We did use the games from the PTOtoday packet both last year and this year. The packet was a great resource because I don't know if I could have come up with such clever games. Last year and this year we played Mom and Dad Calling and S.P.U.D. Last year we also played Group Juggling, but the people didn't seem to enjoy that one so we just did the two games this year and added board games and bingo.
Last year the gym was crowded and LOUD, but I heard very few complaints(only those who complain just for the sake of doing it). This year we had fewer people so it was more manageable. Still loud, but that's the nature of having kids involved-it means they're having fun!
You can comfortably have 20 people in Mom and Dad Calling and 30 in S.P.U.D. If you're serving the food the whole time, remember that some will be eating so everyone probably won't be in the gym all at the same time. We ran our event from 5:30-7:00. It was a perfect time range because everyone had time to eat and get involved in the activities without getting bored. If you go too long, the kids get tired of the games and then start getting rowdy.
We had people put on nametags last year. We just had a table in the hall with the tags and markers. This year we didn't do that, but I wish I had because there were some new families that I didn't know and it would have been nice to be able to call them by name during the games. Everyone didn't show up all at the same time so it wasn't too bad to get the nametags filled out.
The Fun and Games Night packet is filled with so much information and such great suggestions, including how to set up, games to play, with diagrams and directions and even a script! I highly recommend it. Good luck!
Oh my gosh, you are so right--I am breaking a sweat right now just thinking about it. I envision 200 people pouring into the gym at one time!!!
You said "the families could play one of two games in the gym". what were those two games and how many people played those games at one time? Like 30 people per game or 60 people per game? did you play any of the games suggested in the PTO Family fun and Games Packet? If yes, which ones?
What time did your event start and what time did it end? Ours is supposed to start at 5:30 and end at 7:00 but I don't think it will be over at 7:00.
Yes, we are going to use a bullhorn in the gym. I am meeting with a young man tomorrow who supposedly has lots of experience conducting games with groups of people although he was shocked at the number I gave him (170 as of today). We'll see what he says tomorrow when we have out meeting.
I was thinking about dividing the gym up into 4 quadrants (like the info says). When the first 30 people get there, send them over to Quadrant 1 to start a game. I guess 4 games on going on in the gym at one time, a different game in each quadrant. Does 120 people in one gym sound impossible? It sounds loud to me!
Did you have nametags on your participants? I was thinking of having them already made out, since it would be chaotic for 200 people to make nametags at one time.
I need your wisdom (and I probably need a tranquilizer, too!).
Any help is greatly appreciated. If you want to e-mail me directly, my e-mail is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thank you thank you thank you!!!
SHC
We're serving pizza so that should be easy. We're thinking that when the gym gets full, we'll send those arriving folks to the cafeteria to start eating and play board games or Bingo.
Okay SHC take a deep breath. You're feeling the way I did before our first Family Game Night last year!
Last year we just had games in the gym and snacks in the cafeteria. We tried to encourage people to spread out to various games and then we rotated after 20 minutes.
This year we added dinner(due to requests from last year) so that kind of threw us off. 95% of the people wanted to eat first, so there was virtually no one in the gym for the first 1/2 hour. We only served dinner for an hour and 15 minutes so we would have time to clean up before bingo at 7:00.
The families could play one of two games in the gym. We just kind of let them go back and forth as they wanted. We also had board games in the hall. At 7:00 we suspended the organized games and started bingo. For those who didn't want to play bingo, we had basketballs in the gym and they still could do board games. We played bingo until 7:45 then took everyone back to the gym for the shoe relay. We finished right at 8:00 and wished everyone a good night. We also had a book exchange going in the hall.
We had around 130 people there so very similar to the size of your expected crowd and quite manageable. Last year we had almost 240 and it was a little overwhelming.
One tip: Have a microphone or some kind of speaker system to utilize, because it's hard to get people's attention without straining your voice.
Hope this helps. I'll check back a couple more times today for anymore questions.
I am planning our Family Game Night for next week. How exactly did you organize your families when they arrived? Did you divide them into 4 groups and then each group did several games within their group or did they rotate around? I'm starting to get nervous. I like the way you did the shoe relay--we're going to do that. I have rsvp's for 150 right now and I have lots of time left! Will I be able to handle a crowd this big in a gym? Help! What other games did you do and how long did you play those games? I'm thinking they'll arrive at 5:30 and play games til 6:15 and then eat and possibly play Bingo until 7 (the event is 5:30-7). Any thoughts, anyone?
Eternally grateful
SHC
