I shared about a fun game I came up with last summer at our family reunion at the lake. It is a game with lots of different sized boxes.
I wanted to recreate the game as I have totes full of prizes that I need to get rid of as I collected for years doing two family reunions for years and then it abruptly stopped for a few years and I haven't had a chance to get rid of the prizes.
I just needed to come up with a creative way to get each person in an order for the games. I thought about writing numbers on suckers, putting numbers on tape on each chair or having them pick a number....
When thinking on the best way to do the numbers, I remembered a fun game we used to play with the scouts when I was scout master nearly 20 years ago. We would take a bag of bouncy balls to a gym and throw them around the room and tell the one that got a specific bouncy, he would get a prize so they would all run around looking for that color of bouncy ball.
The winner would get a candy bar or some other treat. The kids would ask over and over if they could play that game as it was competitive, active and provided a treat. I know the game was created accidently when we were doing some other activity but it "morphed" into that game eventually.
Over the years, I have collected the bouncy balls in the bag whenever the kids would get one. I was surprised to find out that I had over 50 when I had Princess Three write numbers on them recently. I figured I could throw out all the balls and have each person get one and they could collect as many as they could and could keep the one with the lowest number and that would be how they could go in order for the other game.
I had them give a number to each parent as they didn't want to run around after balls, but the kids LOVED it. I took a video of this part and wish I had someone videotape the other game we played but my girls were helping behind the scenes and I was running the game so we didn't get any video but the kids enjoyed it and it seemed like they all had fun. 
I love having my nephews around as they all helped me carry in the prizes and back out again with what was left. I also had help throwing the balls around the room so there were some on all sides. I put some good and weird prizes in the boxes before the game started and I included some home décor items I was getting rid of in the boxes as prizes. I laughed when my 8 year old nephew ended up with a living room lamp and candle stick. Funny enough, he loved the lamp and wanted to keep it when my Sister-in-law asked if she could have the candlesticks, he said she could but he wanted to put the lamp in his room.
The game I came up with is similar to some old game shows but I call it "Either - Or" as they can have a prize I offer them, or they can pick a box.
When they would bring up their bouncy ball, I would tell the girls "Teen boy" or "Young girl" and they would hand me a prize they thought someone that age would like. I would tell the contestant, "You can have this new Star Trek Movie, or you can pick a box!" Then they can either take the movie I offer, or they can choose any of the boxes. If they choose a box they must KEEP what is in the box for their prize. Some boxes have good prizes, others have items I am trying to get rid of like one of the prizes was a stack of VHS tapes. 
They often took the item I was offering as the items were new games, puzzles, jewelry, movies etc I had collected over the years. Sometimes, the new items were in the boxes and there was a "golden ticket" in one of the boxes where they could choose any item behind the curtain. 
Sometimes I was surprised by the items they liked. At the end of the game, they could trade prizes with each other if a kid got an adult thing and the adult got a kid thing, they can change and I also handed out some at the end for those that got horrible prizes. All in all, I think most people had fun and enjoyed the holiday fun.
I ended up brining lots of boxes of prizes home due to never knowing how many of the nephews and nieces would show up but funny enough, when I was going through the prizes the night before the party, my girls pulled out gifts for roommates, friends, and co-workers from the totes of stuff and it was funny because the stuff had been down in the storage room for so long that some of the stuff had been theirs they didn't want at the time I boxed them up but now after all the years, they could see a use for it. 
It feels good to get rid of so much out of the house. I took a few boxes of stuff to donate and the girls had some clothes they went through and I took those down this week as well and donated. I n the prize boxes I had lots of small items that I didn't want to store and also went through my desk getting rid of old electronics, cd holders and other things. I am so happy to be getting rid of stuff but there is so much more to go through still. At least I am working on it!
I'm throwing in this last picture of my brother trying on a Mexican dress for his prize. He was a good sport about it but when it didn't fit him, I gave him a "name that tune" game that he and his family would love as they are a musical family. It was a good time and everyone was a good sport about it.
Have "Either / Or" a Blessed Day!
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