During several summers of camp, we had a “Christmas in July” week theme.  What fun it was to decorate for Christmas, play Christmas games, sing Christmas songs, and talk about the reason for the season!  One of the highlights of the week was the Grinch Hunt.  We made green paper footprints and put them around camp to spark conversation about how the Grinches were here, trying to steal Christmas from us.  Also there were signs that the Grinches were up to mischief, such as Christmas decorations that were thrown on the floor or disappeared.  Throughout the day, more of those footprints appeared, sometimes walking up walls.



We told the campers that if they saw any Grinches, they should catch them.  The only way to slow down the Grinches was to sing Christmas carols.  We told them that the louder they sang, the slower the Grinches would get.

Throughout the day we built excitement about how we were going to go on a Grinch Hunt and rid the camp of those mean old Grinches who wanted to steal Christmas.  Finally it was time to divide into groups that had to stick together and go out to capture them.

Our volunteer Grinches painted themselves green with tempera paint.  We chose staff members who were good sports and fast runners, warning them that they were going to get wet in the end.  As several of these green creatures were spotted running around camp, we began our Grinch Hunt.  Each group went around camp looking for them and singing Christmas carols.  Whenever one was spotted, the counselors would coach them to sing louder, and sure enough, the Grinches slowed down.  As they slowed down, of course they were caught.

We coached the Grinches ahead of time to just give up and walk complacently with their captors until the campers got lazy and forgot to keep singing.   Most campers, once they had a Grinch, thought they could stop singing.  At that point, the Grinches would surprise them and break loose and run away.  So several Grinches had to be recaught!

One by one, those nasty Grinches were brought back to the designated area with loud voices raised in song.  At one camp, the designated area was a swimming pool where they had to “walk the plank” (diving board) and fall into the water, where all of their grinchiness was washed away, and they came out ready to celebrate Christmas.  (This has spiritual overtones – sort of a parable that can be woven into camp devotions if you wish.)

At another camp, the Grinches were brought to a water hose and washed down with COLD water, which, of course, got the grinchiness out of them too!  The washing of the Grinches can be accompanied by the song, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” playing in the background.

One year we had the Grinches steal Mrs. Claus before they were caught and they hid her away.  After their grinchiness was washed out of them, they told where she was held captive and the campers rushed off to set her free!

Having a

    Grinch Hunt

is great fun!  It’s something your campers will remember and talk about for a long time to come.

brench
Creative Commons License photo credit: {Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester}