Halloween Ball

Who: All Adults
Objective: Mingle, have fun, fellowship, missionary
Budget: $25

Flyer:

Set-Up: We basically had each member of the committee bring whatever Halloween decorations they had, and we made the room look really cute.

Special Instructions: We had an area on the stage for picture taking. A member of our bishopric is in a band, and he was able to talk his band in coming to play for free, so always a plus! So that we wouldn't end up with all sugary treats, I asked the committee members to bring items such as fruit/veggie trays, cheeses, cocktail meatballs, etc. It worked out great, and they were happy to do it. One of the gals on our committee made some "certificate" awards on her computer, and she and her hubby nominated people at the end of the night for best costumes. She also had found some little Halloween trinkets at the dollar store to give away for the prizes.

Turn-Out: After the wards split and were realigned, our number of elderly increased while our number of younger couples decreased. So, we invited the 6th ward to join us. We had a great time and about 60 people came.

We came in under budget, as the cost for the root beer extract, sugar and dry ice was $10; the printing of the pictures were $7, and the prizes were $5.



Here are a few pics of some of the costumes...

Hillbilly Harvest Hoedown & Chili Cookoff!

Who: All ages
Objective: Mingle, Fellowship, cooking skills, etc.
Budget: $20, for oyster crackers ("chicken feed") and butter
Flyer:


Set-Up: We decorated the tables with mason jars and old soup cans that were filled with sunflowers. We had some country style decor set up on the stage as well. (Tasteful) Redneck jokes were blown up onto poster boards and tacked up to the walls around the room.

Special Instructions: We had sign-ups ahead of time. People could either sign up to enter chili in the cook-off, bring rolls, or something for the "Roadkill Dessert Bar".

Turn-Out: We had about 65 people come.

We had little 3 oz cups set out so people could sample the chili as they went through the line. Then they could fill their bowl up with the one they wanted to eat. There were plenty of rolls, and our Roadkill dessert bar was a hoot. I had little place cards and pens so they could write down the name of their "roadkill dessert". We had "tire tread", "runned-over raccoon", "squashed frogs", and I can't remember all of them.

We had each crockpot of soup labeled with numbers, and there were empty mason jars lined up across the stage, that had corresponding numbers. When they came through the line to get their chili, they were also given a black bean. Then, they cast their vote for the best chili by placing their black bean in the corresponding jar. It was a quick and easy way to "visually" judge who had the best chili. It also was cute as it went along with our theme.

We had ice water in a metal tub that was labeled "waterin hole" and people could help themselves to water. The oyster crackers were served in a cardboard box (lined with plastic) and marked "Chicken Feed" in Hillbilly Handwriting.

Once everyone got through the line, we had a girl in our ward do some fiddling for us. She was excited to do it and had been practising for weeks. She played about 4 or 5 numbers and the audience loved it. Then we had a girl from the activity committee teach an easy line dance and practically everyone joined in.

Finally, we awarded a few prizes for the chili as well as for the best roadkill dessert, and we also gave an award for the best-dressed hillbilly.

We had "redneck" teeth from walmart for the outfit, and for the food winners we had a dish towel with chili peppers on them.

Everyone loved it and seemed to have a great time! Here are a few pics from my camera phone...

Ward Campout

Who: All Ages
Objective: Enjoy Nature, friendshipping, fellowshipping, fun!
Budget: $200
Flyer:

Set-Up: Because of the increase in cost of food, we ended up going to a much cheaper campground this year. The bishop & his wife made his famous "Mountain Man Breakfast", which is basically a skillet type breakfast made in a dutch oven. We also arranged for someone to bring firewood, as we had some members with a tree they cut down in their back yard. Free fire wood is always a plus. Basically, the activity committee members got up there before everyone else so they could put up directional signs, etc.

Special Instructions: In years past we had organized games for the kids, etc. But this year, since it was a new campground for us, we weren't sure what to expect. I found a few tubes of glow sticks so I got those for really cheap. and of course, we had s'mores. Many chose to go on a "hike" (nature walk) on a nearby small trail. When they got back we gave the kids their glow stick and made s'mores. The glow sticks were probably the best investment, as it provided hours of entertainment for them. we found a tube of glow sticks 100 for $8.

Turn-Out: we had about 50 people come, which about typical for our ward. We usually have between 50 and 75.

Pool Party

Who: All Ages! Bring Your Friends!
Objective: Missionary, fellowshipping, friendshipping, fun!
Budget: $260 (the cost fot the Layton Surf & Swim is $500, which we split by inviting another ward to join us...(we've been doing this now for about 5 years). Each ward also provides about $10 worth of freezer pops.

Flyer:
Set-Up: EASY!!! Call the surf & swim like in January for your summer party. They will hold the reservation for 24 hours. Bring deposit check to them for $100. The rest is paid on the night of.

Special Instructions: Get plenty of flyers with the directions printed and handed out in time.

Turn-Out: We always fill the place full... Probably about 500 people...cuz it is free to them, which is why it is perfect to invite our friends to as well.

Progressive Picnic Potluck

Who: All Adults 18+
Objective: Mingle, Fellowship, Missionary efforts, Fun! etc.
Budget: $40 for paper products
Flyer:
Set-Up: I had arranged for a few houses to host a dinner course in their backyard. "Appetizers/Salads", "Casseroles/Main Dish/Rolls" and "Dessert". (If you don't have enough homes with a big backyard, you can always meet back at the church for dessert.) I had sign up sheets for potluck items circulating 2-3 weeks ahead of time.

Special Instructions:The plan was to meet at the church and then to go together to the various homes for each meal course. However....

Turn-Out:...It ended up raining. So, we had everyone bring their dishes to the church, and we had an indoor picnic. We did not set up tables. We set up chairs for those that did not bring blankets or camp chairs. The rain kept people away, as there was some confusion as to whether or not we were still going to have it. But it was fun to have a small group. It felt like a dinner group and we were able to have some great conversation.

Hawaiian Dinner Cruise (Or Not)?

Who: Adults, 18+
Objective: FriendSHIPping, fellowSHIPping, missionary efforts, unity, etc.
Budget: $125
Flyer: (I don't have the original flyer, but here is what it said)

Ahoy all adults!

Come aboard the S.S. Fellow-Ship and join us for a

Hawaiian Dinner Cruise.

May 9th,

Board at 6:30pm, from the East Dock

Feel free to wear your Aloha! attire

It'd be a shame to miss this one on "porpoise"!

*brought to you by Save Our Souls (S.O.S.) Cruiselines

Set-Up: The cultural hall was set up and decorated for a Mexican Fiesta. Doors were kept closed. The chapel overflow area was set up to resemble the inside of a river boat. I had arranged ahead of time for a few of the YW to dress in Hawaiian wear to welcome each guest with a lei. I had arranged for one man with a nice "radio voice" to be our "captain" and had given him a script ahead of time, and I also had some Hawaiian music on CD to play on the overhead speakers.

Special Instructions: Prior to and during the welcome of the "passengers", no one that is in on the secret is to let on that this is anything but a "Hawaiian Dinner Cruise". Have the Hawaiian music playing on the speakers until you have enough "passengers" arrive to get started. After the opening prayer, Our “captain” gives his on-board announcements, welcoming them aboard the SS Fellowship, and tells them to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride, and that soon we will be docking for a wonderful Hawaiian Dinner. The “stewardesses” (YW) brought a cart through with Tahitian Treat drinks (aka Ginger ale & Fruit Punch). After the drinks were passed out, the captain then made the announcement that due to a tropical storm, we'd have to reroute and he advised them that we'd be docking on the Mexican Riviera. But not to fear, he had radioed ahead and our Mexican Fiesta will be ready! Then we had everyone exit through the “emergency exit” – which was the curtain/partition. We had a taco bar set up along with fruit salad. We already had Hawaiian and Mexican decorations from previous activities, so we just used those to decorate the various areas accordingly.

Turn-Out:We had about 65 people sign up, so I planned for 100 tacos, cuz I figured some would eat two. We still had foil and foil pans left over from Christmas, so I didn’t have to buy any of those. We used them to heat up the tortilla shells and pulled them from the oven as needed.

We bought 10 pkgs small flour tortilla shells (“taco” size, not “burrito” size), 12 lbs ground beef, 12 packets dry “taco seasoning” mix, 6 small cans refried beans, 3 heads lettuce – shredded, 3 medium/large onions, 4 cans dice tomatoes drained, 5 cans sliced black olives, 1 lg tub of sour cream, 7 bags (14 C) shredded cheese, 1 bottle of red hot chili pepper sauce, 1 large thing of salsa, 2 bags tortilla chips. For the fruit salad I bought 7 big cans of fruit cocktail, 3 boxes instant vanilla pudding. I just emptied all of the fruit juice into a big salad bowl and then added the instant pudding mix in with a wire whisk. I let the pudding sit in the fridge about 10 minutes, the folded the fruit in, covered it tightly with plastic wrap and let chill until dinner.

Total in attendance: about 55

Because of Cinco De Mayo being so close I got all of the food on sale, and ended up spending $112. We already had plenty of paper products in our storage closet, so I did not have to get any of that stuff.

Oh - and you can get all sorts of "scene setter" like the one here.  Just google "Cruise Ship Scene Setters".

Country 5-H Fair

Who: Everyone, all ages!
Objective: Mingle, Display Talents, Learn about Preparedness and Home Storage
Budget: $125

Flyer:

Set-Up: We had sign up sheets on the bulletin board for about 3 weeks and had all sorts of categories. In the gym we set up tables with signs for each category. We had a ticket booth when they entered. The “food tent” was set up in the YW room and the bishopric and their wives were assigned the task of grilling the hot dogs and manning the food booth. Each ticket was redeemed for one hot dog. This was purely to help people only take one hot dog until we knew everyone had been served. The tickets also added to the ambiance of the fair. The food tickets were actually from a roll of over 1000 tickets I bought over a year ago at the D.I. (thrift store) for 25 cents.

Categories: Butter-Scuplting (they brought their finished product, and 1 person even did the Bountiful Temple), Cake decorating, Artwork, Handi-crafts (sewing, crocheting, needlework, etc), canned goods, baked goods, and anything else you could think of. Kids could sign up for leap frog contests and ice cream eating contests. We also had a "booth" for our emergency preparedness person and our RS Food Storage specialist.

Turn-Out:The entries were not compared against each other, but rather scored based on skills, talents and creativity. We printed off blue ribbons and red ribbons for Excellent Work and Good Work. Everyone who entered received a ribbon. The judges also nominated a “Best in Show” for each category and awarded that with a purple ribbon. The kids loved the Ice Cream Eating Contests and the Leap Frog Competition. In the food tent we had a bins filled with plain potato chips and another filled with cookies. We also served 10 gallons of homemade rootbeer, and included water pitchers on the tables. The chips, cookies and rootbeer were a “serve-yourself” style. It was nice to have the “food tent” as people could eat when they were ready and it kept the food away from the art entries. Everyone who came said they absolutely loved it. Some of the most creative entries came out the butter sculpting and cake decorating competitions. We also had our Emergency Preparedness Specialists set up a booth with a sample 72 hr kit and handouts on food storage and natural disasters.

We ended up buying 13 pkgs of hot dogs (104), 13 pkgs of buns (104), 5 lg bags of plain potato chips, 6 pkgs cookies, 10 lbs sugar, 10 lbs dry ice, 2 bottles root beer extract, 1.5 gal ice cream (should have doubled it), 1 Hershey syrup. Because I found the hot dogs and buns on sale, I was able to also buy 2 cans whipped topping and 2 large bags of buttered popped corn, which we served in paper sacks. The kids loved having their own popcorn bags.

We had about 90 people show up.