We recently had a fun launch party here at Group to celebrate getting Dig In into your capable hands. We’d love to share our ideas with you so you can have a launch party with your volunteers—or even as a kick-off to your new Sunday School program with your kids!
Decorations
We kept decorations simple: a bright green theme. We had green tablecloths, green plates and napkins, and green balloons with purple ribbon.
Here’s a great tip for balloons: Blow them up with your mouth or a regular air pump. Tie curling ribbon to the bottom, and curl it. Then roll up some scotch tape, stick it to the top of the balloons, and stick the balloon to the ceiling. They’ll look like helium balloons, but you’ll save on a helium tank!
You could also use potted plants (or even just pots) to add a garden flair.
Food
We served four food options:
Dig In Dirt Pudding. For every 8 people, follow this recipe.
- Mix one 3.9 oz package of instant chocolate pudding with 2 cups of milk.
- Crush one 14.3 oz package of Oreos by placing the Oreos in a resealable bag and smashing it with a hammer or rolling pin.
- Mix 8 oz of whipped topping and about half of the crushed Oreos with the pudding.
- Dish the pudding into clear plastic cups.
- Add three gummy worms to each cup.
- Sprinkle the rest of the crushed Oreos on top of the cups.
For an extra touch, serve with gelato spoons, like these. They’ll look like miniature shovels!
Down-In-the-Dirt Carrots. Nothing special here! Just get a bowl of baby carrots or cut carrot sticks and serve!
Chip’s Chips. Our favorite prairie dog (his name is Chip) is ready to serve some potato chips (which conveniently grew down in the dirt)!
Life of Jesus Living Water (and Soda). All those chips will make people thirsty, so have some beverages available to remind your volunteers of the Life of Jesus program.
You can print fun, Dig-In-themed signs to label all your fun food options! Download here.
Games & Entertainment
What party is complete without games? We played a fun game where we had to shovel seeds into a dirt hole.
To set it up, get a large basin and cover it with brown butcher paper or brown fabric, dipping the paper or fabric down into the basin. You’ll want to make it look like a dirt mound where the basin is the hole dug in the dirt. In front of the dirt mound, lay out a green table cloth.
Then all you’ll need is a shovel and some bean bags! Contestants will place a bean bag on the shovel, then stand at the other end of the table cloth and try to launch the bean bag into the dirt hole.
You can also entertain with fun Dig In music videos! Get the DVD or visit our Vimeo page.
With these fun snacks and games, your volunteers and kids will be so excited to start Dig In!
