Young Women Candyland Activity - Dating

The month of August in Young Women's is all about Marriage and Family. I knew I wanted to do an activity on "dating," so when I saw this idea (Older and Wiser Blog #25) I knew I just HAD to do it. I got the idea, outline, and a lot of the decorating from them, and then kinda did my own thing with what I had to work with. Unfortunately, I was so busy with the activity that this above pic is the only one I got...and this was after we had all cleaned everything up. It was SO much work, and looked SO cute that I am literally kicking myself for not taking pictures.

My sister in law's ward did a candy land theme for a previous New Beginnings, so all the cute little lollipops the girls are holding were borrowed from her. Her girls painted styro-foam plates, wrapped them with cellophane, and then taped them on skewers. They were all taped along the wall close to the floor, and then I had colored cardstock paper taped on upper half of the walls to make a giant "candyland path." I had 7 stations set up to represent the 7 candy lands. I had candy to hand out at each station, with little bags I made out of leftover paper lunch sacks  in our closet (yeah, totally stretching my budget as best I can haha) You can also buy cheap bags from the dollar store. Here is the pic I glued to each bag: (The Older and Wiser Blog has a better print that she will email to you, but she was a few days late emailing it to me, so I had to make my own - only my fault, since I procrastinated the activity a bit haha)

Here is the link to the "land" printable posters I made:  Candyland Posters

And is the link to the card printables I made with quotes to look like the little playing cards: Candyland Cards

 I handed these out to each girl as we went to each land.

Here is the outline of what we talked about at each "land."

Plumpy and the Gingerbread Plum Tree (this station had a small tree (I used a 3ft Christmas tree) with fruit snacks hung on it) – GROW in who you are. GROW in the gospel. GROW in your social skills and friendships. It takes GROWTH to be ready to date. Maturity and understanding your limits will help you steer clear of mistakes. (Read For the Strength of Youth paragraph 1)

Peppermint Forest (this station had red and white tablecloth, peppermint props,  and I gave them red and white peppermints)

 – "You aren't MINT to be serious right now." (Read For the Strength of Youth Paragraph 2)

Dating Time-line (Make a timeline on the board talk about appropriate things for each age)

12-13: prepare for group dates by: reaching out, learning to enjoy people, develop friends, build memories, be a positive influence, participate in firesides, sports, drama and music.

14-15: EFY, Stake Region Dances, Youth Conferences, Seminary

16-18: Group dating (plan fun wholesome activites) Avoid steady dating, introduce your dates to your parents (gain their trust!)

18 +(preparing to enter the temple): steady dating hand holding, kissing (not passionate) steady dating, temple prep classes. 

Gumdrop Mountain Pass (this had a purple tablecloth with gumdrops) – "There are no short cuts." Rather than focusing on what you “can't do yet,” focus on all the benefits of friendships without the pressure of being romantic. Best friends are the best foundations for future relationships.

*I shared a personal story about my friendship/relationship with Jeff.* You can ask a leader to share a story or thought. 

Licorice Lagoon (red and black tablecloth with red vines)  – "Don't TWIST the commandments of God to fit your desires." The world is constantly changing, and its important to remember that our church DOES NOT CHANGE. We want to bend the rules, but in doing so will only end up in heartache and trouble. Satan or "Lord Licorice" will do anything he can to make you think that twisting the rules is ok. 

Lollipop Woods (I chose the fanciest of the lollipop props and handed out dum dum suckers)  – Take your time, stay on the path, and you won't get lost. (Read For the Strength of Youth paragraph 4)

Ice Cream Sea(blue tablecloth and served ice cream at the end) – Stop dreaming about Mr. Right and focus on BECOMING Ms. Right. (Read For the Strength of Youth paragraph 3)

Discuss the qualities they are looking for in the people they date. Ex: Honest, trustworthy, responsible, respectful, spiritual, humble, smart, funny, loyal, courageous, etc. Ask them if they live up to all the qualities listed on the board. We need to focus and work on these qualities in order to find Mr. Right and be worthy of him.

Chocolate Swamp (I used a brown sheet, with giant hershey kisses I made with mixing bowls and tin foil, then served brownies with the ice cream at the end of the lesson) "Something so sweet can get gloppy if you're not careful." Most forms of physical intimacy are reserved for marriage. Why?

(This is where it got a little intense, I had them list all forms of physical contact and wrote them on the board...if they are quiet, make sure to get input from other leaders. We then went through and discussed each one and why it was or wasn't appropriate. At one point I had a little beehive rocking back and forth in the fetal position in her chair haha! There are some great things listed in the For Strength of Youth pamphlet under Sexual Intimacy. )

This is what we had listed:  Hand holding, cuddling, high fives, fist bumps, hugging, kisses, passionate kissing, touching/groping, lying on top of someone else (with or without clothing), necking, sexting, pornography (not really a form of intimacy, but needed to be on the board!), "good game" butt slaps(haha), back massages, tickling, and footsies. 

Its important to make sure that the girls know that these feelings they have are not BAD, they are just reserved for marriage, and any thoughts they have should NOT be acted upon, or spent thinking or daydreaming about. I said a few things that night that made me sound exactly like my mom did to me, and we all laughed and laughed. I had amazing input and comments from a member of the bishopric, who gave a man's perspective on all of these things. I think it really made the girls think about the future, and what they are looking for in the people they date or hang out with.

If we get through all these obstacles, we can end up at the Candy Castle – the Temple. I brought my favorite temple pic and we discussed the blessings we receive by remaining clean and pure to enter the temple with our eternal companions.