.
As the layers are removed, the candy starts to come out. 
Players keep any candy that comes out during their turn.
This took us about 20 minutes with 24 students playing.
This was fast moving and kept their total attention.
Everyone got at least 1 piece of candy.

To make this more challenging, have players wear gloves. If you plan on using gloves, you may not want to use as much tape when assembling the ball.

61 comments:

  1. My husband and I lead the Youth Group at our church and we're always looking for activities to do with the kids - this is great! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I needed a Valentine's Day activity to do for my church's youth (teen group to be specific) too and I found it! Their gonna LOVE this! I watched a video of people playing this game on Facebook and it looks like a lot of fun :)

      Delete
  2. I did this recently with the youth group I volunteer at after seeing it on Pinterest a few months ago.
    Instead of shrink wrap (which was call cling film here in the UK), I used 2 rolls of Sellotape and just wrapped round and round until all the sweets were taped in.
    And I didn't use dice to determine the next go, although I had heard of that before. Instead, to give everyone a fair turn as our young people tend to squabble if one has a longer turn on something than the other, I gave them all a 30 second time limit.
    They really enjoyed it. Might have to give it another go.
    I really like the jingle bell in the middle idea though, and padding it out with bubble wrap =)
    Emma

    ReplyDelete
  3. Found this on pinterest. This would be fun to do with adults or family too. Thanks for the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love it gonna send it to my youth group leader!

    ReplyDelete
  5. We just played this last week in our seminary class. We had one person try to get as many pieces of candy out while the rest of the students were looking up a scripture mastery after having receiving a clue. I wrapped mine with packing tape and they still got 2-4 pieces each. They loved it. I think I'm going to play it using scripture memorization next.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's EXACTLY what I'm going to do. Awesome ideas!!!!

      Delete
  6. We do this exact game with a giant bowl of small candies (ex: skittles) and the person "Unwrapping the ball" is really just trying to get as many skittles as possible with a straw.
    And when the neighbor rolls a 7, the person to the left of you gets to STEAL your skittles too... it throws another spin on the game. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have done this with cheap wrapping paper and lots of shipping tape. Lots of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. if i could ask, where did you buy your shrink wrap?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Office Depot, Wmt, Target, or any moving supply store has shrink wrap.

      Delete
  9. You can buy the shrink wrap at Target or Wmt or any place that sells moving supplies

    ReplyDelete
  10. We play a similar game every Christmas with our youth group. The exception is we wrap smaller boxes inside of larger boxes (at least 3 different boxes), and everything is taped really well. When someone rolls doubles with the dice, they have to put on a coat, hat, and gloves before trying to unwrap the present. Our youth minister buys some sort of gift card and wraps it in the innermost box. We break the students into groups by age and have 3 different games going at once. The kids love this game; it's the highlight of the Christmas party each year!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very cool. Thanks for the directions.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Is it one continuous sheet of wrap or individual sheets layered on?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is mostly one continuos sheet but sometimes I had to cut the sheet while assembling the ball

      Delete
  13. We did this game for the first time last night with our youth group. We used bubble wrap and parcel tape. It worked really well and was a lot of fun. Some kids got no sweets and others got lots, but I think that is part of the fun of the game, because it makes them more frantic in trying to rip the layers off to get the sweets (and, at the end of the game, I gave out sweets to anyone who didn't get any!) Thanks for sharing the game, Natasha

    ReplyDelete
  14. THIS SOUNDS LIKE A FUN GAME USING A 3 MIN TIMER INSTEAD OF DICE. CUTE IDEA FOR EVERYONE. COULD USE WRAPPING DIFFERENT KINDS OF CANDY BARS AS THEY ARE PRICEY TOO BUT FUN TO RECEIVE

    ReplyDelete
  15. I used to make a variation of this for my grandkids. I put coins, candy, jewelry, stickers gift cards,etc and wrapped with crepe paper. It wasn't timed, just fun for them to get gifts like that.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm going to do this with my 5th grade science classes. I have 5 groups, and each group will get their own ball. Inside the layers will be scavenger hunt clues. They can set them aside until the ball is unwrapped, then use the clues to locate science equipment and figure out procedures in my classroom. I'm combining that idea to this one for a first day of school activity. Team building for the groups, and I won't stand there telling them the rules and showing them where things are kept. They will figure it out on their own and step toward the independence I'll be demanding from them all year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is the best idea I’ve heard all day. Wish My daughter was in your class!

      Delete
  17. Laurie, I LOVE the idea of it for the start of school. I was thinking how I would use it at school as well. I also like the scavenger hunt idea combined with the first day idea. Students will collect clues to finding areas/supplies etc. in the room. When ball is done....they are to solve their clue and report back to the class. I also plan on using it with youth at church. GREAT ideas! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've done something similar to this for my kids' class Christmas parties. We called it "Pass the Package" and instead of each child getting a candy, each layer had either a question for them to answer about themselves (what is your favorite Christmas treat?), or instructions for something to do (say the alphabet backwards quickly, etc). You could also have each one be a Bible verse or Bible quiz question. We played music while passing the package around the circle and as soon as the music stopped, whoever had the box pulled off the next layer. (The notes were strips of paper taped over each other). This continued until they were all used up and box was finally opened... containing enough candy for everyone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is a fantastic idea. I am planning our children's church Christmas party. I really like this variation of the game. Since I will have kids ranging from Kindergarten-5th, this will be perfect for us. Thanks for the idea!!!

      Delete
  19. We just did this with our youth group -- the person who made the ball used duct tape, newspaper, and string. It was really tough! Plus, we had to use forks to tear at the ball. No hands allowed. We also played that we sat in a circle with the ball in the middle. A pan was passed with the dice and each person got one roll at a time and passed them on if they didn't get doubles. If they got doubles, they replaced the person in the middle until the next person got doubles.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kind of like Mennonite Madness (each person has a piece of paper and has to write 1-100 but there's only 1 pencil. As one person madly writes 1, 2, 3, etc. the other person is rolling the dice until he/she gets doubles and grabs the pencil.) It's sooooo fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That has been our go-to-game for years! It can get viciously exciting when they grab that pencil from you!

      Delete
  21. My Grandparents did a version of this for FHE's growing up - Instead of making a giant ball of candy, they would buy a GIANT candy bar and wrap it about 8-12 times in newspaper/wrapping paper. There was a pair of dice for rolling doubles. But there was also a hat, scarf, ear muffs, a hot pad and a mitten or glove that the person with the wrapped candy had to all put on before using a fork and knife to unwrap the candy. Some of my favorite pics are from those nights :-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. We're going to try this at our upcoming youth Christmas party, but with a little twist. We'll use regular saran wrap with very little tape, and have the kids unwrap the ball with their bare feet instead of hands. That should prove for some interesting fun.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have a question....I bought shrink wrap, but it doesn't seem to be that hard to remove. It is so thick. Did you heat it up at all? OR does the tape make it difficult to open? Any advice is appreciated. TIA!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Awesome! Thank you for this...was worried in finding the awesome-st youth activity for my husband and I to present to our youth group. Now I'm excited to see how it turns out!

    ReplyDelete
  25. The blog is good enough, keep up writing such type of posts. ">candy crush cheats level 131

    ReplyDelete
  26. Just what I needed for my fifth graders Promotion Ceremony Party. I'll add questions, candy and gifts.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I wrapped it in bubble wrap and taped it with packing tape. ... 2packingtape.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  28. What a wonderful idea! I'm going to use a similar idea for traveling. A Rolled up ball of goodies will keep kiddos busy while waiting at the airport for a layover!

    I will reference this post on my website www.theeducationaltourist.com where I write about traveling with the kids and learning along the way.

    ReplyDelete
  29. This is a great activity for my Girl Scout Christmas party. Thanks for the idea!

    ReplyDelete
  30. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hello Friends...Thanks for sharing the Interesting blog. It is very Interesting and mind blowing arts. Bubblewrap is a pliable transparent plastic material commonly used for packing fragile items.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I like this idea for my great grandkids to play. I will have to come up with something besides sweets as 3 of them have ADHD and they do NOT need sweets. We all get together for Easter and Christmas and I try to have a new group game kids in ages of a span of 8 years. I have found a couple on Pinterest they really like playing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would love to know what other games you play with your grandchildren. I am always looking for things to do with mine.

      Delete
    2. I would love to know what other games you play with your grandchildren. I am always looking for things to do with mine.

      Delete
  33. We love this game and featured it in our latest post. http://christiancamppro.com/the-ultimate-list-of-christmas-games-230-total-games/

    ReplyDelete
  34. Could divide in age groups- not wrapped much for little ones and more difficult the older the group is. Wrap questions in the ball and the group that can answer all the questions first wins a prize (easy questions for smaller- more difficult for bigger kids). Could assign a person over the ball as others figure out the clues that way all are staying involved.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Awesomejelly.com has a great video on how to play, we had a great time with this game. Also Youtube is great for a demo. Thank You

    ReplyDelete
  36. Rather than using one continuous length of saran wrap, we use pieces. It makes it much more difficult to find the ends to pull it up. Another option to make it more difficult is to use the sticky saran wrap.

    ReplyDelete
  37. We play it with tape, so much fun! Check it out on our blog if your interested!

    ReplyDelete
  38. I love this idea!! I am going to do it for my 1st grade Valetine's Day Party. We have 14 kids in class, how much candy do you think I should use? And Should I let them tear the layers or peel each layer?

    ReplyDelete
  39. Such a fabulous game! Thankyou so much for sharing xx

    ReplyDelete
  40. Such a fabulous game! Thankyou so much for sharing xx

    ReplyDelete
  41. As my grandson and I are moving to bigger city area, to meet more of his challenging needs, this game sounds like a great ice breaker once we get settled and he is established in some groups. I am sure kids and parents will love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I work with children in france and we do a game a little like this but not with presents. It's a "rallye choco" . Children had to cut a chocolate bar with knife and fork and all the other try 7 to make a dice. The first who make it take the knife and fork... They don't eat lot of chocolate :D but they like it lot of.

      Delete
  42. With Gain Credit Personal Loans, you can get instant loan/money for a wide range of your personal needs like renovation of your home, marriage in the family, a family holiday, your child's education, buying a house, medical expenses or any other emergencies. With minimum documentation, you can now avail a personal loan at attractive 3% interest rates. This is trust and honest loans which you will not regret, Contact us via Email: gaincreditloan01@gmail.com

    Your Full Details:
    Full Name. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .
    Loan Amount Needed. . ...
    Loan Duration. . .. . .. . .. . .
    Phone Number. . .. . .. . ..
    Applied before. . .. . .. . ..
    Country. . .. . .
    Email Us: gaincreditloan01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  43. This sounds like a good idea for a Halloween party I am thinking about!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Try wrapping a gift in several different boxes. You will stand in a circle and the first person will roll the dice. Pass the dice until a person rolls a double. When you roll a double, you have to put on COOKING MITTENS and try to unwrap it. While they are unwrapping it the guest continues to roll the dice until the next person rolls a double then that person puts on the mitts

    ReplyDelete
  45. some sleeping bags are waterproof and weatherproof too, they are nice for camping outside the house* Happy Rose Day Messages

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. they are talking about christmas games not camping,silly

      Delete
  46. Just thought I’d mention that Saran Wrap works just fine. :)

    ReplyDelete