We unfortunately live in a culture and society that does not provide too many wholesome and uplifting activities for our teens and youth to participate in. Is it any wonder why our teenagers are becoming more violent, idle and lazy, selfish and disrespectful, immoral and unethical, unhealthy and overweight, etc. when they are so bombarded and enticed by the never-ending influences of the media and entertainment around them?

Perhaps what is worse, it seems that our youth and teens are losing their ability to simply be creative and just have simple, wholesome fun together. While there are certainly many good games and activities out there that teenagers can do and participate in, I wanted to share just one that hundreds of teens across the nation have tried and absolutely loved. It is simple, costs no money, may seem silly at first – but it is extremely FUN! Perhaps more importantly, even if it is for just one night – it gets teens interacting together in a wholesome social way, and keeps them away from the movies and parties that usually have no positive influence on them anyway. I hope teens, youth, and people everywhere enjoy this fun game – try it for your next game night, date night, or teenage ‘hang-out’ – HAVE FUN!

GROCERY STORE ABC GAME

# of Players:4 or more

Objects Needed:Papers, Pencils

Divide those playing into pairs, and then everyone will go to your local grocery store. Each pair will start at the front of the store, with their own paper and pencil. The goal in this fun game is for each pair to find a product for every letter of the alphabet, write down a product that no other pair does, and be the first team back to the front of the store. Pairs will only receive points if they write down a product that no other team wrote down; and yet, it is still a race because the first team back to the starting position gets an extra 10 points.

The rules are that the letter has to come from the first letter of the product, and it has to be the brand name or label name. So, for example, a pair can’t use “B” if they see a banana – they would use “D” for Dole because Dole is the brand name or company/product. Also, pairs can use “S” for Snickers, but not “C” for Candy Bar. They can use “C” for Colgate, but not “T” for Toothpaste, etc. Pairs have to write down the letter, the brand name they found for that letter (only one product can be written), and the isle they found it on (to prevent cheating). Then, the first pair back to the front gets an extra 10 points. Once all pairs are back to the front of the store, everyone will compare answers, and again, pairs only receive a point if they wrote down a product/brand that nobody else had on their list. The pair with the most points wins the game! Have fun!