 |
11 Alternative Garden Games
Tired of the same ol', same ol' when it come to entertaining your garden party guests? Weary of boring badminton and jarts? Croquet not your style? Then you're in the right spot! Here are games sure to make your next party the hit of the gardening social season!
Icebreakers
Game #1: The Gnat Slap
Equipment required: A garden of any size.
As your guests arrive, invite them for the obligatory 'stroll through the garden'. Tell them they are welcome to slap the gnats but only those gnats annoying another guest; never are they permitted to slap gnats hovering around their own eyes, nose, ears or mouth. The winner is the last guest standing. A great icebreaker!
Game #2: The 3-Legged Butterfly Chase
Equipment required: Rope or wire to bind legs.
This is lots of fun. Tightly bind two guests' legs together to make a three-legged contestant. Then tell them you'll unbind them only after they've captured a butterfly.
Tip: For a longer lasting game, declare the quarry to be a hummingbird.
Game #3: Competitive Weed Pulling
Equipment required: Weeds of any kind.
This is a great game to reward the hard working guest. Entrants don't eat until the entire garden is cleaned of weeds. Winner: The person with the most weeds eats first and most, and so on down the line. This game teaches the rewards of the Puritan work ethic.
Game #4: The Wasp Dodge
Equipment required: More wire for binding, an in-ground wasp nest or two (Yellow Jackets are the best!), a small amount of kerosene.
With hands tightly wired behind their backs, have your players stand in a circle around a wasp nest entrance. Irritate the wasps by sprinkling a little kerosene over the hole and oh, boy! Stand back! Entrants are judged on style, grace, self-defensive acrobatic movements and number of stings.
Games to Play While the Frozen Turkey Cooks on the Charcoal Grill
Game #5: Watch the Lawn Go Dormant
Equipment required: A dry turf.
This is for those guests that had a poor showing in the other games. The winner is the person still awake when the lawn is actually declared dormant.
Game #6: Bobbing for Aquatic Insects
Equipment required: A stagnant water source such as a neglected pool, pond or bucket. Kids love this one!
The winner is whoever come up with the largest water strider. Incentive for the competitively spirited: Anyone bobbing to the bottom retrieving the hapless mouse that slipped in about a month ago qualifies for the National Bobb-Off!
Game #7: Slug Races
Equipment required: A slug for each guest.
We suggest two events: The 4" sprint and the 2-foot marathon. Guests may mark their slugs in any way they wish.
Tip 1: Use an air-horn to signify the start of the races. Slugs are hard of hearing.
Tip 2: Entrants in the "Watch the Lawn Go Dormant" game can play this game simultaneously.
Game #8: Hornet's Nest Pinata
Equipment required: 1 large hornet's nest, a stick long enough to reach the nest, a blindfold.
This game really livens things up after the slower pace of the slug races and helps work off dinner.
Game #9: Blindfolded Lawn Mowing
Equipment required: A power mower and the blindfold from the Hornet's Nest Pinata game if it isn't too bloody.
Everyone loves this sport! One by one guests are blindfolded and told to mow the grass. The winner is the contestant who runs over the fewest trees, shrubs, flowers, pets and other guests. Lotsa laughs!
Time Saving tip: Dial 911 before the game begins.
Games for After Dark
Game #10: Firefly Shooting
Equipment required: A BB gun for everyone.
After a fun day of activities and food, gather everyone in the center of the garden in a large circle to try their hand at nailing a few fireflies. The winner, and don't expect one, is anyone who actually knocks a lightening bug out of the sky.
Time Saving tip: Dial 911 before the game begins.
Game #11: Feed the Mosquitos
Equipment required: Go figure.
Play this last game while lingering over "good-byes" in the garden. When Tom Schneider isn't trying to find new guests to invite to his garden parties, he and his wife Deb are busy with their on-line machine embroidery design business, WindstarEmbroidery.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Larry David, Secretary of...Humor?Huffington Post, NY - 7 hours agoHe must appoint Larry David Secretary of Humor. There was never a better time and there is certainly not a more appropriate person. ... |
Washington Times |
Humor used as therapyWashington Times, DC - 18 hours agoIt is one of several types of laughter or humor therapy being offered by medical facilities around the country for patients diagnosed with cancer or other ... |
Holiday humorBeatrice Daily Sun, NE - 4 hours agoan unexpected holiday show with a focus on humor. The play stars Fairbury actress Shae Rogge as Samantha Tuttle, a newlywed who fears her husband’s late ... |
Find some humor this holiday seasonAnchorage Daily News, AK - 12 hours agoWell those are good words for this somber holiday season, but a little humor is a welcome break to all the doom and gloom. Even knitters can get in on the ... |
New Christian Humor Web Site LaunchesChristian News Wire (press release), DC - 1 hour agoNewChristianVoices.com, a new and unique online destination for Christian humor, inspiration and opinion. The non-denominational Christian humor and ... |
Humor - Google News
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Psychiatric Psychiatrist - A Joke on Psychiatry
A few weeks ago I went to see a psychiatrist.We talked about how I was feeling.
Mexican Spaminator
When we decided to move to Mexico, one of the most exciting things that popped into my mind was that I would get a new Internet Service Provider and finally get off the 300,000,000 Spam lists that I was on. I thought for sure I would go insane if I received one more "How to Enlarge Your Manhood" piece of Spam-as if I needed to do that anyway (yeah right).
[Not So] Outgoing Mail
I am currently perplexed by the concept of outgoing mail. I mean, I understand it in theory, but today I tried talking to it and it didn't even respond.
The Zapp Principle
My dad's lab was a mess, but then it was always a mess. This time it was a lightly charred mess, covered with extinguisher gloop.
Humans are like Monkeys
Humans think much like monkeys and other primates, not much different in their abilities to reason. Why is this? We mimic, copy, imitate that which we see.
Eye Spy Potatoes
Lately I've had the problem of falling asleep with my contact lenses still in my eyes. And by "lately," I mean for the past seven years.
Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe
My next-door neighbors found a human bone in their backyard. Let me rephrase.
Sell [Your] Phones
Today while driving I saw a young girl, probably around 11 years old, on a cell phone. She was walking along the side of the street talking to someone, and I couldn't help but think that maybe she was talking to someone across the street because she wasn't allowed to cross it.
Laughing Toward Truth: Six Tips for Lighthearted Thinkers
Do you believe in the power of your convictions?It's time to lighten up.People love attaching themselves to ideas.
Funny Things We Dream
I often wonder why I wake up so happy, ready to start the day. When I
was younger I'd whack the alarm clock, for the fourth time, grumble out
of bed and stomp around with a major sour puss.
A Dogs Guide To... Getting Your Dog to Stop Barking
I like to bark. I mean, I like to bark A LOT.
I Got to Play an April Fools Joke Before I was Born
I will start this by saying that yes, I did miss being an April Fool, but only by a tiny margin. I was born just twenty minutes after midnight on April 2nd, and the events of the prior day in my home were quite interesting to say the least.
Essential Laughter
Take time to laugh at yourself and the ridiculous in life. It is so refreshing to just laugh at your slips, peculiarities, forgetfulness, and fumbles.
Silver Linings Are Everywhere
Viagra. That one word packs a lot of punch.
The Top 10 All Time Worst Jokes About Piano Players
Here, for your barfing pleasure, are the top ten worst jokes of all time about piano players. Nothing personal, you understand, since I am one.
The Language of Appalachia
Imagine my surprise when I went to Jamaica a few years ago and learned that I do, indeed, have an accent. You see, unlike my paternal grandmother, I don't stretch the word "cornbread" into four syllables.
Dog Poo - And You Thought You Had Problems
In Southern Germany in a town by the name of Bayreuth, the German police are in a quandary. The town's dog poo is under attack.
Painful Lessons from the Maternity Ward
Whoever dubbed New York, New York "the city that never sleeps" should visit The Maternity Ward. My recent visit included a drop-in on several screenings of "A Star Is Born" at the late-show theatre, right near Mama's Breast (all night milk bar) and Papa's Gas Station ("We burp you on your way.
Local Author Joins History and Humor To Tell His Stories
Joseph Yakel was born and raised in New York's Capital region, and calls this place home. His travels have taken him far and wide, but it's his hometown surroundings that serve as a backdrop for his writing.
Health Club Regulars -- Some of the People Youre Likely To Meet at the Gym
One of the great benefits of belonging to a health club is the huge variety of exercise equipment that's available. It's also a great place to meet and observe a wide cross section of society.
|
