Our community's Christmas gift to you

Please accept these fun and games as our community’s Christmas gift for you, your child’s school, your community or your sixtieth (seventieth?) birthday party. While these activities debuted in our community, the concept, which has already been embraced for two school gala days, was the brainchild of some committed individuals.

Each year our town’s Christmas Parade winds up at the local sports complex, Maungaturoto Country Club. Each year the club puts on entertainment for kids and Wesley Cullen organises games. Each year Fonterra donates kid-sized containers of milk which are given to anyone who puts out a hand. Some years there are activities and amusements which cost a fair bit of hard-earned cash. But not this year. This year was different.

This year, Kenny Finlayson and Terri Donaldson dreamed up a bunch more activities and, along with Wesley and others, set up and oversaw a grand total of 10 games. Any child who played six games swapped their stamped card for a reward: Fonterra’s milk.

The games were: Knock ‘em Down Blocks - throw a ball at a pile of blocks; Basket Case - throw a ball into a basket; Hook the Big One - a fishing contest (plastic bottles were fake fish); Horse Shoe Throw; Sporty Skills - hockey (dribble a ball through cones), soccer (bounce a ball on your foot), cricket (bowl stumps out - kiwis are suddenly very good at this).

In Sumo Wrestling two kids, each with their arms and body wrapped in a small mattress secured with a bungee cord, bumped each other until one fell. Pole Jousting involved two kids balanced on a wide piece of pipe, hitting each other with pillows until one toppled.

Surprisingly, plenty of people risked a cold shower in Dunking Machine. The foolish suckers sat under a delicately balanced bucket of water while people threw balls at the bucket. This cost money, and fair enough too. Two bucks bought you three chances, unless the local cop was on the chair when, naturally, it cost more.

Even the organisers were amazed at people’s willingness to play. “Some people got away dry,” reported Kenny, “and most people were keen to do it.”

The upshot was that for almost two hours the Country Club’s rugby fields were packed with people, including parents urging their children on.

“It was great to see the parents getting involved with their kids, and lots of people had a go at different things,” says Terri.

By the time the games were over, 240 milk drinks had been distributed along with three buckets of sweets donated by the Kaipara District Council, night was falling, and both Ruawai and Paparoa primary schools had said they’d like to use the signage and games for their gala days.

You, too, can play these games which, unlike most kids’ activities these days, cost almost nothing to assemble and nothing to play.

Happy Christmas and a happier New Year.