Trick-Or-Treat-Or-Tag

Skill: Dodge, Run
Time Required: 20
Activity Type: Physical
Group Size: Large Group, Medium Group, Small Group
Age Group: 6 - 9yrs, 9 - 12yrs, 13+ yrs
Play area: Gymnasium (large indoor space), Outdoor - Field
Safety Considerations: Remove any safety hazards and obstacles from the activity area.
Remind participants to be aware of their surroundings and to keep their head up.
Remind participants that a tag is light touch.
Equipment: Hoops
Beanbags
Tennis Balls
Pinnies
Pylons
Other objects to use as "candy"
Candy/Chocolate bars (optional)
Objective:
Participants go trick-or-treating and have to collect all their group's candy before the other groups.
Other skills:
Speed
Agility
Set up:
Divide participants into 4-5 equal groups.
The groups are: witches/warlocks, vampires, ghosts and mummies.
Place a hoop for each group at the starting point.
15-30 feet in front of the groups place and scatter hoops and place beanbags, tennis balls, birdies, little pylons, pinnies and other objects inside the hoops.
Step by Step:
1. Each of the Halloween groups are going trick-or-treating to collect their "candy".
2. The hoop at the start is where the participants return the candy they collected.
3. The hoops in the activity area are the different "homes" that participants have to go to to collect the candy.
4. Each hoop could have the same items inside, or each hoop can have a random assortment of items.
5. When the activity begins, one participant from each group runs to the "homes" and collects one piece of "candy". They run back to their group, put the "candy" in their group's hoop and the next participant runs to the "homes".
6. Optional: Participants have to say "Trick-or-Treat" when they take candy from the hoop.
7. At the start of each round the leader will tell the groups what they have to collect.
8. Examples:
- Groups have to collect the most beanbags
- Groups have to collect 3 beanbags, 2 tennis balls, 2 pinnies and 1 pylon.
- Witches have to collect all beanbags, vampires all the tennis balls, ghosts all the pinnies and mummies all the pylons.
9. The group to complete the task the quickest, gets a point!
10. To make it more difficult, add taggers.
11. Each group will select one or two participants each round to be the taggers.
12. They will stand between the group's hoops and the "homes" (they can't leave of this area).
13. Whenever a participant from another group is running back to their group's hoop, the taggers are allowed to try and tag them.
14. If a participant is tagged, they put the item back in the hoop ("home") and run back to their group's hoop before they're allowed to run back to the homes. OR the tagger that tagged a participant gets that participant's candy.
15. Allow all participants from each group to be running and collecting the candy at once.
16. When a group has completed the trick-or-treating task they yell "Trick-or-Treat!".
Variations:
Leaders could put wrapped candy and chocolate in the hoops, and at the end, the participants get to eat the candy (beware of allergies).
Play outside and hide the "candy" around the space and groups try to find their candy (like an Easter Egg hunt, but for Halloween!).
Sources: Developed for the Leisure Information Network.