If you are looking for a great Halloween or Christmas event, the Hudson Area Library just had great success hosting a life-size Candy Land Event.  Families were invited to walk as game pieces through the library’s version this beloved childhood game, receiving candy pieces from teen volunteers dressed up as characters from the game.   It was a lot of work but was a lot of fun–and we had a great turn out.

Construction for the game props started a month in advance by the library’s teen aids and teen volunteers. There was a large cardboard Candy Castle and two boxes were turned into a walk-through Gingerbread House.  We used brown packing paper to make a Chocolate Mountain and empty wrapping paper tubes topped with balloons and cellophane to make giant lollypops for the Lollypop Woods.   A curtain rod draped in black and red ribbon made a Licorice Lagoon kids had to walk through to complete the game.  The game board was made of taped down construction paper.

Game play was simplified from the real game version.  We had a spinner with colors on it that matched the board.  We assigned the kids a game piece color as they entered the board.  The game pieces were colored gingerbread men made into a lanyard to wear around the children’s necks.  New players could join at any time.  I had made game pieces in 8 colors, but there could be two game players who were both the color red.  As “Candy Maker” I spun the wheel can called out where kids moved.  To incorporate multiple players  when I called out moves I used the phrase, “would all red players move to the next blue space”.  Eight game piece colors made the game a little too long, next year we will only have four or five.  When players met a pink “candy” space they stopped and got candy from the character.   We also included “sticky” spaces where players stayed until  a certain color was spun on their turn.