Fear Factor: The Mutual Activity

Remember how my brother and I started this blog with vigor and then never updated it? Yeah, we’re awesome like that. So I guess I should start with an apology (or a you’re welcome?) for never updating.

With that being said, I wanted to tell everyone about a little activity I worked up for our youth group. I was in charge of the entire month of October which included the combined activity (meaning girls AND boys) for the month. Since it was the month of Halloween *cue scary music*, I decided it would be fun to have a Fear Factor based activity. I scoured the internet for ideas, and my fellow leaders and I came up with some of our own. The results were a success, and I even had some youth tell me they enjoyed it. *gasp*

The Fearless Group!

We divided into three teams, but we were prepared for four. We had six events total with prizes at the end for the winners (and goody bags for the “losers.” And yes, I was the sweet leader that called them losers. ha!)

First Event: Noodle Face

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of this event which is a shame because it was funny to watch. Each team chose two people to come forward. We had plates of plain, cooked spaghetti noodles with Halloween goodies (spider rings, eye balls, etc.) in them lined up on a table. You can probably guess what happened next by the title, but I’ll explain, anyway. One person from each team had to stick their face in the noodles and dig out the goodies with their mouths. The other person from the team held onto the goods, so they wouldn’t get mixed up with everyone else’s. There were lots of laughs and lots of spitting. Bleh. First team to finish got the most points.

Second Event: Blend-O-Rama

This was an idea I gleaned from the internet. Each team had to blend up a concoction of edible, but not good together foods, and drink it. We said that in order to get points, every member had to drink some. We had items like V8 juice, cheese, avocados, and a bunch of other veggies. I was surprised at how many youth refused to drink it. Judging by the reactions of the ones that did, though, it must’ve been pretty gross. All teams that did it got the same amount of points. All other teams got zero.

Third Event: Free Fall

This one was a pretty simple concept. Put one member of the team on a high place like a chair or table, and the rest of team has to catch him as he falls backwards. If I had to do it over again, I would probably make them go up a little higher, but it was fine. They got points for actually doing it.

Fourth Event: Fear Factor Cuisine

This was, by far, the worst event to me. Up to this point, we had been in only one section of the gym with the other sections curtained off. When we opened up the curtain for this next event, everyone immediately started complaining of the odor. Our next event was a relay race. Each team had a plate of sardines at one end of the room. They had to run to the plate, pick up a piece with their mouths, then carry them to another plate across the room. For some reason, all the youth participated in this, but they wouldn’t drink the vegetable drink. Yeah, I don’t get it, either, because that stuff was NASTY! Bleech! First team to finish got the most points.

Fifth Event: Clothespin Slime

I made a green slime using flour, water, and green food coloring and put it in a kiddie pool. Then I threw a ton of clothespins in the slime Each team chose one person from each team who got to wear a lovely garbage bag dress. They took their shoes off, got in the slime, and had to pick up clothespins with their toes and clip them to their garbage bag. The team got points for each clothespin they got. My only warning about this is that the slime is VERY slippery, so be careful walking in it! The youth liked throwing it at each other, too, so be prepared for that. 🙂

Sixth Event: Slopstacle Course

This was the final event, and I tried to get everyone on the team involved. Here’s what you will need:

3 or 4 numbered flags for each team
8 foot table with blankets on top
flashlight
clear marbles
large bowl of ice
6 cement blocks (we used chairs)
beanbag (I used a stuffed animal)
pickle slices
peanut butter
cups
chocolate syrup
apple juice

This was all set up in one section of the gym. The first person had to crawl under the table with the flashlight and find all the flags for their team under it. The second person had to find 3 marbles in the bowl of ice. The third person had to balance the beanbag (or stuffed animal) on their head and walk across the cement blocks (or chairs) that were spaced apart. If they fall off or the beanbag falls off, they have to start over. The fourth person has to eat two pickle slices with peanut butter on them. The fifth person crab walks across the room to a small table. The sixth person drinks a cup of apple juice with chocolate syrup that’s on the table. The website I got this from also suggested putting pickle juice in it, but I didn’t. Weird thing is some of the kids thought the chocolate apple juice was good and asked for more. The team with the best time got the most points. I didn’t get any pictures of this one because my photographer (the branch president) had to leave.

When we finished, we had them all sit down for the award ceremony. I tried to share a spiritual message about Faith vs Fear, but at that point they were so wound up, they weren’t listening. Oh, well. We gave out awards, and then we had refreshments.

For refreshments we had kitty litter cake and Jell-O worms. The youth thought they were awesome! And they were tasty, too!

Don’t worry… it’s only tootsie rolls. Or is it?

All in all, this was a pretty fun activity, and with the right amount of help, it’s a fun one to prepare. I’d love to know what you’ve done, and if you decide to do this, let me know how it went!