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The CHALYMPICS is an 8 day long, 7 event series we partake in every year of Chanukah (we take a break friday night for shabbos!).
Every night, after we light the menorah, instead of opening presents, we set up a game, using inexpensive materials that are easily purchased or that are already lying around the house, and all the kids compete.
Like the real Olympics, we start off with a torch lighting ceremony (CLICK HERE to see how to DIY your own CHALYMPIC torches!), the winners stand on appropriate leveled chairs and receive their award at the end of each night, and of course we end the games with another torch lighting ceremony.
Through out the 8 days, we keep track of the winners on a giant score card and at the end of the CHALYMPICS there is a final champion who wins the ultimate prize…BRAGGING RIGHTS!
Onto the final and most vital piece of all this:
The events and their rules:
These are the 7 events my children will be competing in this year. If some of these games are not suitable for your children, you can watch our videos from years past for some other ideas. You can also come up with your own games that are more appropriate for your family!
*A few things to know:
-All games are based on 5 contestants. Adjust accordingly.
-Games are chosen specifically to avoid judges having to “choose” winners. This keeps emotions a little more at bay. We find that having to choose, who built the “best” menorah can cause more problems than ‘who replicated the menorah the fastest or who got the most blind tastes correct”. If you do choose to incorporate your own games into the CHALYMPICS (which I do highly suggest because no one knows your family better than you!), I would suggest you keep this aspect of the games in mind.
NEW THIS YEAR:
BONUS CHALLENGES
Due to having a wider age range of children competing in this years CHALYMPICS we have added a BONUS CHALLENGE ELEMENT. Players ages 9 and up will be required to do a few minor extra steps in certain challenges to level the playing field.
BONUS CHALLENGES will be italicized and in this color!
NOW, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!
OPENING CEREMONIES + LIVE MEMORY
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
The homemade torches
12 sets of identical shekel store prizes. (2 key chains, 2 silly patty’s…)
24 aluminum 9×13 pans (or any size, you just want to make sure that the prices fit fully underneath them)
For the opening ceremony, play Olympic music, and have the contestants line up in age order. Light the oldest ones torch and then he lights the persons next to him. Continue until all torches are lit and then take a ceremonious walk around the living room.
(Blow out torches and save for closing ceremony)
HOW TO PLAY:
Send the children out of the room.
Arrange the prizes on a large space on the floor, separating identical prizes, in a grid like pattern.
Cover each prize with an aluminum pan.
Call the children back into the room.
Now play memory….
Give each a child a chance to uncover two prizes. If the prizes are not the same, replace the pan over the prize and it is the next Childs turn.
When someone uncovers identical prizes they keep it.
Play until all prizes have been accounted for.
We like to end this game with a prize swap. No one can keep two prizes and they must trade. Sometimes they need our help to facilitate this but usually it goes smoothly since they are all equally small, 1 shekel prizes!
TEEN CHALYMPIC CHALLENGE:
Instead of using tins and shekel toys we are upping the ante with 60 pieces of colored construction paper.
Each paper will be cut into a 6cm X 14cm rectangle.
Fold the rectangle in half.
Inside of half the rectangles place some sort of coupon (get out of making your bed for a week, choose dinner 3 x over the next 2 weeks, get out of a task and pass to someone else, this coupon entitles you to a fresh batch of hot, homemade popcorn at a moments notice…that sort of thing,) and in a few of them a small number value (1 shekel, 5 shekels..).
Staple the rectangle closed so that no one can peek.
Any cards that are the same color will need a small symbol on the outside to creat pairs of two’s for the matching game. So two red cards will have a star on the outside, 2 will have a heart, 2 will be blank, 2 will have smiley face…)
You can reuse symbols on different colored cards.
Arrange the cards symbol side down on a large table and play the game!
The person with the most matches wins.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL
Object of the game: To place as many round objects in the bin while never letting the balloon touch the floor and never stepping out of bounds!
1 small basket, bin or bucket
Painters tape
Small round objects (can be balls from a ball pit, cotton balls, marbles, tennis balls..)
Balloons (2 per player in case they pop!
Use painters tape to create a large square on the floor (around 5-6 feet by 5-6 feet).
Place bin in the center of the square.
Blow up balloon and tie.
Place round objects inside the square.
Each player takes a turn inside the square.
Throw them the balloon.
Set a timer to 2 minutes and start the timer the second the okayed touches the balloon.
They must immediately tap that balloon back into the air and keep tapping it.
While the balloon is in the air they can bend and pick up as many objects as possible and toss them into the bin.
They must however remain in the designated square the whole time.
They can continue to collect objects as long as time remains, the balloon remains in the air and they remain in the square.
If they step out of bounds or the balloon hits the floor time stops and their turn is over.
If not they can continue to collect until the 2 minutes runs out!
At the end of the players turn count how many objects they collected.
The player with the most objects at the end wins!
COOKIE MONSTER DROP
OBJECTIVE: To get the Oreo from your forehead to your mouth with out your hands.
1-2 packages Oreos
(Make sure to have at least 2 Oreos per player plus a few extra in case any fall and break)
Have all players stand up.
Give each player 1 Oreo to place on their foreheads.
When you say start the players must use only their facial muscles to move the Oreo from their fore into their mouth.
Players are not allowed to use their hands or any other objects or surfaces to move the Oreo.
They may however, twist and turn their heads/body in order to help the Oreo slide down.
If anyone’s Oreo falls on the floor they can replace it on their forehead and start again.
The player to achieve the goal with out the Oreo ever dropping on the floor is the winner.
THE BLIND TASTE TEST
Object of the game: To identify as many foods as possible by simply tasting them while blindfolded.
blindfold, or scarf
a cookie sheet (to contain any spills)
20 different foods that can fit into small bowls or cups
20 small bowls or cups
a kitchen towel
Send the kids out of the kitchen.
Place the cups on the cookie sheet and fill each one with as different edible product. (can be food, drink, snack, condiment, spice…)
Place a kitchen towel over the filled bowls so that no one can see whats underneath.
Call each child one at a time into the kitchen.
Cover their eyes with the blind and remove the kitchen towel.
Help them guide their hand into each bowl one at a time.
They must taste each item and identify it.
Only first answers are accepted to remind them to take their time.
The child that guesses the most right is the winner.
Examples of tasters: Ketchup, Mayo, Honey, Croutons, Salt, Chopped hard boiled egg, Chocolate chips, Captain crunch, Cut up string cheese, Butter, Cucumbers, Red sufganiya jelly, Lemon wedges, Pickles, Plain yogurt, Franks hot sauce, Soda, Peanut butter, Craisins, Pesto, Salad dressing…
LIVE MASTERMIND
Object of the Game: To guess the order of items behind the box with out seeing them!
1 large cardboard box, remove top so it’s a 3 sided box
(Alternatively you can use a kitchen stool and cover one side with paper so that contestants can’t see
6-10 different items that you have 2 of (can be 2 bottles of water, 2 cans of coke, 2 bottles of ketchup, 2 of the same color magna tile
Place box or stool on a table. Turn the box so that like a stool there is a flat surface in the top and the opening is facing you.
Place 1 of each item in a straight line in the box.
Have players stand behind the box where the box is closed so that they can not see the order of the items.
Give players the pair of each item you placed in side.
Each player goes up to the box and places all the items on the top flat surface.
Once he finishes you tell him if he placed any in the correct space, and if so how many. Thats it.
They must try again by moving bottles around until they come up with the correct order.
Each move counts as a turn.
The player to complete the task in the least amounts of tons is the winner!
TEAM CHALLENGE OPTION:
You can have players line up in a single file line. Each player takes one turn and goes to the back of the line. This encourages all the players to listen while others are taking their turn. When one player finally gets it, he wins, but really its a win for everyone!
To make it harder for the older kids you can add more items to the box.
If you want to make it really hard, you can add a few items to their pile that are not in the box together with all the other items! For example, you set up 6 items in the box but you give them 8 items!
CHOPPED
That’s right, we swapped the mice en place for chopped this year! Since we did a team Mise en place last year by pairing each little girl with an older child we figured its time to let them cook for themselves!
If you can let your players use your kitchen all you need is to set them up a station with a cutting board, knife and basic utensils.
My kitchen is not big enough for everyone to cook in so I will set up 4 stations on my dining room table.
Each station will have:
Gas burner
1 small pan
1 small pot
1 cutting board
1 knife
1 peeler
1 spatula
1 wooden cooking spoon
6 soup spoons for tasting
1 small bowl with salt
1 small bowl with pepper
a few sets of gloves
1 mystery basket
In the mystery basket:
150 g steak strips
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 potato latkes
I will set up a make shift pantry with the following items:
Spices, sauces and marinades, oils, vinegars and produce (onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, leek…)
For this competition I will put my children into teams pairing a smaller children with an older child.
Each team will be stationed at a burner around the table.
We will give the players 45 minutes to create their dishes.
Teams dishes will be given to the judges blindly and will be judged on 3 factors
Presentation – up to 10 points
Use of secret ingredients – up to 10 points
Flavor- up to 20 points
The team with the most points will be the winner.
HITTING THE TRACKS!
Object of the game:
To bring your horse (or whatever object you are using) to you in the quickest time
1 roll of toilet paper per contestant
1 toy horse or animal per contestant
Set the rolls of toilet paper by edge of one end of a table, or in a straight line on the floor.
Roll out each roll to create a long strip of paper.
Do not cut it off the roll though!
Place the toy on the end of the toilet paper.
Instruct players stand in front of the roll.
When you say “GO” players begin to roll up the toilet paper in order to bring the toy closer to them.
If their toilet paper rips they must roll out a new piece and start again.
The player to bring their toyall the way to them first is the winner.
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