Tonight the Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers had their annual Hallowe'en Party! This year, we did things a bit differently and challenged the girls to gather clues (and curses) in order to solve a mystery. We used the "Clues, Spells, and Curses Scavenger Hunt" from PartyPlus (www.queen-of-theme-party-games.com/scavenger-hunt-clues.html) (I found this activity somewhere online for free, but I'm afraid I can't remember where!)
As everyone arrived, they showed off their costumes to each other and some girls talked while others played a game of tag. We skipped our usual opening and started the program off with reading the letter from the wicked witch. This set the tone for the evening, and everyone was eager to get started. After going over the rules, the girls were divided up into 5 teams (one of Pathfinders/Rangers and four of Guides).
Before the meeting, we had gone outside and hidden 10 Clue Cards (1 of each per Group), 10 Curse Cards, 10 Cure Cards and 10 Magical Objects. The girls were set loose outside the church to gather as many of these items as they could. As Curse Cards were found, groups acted them out! Once everything was found, we headed back inside for the second part of the game.
Each group went through their findings and sorted out the Clue Cards. They then shuffled any Curse and Cure Cards and took turns turning them over. Anyone turning over a Curse Card had to take on that curse until they group cured them. In order to cure someone, you needed both the appropriate Cure Card and any Magical Objects that were listed. For example, here is the set of cards for the Frog Spell:
Each girl was given a supply of play money and the groups got right into swapping and selling Cure Cards and Magical Objects! Once the Curses were broken, the groups turned their attention the Clue Cards. Each card provided a pair of letters to spell out the name of the wicked witch. With a few hints along the way, two groups came to the answers at the same time and shouted out the name three times to break the final curse! The 'money' everyone had collected would be used later to bid on items. Before we moved on to our auction, one of our leaders had made an amazing Hallowe'en mystery box where the girls put their hands in to feel four different "body parts". We had teeth (popcorn kernels), fingernails (sunflower seeds), hair (steel wool), and a dead hand (glove filled with water and cooled in the freezer). The girls had to guess what each 'body part' was and also what was actually in the box.
Our final activity of the evening was the auction. We had a variety of items from the dollar store and out of the prize drawer (sparkly notebooks, hardcover notebooks, giant pencil, relaxation colouring books, sewing kits, craft kits, body wash and lip balm). The girls had a great time bidding on items - and then trading among themselves until everyone was happy with what they were taking home.
We closed our meeting with reminders for next week and distributing newsletters and camp forms. As each girl left she received two small treat bags to take home.
