About 25 teens gathered at our home on Christmas Eve day. They included our helpers and the 2 bands we sponsor. The older band average age is 17, while the younger band average age is 14. The various instruments laid idle, as the kids were not here to practice. It was time to party.
The first game was a dance competition using our Xbox. Teams of four were formed and each team danced to the same song. My job was to add up the scores and announce the winner. My wife gifted 100 pesos to each member of the winning team. (A younger band team won.)
Another game was played with balloons, again played with teams of four. Everyone had a balloon tied to their lower back. The object was for everyone to face forward and to pop the balloons between them without using hands. It lasted about 30 seconds. Again, 100 pesos went to each member of the winning team. (A older band team won.)
A stuffed panda bear was the prize for another game. This time the game was played with a normal deck of cards and lasted 30 minutes. Everyone sits in a big circle, and people are eliminated 1 or 2 at a time. (The name of the game is called ‘chase the ace’ and/or ‘screw your neighbor’). It was highly competitive, as some of the girls really wanted that panda. As luck would have it, the final 2 players just happened to be a boyfriend and girlfriend, so you knew who would end up with the panda.
I created a trivia game in preparation for the party. On paper, each team was given 19 multiple choice questions and 5 minutes to answer them. The questions were mostly focused on music, however, there were also some history, geography, and Bible questions. The winning team only had 9 questions correct, which is less than 50%. I didn’t think the questions were that difficult. Here are the first 6 questions. How well can you do?
1) Who wrote the first 5 books of the Bible?
A) Matthew
B) Moses
C) Joseph
D) Gabriel
E) Michael
2) What is the name of the last book in the Bible?
A) Genesis
B) Romans
C) Revelation
D) Exodus
E) Daniel
3) In what year did the second world war end?
A) 1939
B) 1945
C) 1949
D) 1950
E) 1951
4) In what year did man first step on the moon?
A) 1969
B) 1972
C) 1975
D) 1976
E) 1981
5) In what year did Mt. Pinatubo erupt?
A) 1988
B) 1989
C) 1990
D) 1991
E) 1992
6) In what year did the USA grant the Philippines independence?
A) 1940
B) 1943
C) 1946
D) 1949
I found it interesting that most of the teams did not correctly answer question 6. It sort of makes me wonder about the quality of their education. With regard to the music questions (not shown above), most of the teams knew Michael Jackson was the king of pop. They didn’t know Aretha Franklin is the queen of soul. Surprisingly, most teams knew the song Stairway to Heaven was by Led Zeppelin. Many teams thought the Beatles were from the United States. Oh well, at least Elton John should be happy. The kids gave him credit for composing the music to the Disney film Tarzan. (Sorry Phil Collins!)