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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Hunger Games Party


In honor of next week's stupendously exciting release of Mockingjay, I held a "Hunger Games Party" this afternoon. We had a slightly smaller crowd than I'd hoped for, but the teens that came had a blast!

When the teens entered, we had them put on name tags with their names and the district that they wanted to represent. Most of the kids had not actually read The Hunger Games, so I, as President Snow, explained the history of the Games with much disdain.

Since they would be this year's tributes, "Effie Trinket" and I were going to put them through there paces in the Training Arena. First, we had them do some archery practice. We set up three targets and had them use the Nerf Big Bad Bow for safety reasons. They had a blast shooting things and cheering each other on...until we reminded them that they'd soon be hunting one another.



Secondly, we had the tributes practice defensive tactics, mainly camouflage. We gave them black, white, brown, green and red face paints and let them go at it. There were some interesting faces!



After camouflage techniques, we discussed how the tributes would be dropped into the arena. We set up a mini Cornucopia so that they would get an idea of what they'd be up against the next day and had each teen take turns running in to get survival items.



Teens were able to run in to grab items like a sword, a shield, a hammer, a knife, medicine, anti-venom, a waterbottle, rope, wire, a tarp, a blanket, and more. Each was cautioned to not only think about what they'd need right away, but things they'd need to attack, things they'd need to defend themselves, and things to help them survive if they are in the arena for a long time.



Once they had all their items, we ran them through a Games scenario and gave them points for items that would help them along the way. They had a hoot trying to figure out how to justify getting points for items that weren't really that relevant in the scenarios!

Finally, we drew winners for our two door prizes. We gave away a paperback copy of The Hunger Games and our grand prize winner won a certificate to be redeemed for a hardcover copy of Mockingjay when it comes out next Tuesday!!



Overall a huge success! Before the teens left I also snuck in a dystopia book talk and managed to convince the teens to check out five other titles before they left the party. Even better success!!

21 comments:

  1. Awesome, that sounds SUPER cool!!! Nice program and book talking :)

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  2. Thanks! Is it sad that even though the party was a blast, my favorite thing is that they actually checked out books?? :P

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  3. That "Effie Trinket" was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. ;-) "May the odds be in your favor!"

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  4. Yes, Miss Kim, you were superb as Miss Effie! The kids loved your fluffiness in contrast to my evil President Snow! So much fun. :)

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  5. I suppose now I should really add the Hunger Games to my list huh?

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  6. OMG Becca! How have you not read this already??!!!!!

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  7. Such a fun ideas! I had a party on Saturday too and we had several of the same crafts and games.:)

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  8. And I had a smaller crowd than what I'd hoped for too, but the teens had a blast. I think it was because it was the last weekend before school that my numbers were low.

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  9. @GreenBeanTeenQueen - You always seem to have fun library programs! I'm not surprised you had a party, too. It was kind of hard to plan right before school, but super fun! ON the upside...I had several of the teens from the party come back in the last couple of days to ask for more books...again! *squee!

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  10. I really would like to have a party like this for my 11 year old daughter! She loves The Hunger Games too. The only thing is her friends haven't read it so i think i should give a little summary. Not telling any spoilers though. Do you think it will work??? And also she wants it to be a sleepover,but we would have them put into the arena the first day.My daughter's also made Hunger Games bow and arrow's!!! Would this all work????

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  11. I totally think you could make this into an awesome sleepover party theme! Invite them all in, describe why they are participating in the Hunger Games...have them practice camoflage, archery, and then the cornucopia dash. Some great snacks, time to read "The Hunger Games" or similar books, and then bed. You can wake them up to a tribute celebration feast in the morning! FUN.

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  12. This Seems Really Cool! I cant wait to do this for a party pretty soon!! :)

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  13. i'm planning a surprise party for my best friend, she loves the hunger games and I've never read any of the books and have very little knowledge of what it is about. i was hoping to do just a theme to the party in respect to the trilogy and having never read the books i have absolutely no clue where to begin, i just want to know what to do decoration wise and perhaps even costumes. any ideas? please? :)

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  14. Hmmm...for party decorations, I'd say flames, lots of black and orange, maybe you could print and cut out a bunch of the "mockingjay" pin designs (you can see it above)... You could have little bows and arrows, camoflage, etc.
    The books are all about survival. Katniss is usually dressed in flames. I hope that helps some!
    Jessica

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  15. I want to do this for my 12th birthday, and I don't know what costumes would be good. Fancy dresses for the "interview" then district t-shirts? My b-day is close to the movie release, so I might watch the movie with friends, then come home and have a "Hunger Games", but if that doesn't work, should I just have the scenario?
    Thanks!

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  16. I think this could be an awesome party idea! You could definitely dress up to go to see the movie, but it might be even better to have everyone dress up in their "district training outfits" at your house. You guys could definitely do the cornucopia dash, some knot tying, camoflage painting and other skill tests, and have some great snacks based on the foods mentioned in the books. sounds like a great time!

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  17. The party you had sounds amazing! I was actually planning a 'Hunger Games' sweet 16 for the summer and I am a little lost. I have read the trilogy numerous times, but I don't know how I can capture everything into one party. Do you have any idea what 16 year olds would like for a Hunger Games birthday party?

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  18. OMG! I love this idea! Do you mind if I copy some ideas?? Since my daughter and her friends are obsessed with the books! and the movie Thank You

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  19. Absolutely! Feel free to "borrow" away. I love Hunger Games parties!! :)

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  20. This sounds so fun! I am a huge fan of the Hunger Games and have read the trilogy 14 times and counting. I want to do a Hunger Games birthday party but need some help on how to proceed. For instance, how do you make a good, symbolic cornucopia? And do you have any website reccomendations for food ideas? Thanks!

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