If you don’t have a set of pool noodles yet, get some. There are so many applications, for the low, low price of a dozen noodles, your games will get real awesome, real fast. An example of one such game is this: Noodle Balloon Racing.

I usually do this as a team relay, so all you need is 2 noodles per team and one balloon per team (make a few spares, too, just in case). Divide the team in two and place them on opposite sides of a long space like a gym, fellowship hall, parking lot…whatever you are using. When you say go, the first players will use the noodle to direct a balloon (in air) to the opposite side. If it touches the ground, they have to start over at the beginning. When they reach the other side, the first person in that line has to bring the balloon back in the same fashion. This game is fast, fun and high energy. Some people will resort to poking and prodding at other teams’ balloons while they go, while others will try all sorts of new forms of noodle-balloon techniques. Some things that are helpful – have each team’s balloon be a unique color, for easy tracking. If you are going to try this outside, beware strong winds and frequent pops, have plenty of extras on hand.

This game can also be a one-time free-for-all race, if you have enough noodles and balloons for everyone. I have done this once, and I even set up a basic obstacle course/maze sort of track to have to work through. It was chaos in a great way, though it only lasts for a few minutes and is usually only good for a single round, two at best. Whichever way you plan on doing this, gauge the right amount of time and resources, playing a game too long can ruin it for future uses. This one is great, you’ll enjoy it for sure.