(This fourth article in the seven part series continues our discussion on how to set up your own Family Adventure Nights. To learn more about what FANS are and their back story, read our Introduction to the series here: Family Adventure Nights – Introduction)
So your atmosphere is in place and your family is in an Egyptian marketplace or the Australian outback (or wherever you’ve chosen to take them for the evening.) The next step is to have something to DO while you are there. As with the atmosphere component in the last chapter, choosing activities will either accentuate the illusion and adventure, or detract from them. This aspect of a Family Adventure Night can be the most difficult to make suggestions for because every family dynamic is different. One family with younger boys may want to do very different things than a family with only preteen daughters. Likewise, an only child may react to an activity differently than a house full of children. Consider each activity before choosing it for your FAN. Choose those activities that are daring and interesting over the traditional and ‘done that’ whenever possible. And, if you have a choice, plan activities that bring everyone together rather than having them compete with one another.
The basic idea behind providing an activity is to give your kids the opportunity to interact with the environment that you’ve created. In the last article on creating the atmosphere, you learned to create a specific place. That is fun and interesting, but without something to do once they get there, the excitement will quickly wane. The more you can get your kids to think and interact with the atmosphere, the more they are going to get out of the FANs, which is why activities are so important.
As mentioned before, I usually included some type of adventure with each FAN. The adventures were designed to incorporate the activities into the actual story of the adventure (as described later.) For example, in our Egyptian adventure our children met up with a desert caravan who taught them how to bead an Egyptian necklace (an activity they actually did DURING the adventure portion.) You can choose to use none or all of the activities to ensure that your FAN is truly your FAN. The adventure itself WAS our activity, however not all FANs had a corresponding adventure. For those, I planned stand alone activities as described below.
GAMES
Games from just about any culture and time can be found online, from physical games that can be played outside to games of skill that can be played inside. You can also do a little research on your theme and location for possible games. For example, the ancient Egyptians played a board game called Senet that’s a lot of fun!
Games to play are GREAT for your FAN activity. Games, though, can sometimes be a tricky thing depending on your family dynamic. Sometimes sibling rivalry and games can turn into bad feelings and attitudes. You’ll need to judge when to put the ‘dueling pair’ on the same team and when to separate them. If they are competitive, being on the same team will force them to work together if they want to win. There are two ways to do this:
- Come up with a ranking for the total number of points/distance or whatever other marker is involved in the game. They each play the game and they combine their scores/efforts. This is then measured against a preset ranking sheet to see how they did. For example if they were playing a game of basketball free throws (10 shots each), you might use “1–3 Beginner, 3–6 Junior Varsity, 7–10 Varsity, 11+ Pro!” In this way, they BOTH have to do well as a team in order to achieve that combined total of 11 or more to earn the Pro title.
- Have each of them complete the game once. Then, they must each do it again and beat their own previous score (not their sibling’s score) in order to achieve a win. In this way, more than one child can ‘win’ in a competition.
- If you are working with a wide range of ages, try to incorporate the youngest and oldest on a team so that they have to work together to accomplish different things — giving harder tasks to the older and easier tasks to the younger.
MEALS
This component has been the second-most exciting part of our FANs. It’s a time to laugh, discover, eat and be daring within a fun and intimate space. Make sure that your eating space is full of atmosphere, more than any other place in the house. Your family will likely be there for a while (especially if you are planning on playing a game at that table later), and making it cool will provide a great experience for everyone.
Consider two aspects of your meal when you are planning. Format and food.
Format. This is HOW you are going to eat and highly depends on where you’ve transported your family. Are you on a deserted island? In a palace? Are you in the jungle or on a farm? These will affect different aspects of how you will eat including:
Utensils — will you use them and if so, what kind? Forks? Spoons only? Chopsticks?
Bowls and plates — will you use them and what kind? For a deserted island you might opt to use large banana leaves as plates (found at many ethnic markets.)
Where will you eat? At your dining room table? On the floor? Outside? On the run (if you’re hiking)?
Food. This single component will add a lot to your overall FAN. Don’t think that safe is better. We all have favorite foods and preferences, but the rules change with a FAN. Over the years I’ve asked my sons to eat alligator meat and vegetables that even I had a difficult time swallowing. And they ate it, every time. When there’s themed music, cool themed props, a fun place to eat the meal itself while they’re practicing a foreign language… eating something new can be exciting and DEFINITELY a part of the fun!
How?
Rule #1 is “You don’t have to eat anything, but you do have to TRY everything!” Everyone sits at the table, scooping as little or as much as they want of EVERYTHING on the table onto their plates. Then talk about certain items to see what you think of them. “Has anyone tried the kangaroo meat yet? What did you think?” Let everyone try it without pressure especially for the tweens who won’t look silly at any price.
Rule #2 — During a FAN “No seconds until everything is tried at least once.” It may take some convincing and salesmanship, but remember it’s all about the adventure!
Rule #3 — Make sure they are hungry before your food is served. If they come hungry (and I do mean hungry) they’ll be much more included to eat whatever is front of them.
Also be sure to include generic foods your kids WILL eat. For example during our night in Egypt, I made sure there was a lot of Middle Eastern naan bread (something everyone loved.) Have the goal to keep the adventure going. Part of the adventure is eating the regional food or going hungry. Even the pickiest of kids will eventually eat if they are hungry enough. I urge you: do not rob your kids of the fun and thrill of eating new and strange things (even if they will only do it during a FAN.)
Another idea, if your budget allows, is to visit an ethnic restaurant and pick up a dish or two (even if only side dishes) that are either too difficult to make or to find the ingredients for. You can then simply cook the rice or bread item to go with it. Just make sure to take the food out of the to-go containers first!
As a side note, I will say that although my boys still have their foods that they just don’t like (and perhaps never will) they will all now eat anything that is placed before them if they have to. They’ve trained themselves and I’d like to think that the wild stuff we’ve consumed during our FANs were a huge part of that.
So, how do you choose what to serve? Youtube has an endless supply of short videos about simple exotic dishes from just about anywhere. Remember, the more adventurous you can be, the better. Visit your local international markets if you have any. You may find meats like snake and ostrich. You may also find exotic vegetables and fruits to accentuate your meal. If you REALLY want to go for it and you have the budget, you can order exotic meats from online retailers such as bear and hippo. You don’t need a lot of meat — just something to mix in with rice, pasta and others.
Another option for an adventurous meal is to limit the options and supply. In first world countries, we don’t understand what it’s like to be hungry. Even just one scarce meal will broaden your child’s eyes to hunger issues in other countries. A tamer version would be simplifying the ingredients. Perhaps serve only potatoes. In most places of the world, people are limited to a few items they might eat each and every day.
To read the next article in the series, FAMILY ADVENTURE NIGHTS – ACTIVITIES PART II, click HERE.