July 24th is the anniversary of the day my ancestor, Chauncey Gilbert Webb, entered the Salt Lake Valley, Utah with Brigham Young and the first company of Mormon pioneers in 1847. Chauncey’s great…great grandmother and William Shakespeare’s mother were sisters. You never know who you’ll meet on the plains. Here’s a Prairie Party to celebrate the day, with games for everyone. Happy Pioneer Day!
Prairie Party
Serve this on a quilt; use bandanas for napkins and
Serve this on a quilt; use bandanas for napkins and
canning jars for glasses.
Bread bowls for the chili would be another treat!
Bread bowls for the chili would be another treat!
Honey lemonade
Chili beans
Cornbread muffins with homemade butter
(let the children shake a jar of cream to make butter – they love it)
(let the children shake a jar of cream to make butter – they love it)
Cold watermelon
A crock of crudites and dip
A crock of crudites and dip
Butterscotch haystacks
Saltwater taffy
Children’s Scavenger Hunt
Hide items around the yard that represent activities and chores of pioneer children:
Tend animals (a small stuffed animal)
Make cheese (wrap string cheese in brown paper and tie with a string)
Sew on a button
Gather firewood
Hunt for eggs
Make a quilt
Sing a song
Pick fruit
Make candles
Make soap
Plant potatoes
Milk a cow (bucket)
Teen Challenge
See how many points you can get by completing these challenges:
Say the alphabet backwards: 1 point for each correct letter in backwards order.
Name 10 flowers: 1 point each.
How many buttons are on your clothes?: 1 point for each button.
Write your name and phone number. Count the letters in your name for 1 point each. Add together the digits in your phone number then add the number of letters in your name.
How many large marshmallows can you stuff in your mouth? 1 point each,
no you don’t have to swallow them – ewww.
Blow a bubble with bubble gum, 2 points for each piece up to five pieces.
BEAN For Adults (could you have bean a pioneer?) Its like a bingo game – use dry beans for markers and move the activities around to different places on each card, cut one up to call with. To win, get four in a row
Last summer, for Pioneer Day, I invited my 2 year-old granddaughter Ellyza to have a treasure hunt in the yard. She took her tiny basket and began collecting oak leaves, flowers and small pebbles. A two year-old knows what treasure truly is.
Need a bit more Pioneer Day eye candy? Check out the cuties at: http://pinterest.com/pammcmurtry/pioneers/
Butterscotch Haystacks
12 oz. butterscotch chips
1 C. peanut butter
10 – 12 oz. chow mein noodles
Melt butterscotch chips over low heat, stir in peanut butter. Add noodles. Drop by large spoonfulls onto wax paper. Form into haystacks.