I found this game about seven years ago but I think its roots go much farther back because Andrew claims he played it when he was a child. It's one we've brought out for family activities, kind of a low-tech version of Break the Ice.Get a tall plastic container (one of those 1 quart freezer containers works well) and pack it full of all-purpose flour. Press the flour into the container so that it's really blocked in there then put an plate over the top before inverting things and unmolding the flour tower.
Lay a large button on top of the flour tower then take turns slicing away at the tower with butter knives to see who will be the first person to make the button fall from the top. Though I didn't read anything about it in the rules I found Andrew swears that the rule is that the person who drops the button has to pull it out of the pile of flour using only their teeth. Hmmmm . . .
With teeth or without it's a fun game and easy to play over and over.
***
Last Thursday when I got to San Francisco for BlogHer '08 I met up with Janice and Susan from 5 Minutes for Mom and their video production crew. Want to see the results? They've posted a photo from the interview along with a teaser--I'll be mentioning more about that tomorrow.
Sponsored by jaC Jewelry--Jewelry with lovely earth colors and themes.
If you liked this post you can subscribe to receive updates through RSS feeds or email.
Technorati tags: children, activities, crafts, games
It's not enough that my husband is spilling flour all over the kitchen, now you're telling my kids to do it? I think this would be a great OUTDOOR game LOL, or at the very least a "your father is in charge of cleaning the kitchen" game. Oh, and yuck on Andrew's teeth thing - I wouldn't want to keep playing with spit-covered flour.
ReplyDeleteI will play this.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
My aunt, who is now in her 80's, taught me this game. Her variation was to hide the coin in the flour. The person who caused the coin to fall got the chance to keep it, if they picked it up with their teeth.
ReplyDeleteLOL. The first thing I thought was, oh how cool, then I thought, what a mess! I'll have to think about this one.
ReplyDeletelooks fun!
ReplyDeleteThank you Michelle!
I really don't mind messes; they can be cleaned up. The experience and the overall fun is what will last.
On one of Emil's birthdays we had planned a backyard bash and it rained on the big day. I draped sheets over his desk and bed and laid some on the floor and the pie throwing contest began!
He still remembers as do all his friends. As for the "mess"? It took a couple hours to clean that up.
That sounds like a fun game. Until someone sneezes.
ReplyDelete:-)
now that would be messy - but fun. :) Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJolanthe
We played this at our birthday parties when I was a kid. Only we used a measuring cup and a dime. It can be a little messy, but it's a blast for kids, and if you put it all on a cookie sheet, it's not too bad.
ReplyDeleteOk, I like the flour mold game. What a wonderful glorious mess that would make, but at the same time, I'm curious to see frozen flour. Makes me think about looking for a container just to try it next time I'm at the store.
ReplyDeleteWhat a COOL game! I'll have to run it by my husband, the neat freak, before playing it, but we're going to try it! What an odd version of Jenga ...
ReplyDeleteGrowing up south of New Orleans, we had beignets as often as we could get them. The game involved while eating them was to blow powdered sugar all over the person across from you. This game could lend itself to much the same fun. :)
Sounds (and looks) fun - I'll give it a go!
ReplyDeletemy kids will not read this post.
ReplyDeleteYou look FABULOUS in that 5MFM pic... and I can't wait to watch your interview!
ReplyDeleteSteph
Sorry to say that your husband is right, you are supposed to get it with your teeth. But you're supposed to use a penny! Good thing flour is pretty cheap! Ask him if he knows about the candy bar game, to. The one you use socks and a hat and a tie and a fork and knife......
ReplyDeleteI loved this game as a kid! We played it at birthday parties and family reunions and we did have to use our teeth to get the button if we made it fall. Thanks for reminding me of a fun game!
ReplyDeleteyes to the teeth. We did that when I was a kid, too.
ReplyDeleteI concur with the teeth, but we did it with a marshmallow (harder to find in the flour once it's fallen)
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the time my oldest (then 2) dumped an entire bag of flour on top of my middle child (about 5 months). She giggled and thought it was great.
ReplyDeleteI was horrified.
My friends and I played that game through middle and high school-it was a blast at parties! We did it with candy on top though and you most definitely had to get it with your teeth!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I've never heard of it and I really like it. I would think it would be a great rainy day sort of game.
ReplyDeleteDEfinitely an outside game! And I think we will use something yummy like a mini candy bar when we play it!
ReplyDeleteWe played that when I was little, just with a penny instead of a button. And yes, the one who "spills" the penny definitely has to dig it out with their face, no hands allowed.
ReplyDeleteThose are the rules I have heard, teeth and all.
ReplyDeleteI used to play this game a ton when I was a kid (TV deprived :) but my dad would hide a dime in the flour so you would never know when you would find it.
ReplyDeleteSome friends introduced us to that game when we were over for Family Night. He always used to play the game as a child. And instead of a button, they use a chocolate chip and yes - they go after the chocolate chip with only their mouth after the tower falls. (Although we used a small tupperware cup instead of a large freezer container).
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Andrew too. Definitely teeth.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this game, but it sounds like it would be too fun . . . outside.
ReplyDeletesee this is why i love your blog. what a hilarious idea. but yes, i'm with robin -- it might have to be played outdoors. cuz all that flour....oof. or the day before the cleaning lady comes!
ReplyDeleteHe is right - you use teeth! We used to play this an Christmas eve with all the wider family dressed in evening dress. My father, an engineer, used to undercut it to perfection so the next person would make the coin fall! We have hilarious photos somewhere...
ReplyDeleteAnd Hillary mentions the chocolate eating game. We always played this at parties. Hat, scarf, sunglasses and chocolate bar and dice. Roll the dice and whoever gets a 6 has to don the garb, and start cutting and eating the chocoate block by block until the next 6 is rolled. We divided the kids into teams of about 6. Great favourite!
DEFINITELY going to try this one. I think I have played it before in mutual maybe?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fun but I think I'll wait until the kids are a tad older. I can see it deteriorating to let's-throw-flour-all-over-the house in seconds.
ReplyDeleteI had totally forgotten about this game. The way we used to play it was with a smartie on top and yes, the person who knocked it down had to eat it no hands from amongst the flour. LOL
ReplyDeleteI never heard of this game before, but it sure sounds like fun! I think that we will do this one outside- either way it will totally freak out my husband, you know, Mr. Neat. We will do it when he is at work- he will never know. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh, what a great game for kids...definitely going to try.
ReplyDeleteJust got a chance to try your flour game with my kids today. They loved it and they are 13 and 15. We had some younger kids here today and they loved it too. Thanks for the idea. We didn't retrieve the button with our teeth. It was messy enough without that.
ReplyDeleteLisa C.