Category: Family

Capture the Flag

 There are two teams.
 
Team 1 has the front yard and Team 2 has the back yard, or a field was split between the two teams.  The teams are given a time period, like 5 minutes, to hide their flag in their part of the yard. 
 
[optional] During this period spies were sent out to see were the flag was hidden as well as look-outs to catch the spies.
 
When the flag is hidden you call out that you are finished. Then you simply try to get the other teams flag. If you get caught and  tagged by the opponent on their territory you had to go to jail and could only be freed by a teammate who grabs you when your opponent isn’t looking.
 

The first team to capture the flag wins.  In most versions you had to both get the flag, and bring it back to your side.

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Cow Poker

clear pixelWhat’s the best way to count cows? 
With a cow-culator, of course!

Here is how to play this classic car travel game. Divide the car occupants into teams – left side and  right side. Decide how you will determine when the game will end (time, length of trip, etc).  Count the cows you see on your side of the car. If you pass a field full of lots of cows, you’d better count fast!  If you pass a cemetery on your side of the car, you lose all your cows — but only if the opposing team calls out “your cows are buried!”. 
 

This game gets interesting when distraction tactics are used to either cause your opponent to miss cows on their side of the road or to miss a cemetery on your side of the road. A white horse can count as a bonus. The team with the most cows wins!

Here is a point system you might like to use to make it a little more challenging: 

1) Cows = 1 point each.
2) White Horse = 50 points
3) Chimney by itself (house burnt down) = 50 points each.
4) Peg legged man = 500 points each.
5) Gray mule = 100 points each.
6) Wind mill (out in pasture pumping water) = 50 points each.
7) Sheep or goats (replace cows if none are around) = 1 point each.
8 ) Cemetery = wipes out points.  Start back at zero (0).
 

Have some more fun with cows and tell some cow jokes while you play!

click here for jokes!

Taffy

This is one part activity, one part party food. Kids will enjoy the pulling, cutting and shaping of the taffy. Guests can save their candies in waxed paper and take them home for their families.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. butter, plus extra for the pan and for coating hands
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Combine sugar, water, vinegar and butter in a heavy, nonreactive pan, and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves.

Raise heat and cook quickly, about 20 minutes, without stirring, until a teaspoon of the mixture dropped into a glass of cold water forms a hard ball.

Watch the boil carefully so the taffy does not burn. Turn off heat and add the vanilla extract.

Pour the taffy onto a generously buttered platter or cookie sheet with low sides. When it is cool enough to handle (adults do everything up to this part), kids grease their hands with butter, take a lump of taffy, and pull and stretch it until it is light and slightly firm.

The more they stretch, pull and twist the candy, the more air they will blend into it, and the more like beach taffy it will get.

Using scissors, cut the lump of candy into bite-size pieces. When completely cool, wrap each piece in waxed paper.

Makes 45 1-inch candies.

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