CTeenConnection

Emily Fulton// Manchester, NH

The winter season can be a hard time to keep CTeeners engaged and coming back for more, and if you are anything like me, you’re always on the lookout for fun events to do with your chapter. For this exact reason, I’ve compiled my top-three all time favorite winter CTeen events for YOU to implement for your chapter! With ideas inspired by the CTeen Leaders’ Lounge and my CTeen chapter of New Hampshire, I assure you that you’ll leave your screen armed with new inspiration and enthusiasm for this winter’s events. Read on for a comprehensive guide to planning and hosting these awesome event ideas.

1. Hot Cocoa Bomb Bash

For this event all you need are chocolate chips (leftover Chanukah gelt, anyone?), milk, instant hot cocoa mix, your favorite Kosher hot cocoa toppings, along with hot cocoa bomb molds. On second thought, CTeen mugs can’t hurt either (honestly, can CTeen mugs ever hurt?). 

Bring your chapter together either in-person or on Zoom and simply follow the directions above to make these easy hot cocoa bombs. After you’ve finished making your cocoa you can sit together (around a blazing fire if you have one) sipping cocoa, chatting and listening to your favorite CTeen tunes. Talk about a great ambience! This event is perfect for building community in a fun, homey way. It was one of the first events I went to and it was a blast! (Don’t forget a cozy sweater!)

2. Epic Donut Showdown

This event was so much fun! While it’s “technically” a showdown, it’s really more of a party.  But before we get this party started, we need to gather our materials: donuts, scorecards (which you can make) and toppings! For the toppings you can do whatever you want; frosting, cereal, chocolate, cookies, sprinkles and marshmallows are a great way to start. The scorecard is basically a place for everyone at the event to select their favorite donut creation, and, if you want, you can add sections for them to score their favorite donut based on categories like originality, use of color and presentation. 

You will need to separate all of the teens into groups of three to five. Together, each team will plan, design, create and name their donut, all within 25 minutes. Believe me, those 25 minutes will be an absolute blur. After time runs out, have each team present their donut to the full group. Then vote! Have each teen place their scorecard in front of the donut they like best. Finally, tally up all the votes and proclaim the winner. For my chapter, this humble showdown morphed into a full-on Chanukah party. It was fantastic!

3. Zoom Scavenger Hunt

This one’s quite simple, but it requires all members to download a Goosechase app from their phone. Before the meeting, go to https://www.goosechase.com/. There, you can make an account, create custom scavenger hunts and host your game. Then have your chapter pop onto a Zoom meeting to play! At the event, divide all the teens into three-five groups depending on your chapter size, and send each team to scheme among themselves and decide which person will complete each challenge. Then, set your teams loose! Goosechase has a “Feed” feature which allows you to share your screen so you can watch as the completed challenges come pouring in. To make this game extra competitive (and foster teamwork), you can give the winning team a gift card to split between themselves. Can I just say how much fun this was? I definitely left this event with more friends than I came with! 10 out of 10; I recommend.