DON'T EAT PETE!!!

Pete: A piece of food that you don't want to choose or your turn is over!

It's as simple as that.

Years ago, my children were invited to a birthday party of a family friend. This super-amazing mother of 11 introduced to our family the best birthday party, time-killer, boredom-buster, or Sunday afternoon game...

DON'T EAT PETE!!!

It starts with a simple make-it-yourself board game. Throw in a snack item such as peanuts, raisins, marshmallows, chocolate chips, cereal, pretzels, M&Ms, or an assortment. Add the players and that's all it takes for a fast-moving, interactive game that any child, even toddlers, can play.

Rules of the game:

Don't Eat Pete may be played with three or more people.

Create a game board such as this...

It took me just a few minutes to make this in Print Shop. Whenever I play this game at a birthday party, I change-up the board game to match the theme of the party. 

Other ideas include stickers on a piece of paper, drawing shapes, numbers, or letters on a sheet of paper, or use a muffin tin. All you need is a way to designate which space or picture is "Pete".

Filling up the muffin tin for the next round.

Put one snack of choice on each picture. Send one child into another room for a minute while the other participants determine which photo is Pete. For example, in the Christmas board above, the Santa hat may be chosen as Pete. 

Ready to start the next round

The child in the other room is called back in. The child proceeds to choose a snack off of each piece, trying to avoid "Pete". Obviously, this child does not know which square was chosen as Pete. When Pete is chosen, everyone yells, "Don't Eate Pete", and that person's turn is over. That child gets to keep the snacks that were chosen prior to choosing Pete. 

DON'T EAT PETE!!

DON'T EAT PETE!!

Fill up the board again and send the next participant into the other room. Continue until they're "Petered" out!

Tips:

Children can eat the snacks as they go or give each person a bowl or bag to store the goods for future enjoyment.

Make it into a contest. Save the loot in a bag and the person with the most pieces at the end is the grand prize winner. Fun for a birthday party!

Teach the kids NOT to stare at Pete. If the "picker" is good, they watch the eyes of the other kids and can determine the general area of Pete.

The children who stay in the room should take turns choosing who Pete is going to be.

Generally, the person that determines who Pete will be for the round, gets to go in the other room and be the next participant.

If you want to play with a big group, have several game boards and split people up into smaller groups.

If you want to eliminate the food aspect, use pennies or nickles. Call it, "Don't Pick Rick" or "Don't Take Jake".

This is a great activity for older children to take with them to a babysitting job. Just make sure they determine any allergies of the children they're babysitting.

Don't Eat Pete is a fabulous option for Family Home Evening. The Treat AND Activity can be combined into one game.

She loved it at 10....

...and still loves it at 15!

Don't Eat Pete has provided hours of fun for the children, and hours of sanity for Mom. Here's a High 5 for Don't Eat Pete!

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!