Youth Group Mixers

Diving for Dollars

Have two preteens compete for a dollar bill placed in a plastic bag at the bottom of a wading pool filled with ice. Preteens must keep their hands behind their backs and use only their teeth to retrieve the prize.

High and Low

Have each student tell the best thing and the worst thing that happened to them during the past week. May be used as a lead in to prayer.

Muk

Form a circle with one person in the middle. Middle points to someone. That person must say, “muk” without smiling or laughing. If they laugh, they are in the middle. If they don’t laugh, Middle points to someone else and they must say, “Muk, muk”. Keep adding on until someone laughs.

Monster

Get a big shirt. Two students stick their through. Announce that scientists have found a strange two-headed monster. Audience is the press. Press asks questions of monster. Monster must alternate between heads when answering.

 

M&M Sharing

Pass out some M&Ms and go around the circle, each person sharing one thing per color of M&M.

Blue = School

Orange = Family

Red = Extra-curricular

Yellow = Hobbies

Brown = Something bad

Green = Wild

Name Game – Students and leaders sit a big circle. Leader starts by saying their name and something they like to do, while miming the interest. The next person must repeat the first person’s name and interest, while acting it out, then give their information. Game continues until all persons have shared and the leader correctly repeats all the information.

Penny Names

Give each student three pennies as they enter. At start tell students they have five minutes to learn as many names as possible. It will be financially beneficial for them to remember names. Later, play again. This time, if they remember the name of the person they met before, they receive a penny from that person. If they can’t remember their name, they give them a penny.

 

Picnic

Students sit in a circle.  The first person says their name and announces that they are going to bring an item to our picnic that starts with the first letter of their name.  The next person does the same, but also must remember the previous person’s information.  The game continues in like manner until it goes around the circle and the first person recites all of it.

 

Prayer Planes

Students write their name and their prayer requests on a piece of paper.  Then they fold the paper into paper airplanes and throw them around for a little while.  Then everyone picks up a plane that isn’t their own, unfolds it, and prays for whoever’s plane they have.

Pushed and Pulled

Students link arms in a row. In the middle of the line, one students faces backward. The goal of that one student is to direct the line, pushing and pulling them to where he/she wants to go. It’s hard to go against the flow. So help each other by being positive examples for each other. Don’t tempt each other.

 

Screaming Announcements

Have a student scream your announcements. Get students to volunteer for this.

Stick Around

Have two leaders compete to see who can stick to the wall the longest. Use duct tape to secure them with their feet off the floor.

T-shirt Affirmation

Students bring plain white t-shirts. Students take turns writing affirmations on each other’s shirts. Students then wear shirts. Encourage students to show their positive qualities by how they act. People only see what’s on the outside.

 

Toilet Paper Sharing

Tell students to tear off as many squares as they would normally use.  Then, go around the circle, sharing one thing about themselves, their week, etc. for each square that they took.

Two Truths and a Lie

Everyone writes two statements about themselves that are true and one statement about themselves that is false, in any particular order, on a notecard.  The facilitator of the game then reads the statements and everyone has to guess who wrote the statements and which of the statements is false.

What are the Rules?

Students find a partner and decide who will be the first talker and who will be the first listener. Give listeners one of four pieces of paper, without letting the talker see it, with these rules: “Don’t use the word, ‘I’”, “Don’t move your hands”, “Don’t move your feet.” “Don’t look away from the person you’re talking to.” Listeners will buzz their talker whenever they break the rule. Talkers try to guess what the rule is.

Who Am I?

Paste names or character cards on each student’s back. They then ask questions to find out who is on their back. Use cartoon characters, superheroes, or Bible characters.

One student chooses another to describe without that person knowing ahead of time. Everyone tries to guess who the person is describing. The person who guesses correctly gets to describe next.

Who’s Who?

Have students write down on a piece of paper their

            Favorite food

            Middle name

            Sports or hobbies

            Favorite movie

Students then pass them in and the leader redistributes them.  Students then read the paper they’ve been given and try to guess which person it describes.