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If your children’s ministry is looking for a win-win, giving your parents a break and a fun night for the kids, try a Kids’ Night Out! With tips to find your team, help you plan, and even create a schedule for the night, your event is sure to be a hit with the kids! (and this gives you a WIN with the parents!)
“I really want to go to a babysitter,” said no kid ever! Not all families have trusted family or friends that can be utilized for child care. Let me share with you how to pull off a parents’ night, I mean Kids’ Night Out, with ease. Follow these ideas to plan a fun, organized, God-honoring kids’ night out that doesn’t make your child feel like they are going to the babysitter.
If you are like most small churches, you won’t have many kids to entertain. Just 3-4 volunteers may be able to handle it, depending on their ages.
Minimum adult-to-child ratios are:
- 0 – 36 Months Old — 1:3 Ratio
- 3 – 5 Years Old — 1:7 Ratio
- K – Elementary — 1:15 Ratio
Ready-Made Schedule And Clear Steps For Success
3 Months Before Your Kids’ Night Out
Choose Your Date
Fridays or Saturdays work best during the school year. When kids are out of school, consider a Monday night.
Find Your Team
Observe people that you see enjoying the children in your church. They get down and talk to them at a child’s level; they engage with them. It doesn’t have to be those who are teaching in your kid’s ministry.
Talk to these people about how nice it would be for the parents of your congregation to have a night out. Share your vision of what the night would look like. Speak excitedly about how much fun it will be. Give them two days to think about it. Tell them you will call them after they’ve had time to check their calendar. (Get their phone number and remember to call!)
Need help with volunteers: Ultimate Guide For Finding, Keeping, and Appreciating Volunteers
Be sure every volunteer is vetted to work with children. Do your background checks two months ahead of time.
2 Months Before Your Kids’ Night Out: Plan
Delegate Roles
Choose one person to be the Event Leader. Then, give each section of your Kids Night Out a Section Leader. (Registration & Greeting, Meal & Snacks, Games, Craft, Movie, etc.)
Get Supply Lists From Each Section Leader
Share the list with the Event Leader and determine which supplies need to be purchased and what is available to use from the church.
Evaluate Your Space
Keep all the kids together. (If you have babies and toddlers, they will need to be in the nursery for safety. You must have one adult for every three children in your nursery. If you don’t have enough volunteers planned to cover this ratio, then limit your age for the event to kids ages 5 -12.
Plan Your Food
Macaroni & cheese, rolled-up lunchmeat, and canned fruit is an easy, affordable meal. Goldfish crackers, pre-packaged cookies, and fruit snacks are great snacks –– they are easy, and because of individual packaging, they are easy to save for Sunday school or your next event. Popcorn bags elevate your FUN level! Be sure to work with parents or those “in the know” to plan alternate meals and snacks for dairy-free, nut-free, and gluten-free kids. Your regular church kids may not need them, but friends and visitors might! Popcorn without butter is gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut free.
Tip: Join With Another Ministry At Your Church
If you have a teen, women’s, or men’s ministry, join them and you can share the cost and have more volunteers. Use funds from an established ministry to pay for this event if at all possible.
1 Month Before Your Kids’ Night Out: Promote
Consider Offering Your Event For Free
If your budget is tight, be creative in getting donations. Ask the youth group to do a fundraiser to help with funds if needed. (Offering a free event allows families who may not be able to afford to pay for childcare the opportunity to participate.
Send Personal Invitations
Send invites to your church kids to “Fun Night: No parents allowed”. Ask for an RSVP so you know how many to prepare for. Plan for extras who hear about the event the day of. Share the events of the evening in your invite so parents and kids will know what to expect.
Announce With Creativity
Put an announcement in your bulletin, social media page, or website.
Check out: Better Church Announcements Plus 7 Creative Twists
1 Week Before Your Kids’ Night Out
Host An All-Volunteer Event Party!
Do this the week before your event. Host a potluck meal to briefly meet together and finalize all plans and review the schedule. Make sure everyone knows what the plan is for the night and what is expected of them. Make final plans to ensure all setup will be finished and complete, ready to go, by 5 pm the night of the event.
1 Hour+ Before Your Kids’ Night Out
Pre-Event Starts At 4:45 pm For Volunteers
- Have your volunteers arrive at 4:45 pm to do the final setup (sooner if needed according to your set-up schedule).
- Post the schedule of events in several places in your gathering spaces.
- Remind volunteers to help keep the kids engaged and help them to enjoy the night.
Find some helpful hints here: 3 Ways To Stop Disruptive Behavior Before It Starts
- At 5:40 pm, gather your volunteers and have a time of prayer for the event.
- At 5:50 pm, start fun music playing in the background for families’ arrival.
Kids’ Night Out Schedule: 6 pm – 9 pm
6 pm Doors Open, Registration & Sign In, Game & Craft Time
- Smile and be excited to see your families!
- Do not skip the registration and sign in! You need to have emergency information sheets for each child. Have parents fill out contact numbers for each parent and any emergency numbers. **If kids bring friends, be sure to get their parents’ contact info and not just the info of the friend’s mom or dad they came with. This is super important in case of an emergency! Ask for any special instructions. Ex. When will Junior need a bottle? Can Julie use the bathroom by herself?
- Give EVERY child a name tag! For younger children, put one on the front and one on the back of their shirt. Your volunteers will thank you!
- Get permission to take pictures of the night’s events to post on your church’s social media page.
- On your sign-in sheet, have a place for the child’s name, sign-in time, and a place for the parent (or who brought them) signature and time to sign out.
- Tell the parents to have a good night and see you at 9:00! (Subtle reminder of when to come back.)
- Craft time gets everyone in and started on something right away. Choose a collage-type craft or mini-crafts so latecomers can jump in right away without starting out behind. Offer crafts that are age-appropriate for older and younger.
- Fun craft idea for December: Have on hand several easy ornaments and Christmas crafts.
6:30 pm Announcements And Meal
- Since kids may have arrived at staggered times before you sit down to eat, gather all the children, and sit on the floor away from the meal area. (This gives your team space for any meal/serving prep.) PRAY with the kids and tell them the expectations for the night and the order of events. Give a very short list of expectations: everyone stays together, not going off by themselves. If you have a problem, talk to an adult.
- Have volunteers eat with the kids and engage in conversations. This helps all kids feel welcomed and seen. It also helps avoid unwanted behaviors.
7:00 pm Structured Free Play
This is not a free-for-all. Offer the kids specific options in areas that work well with the size of your group and your space. Ex. are balls, bubbles, toys, legos, indoor basketball, 4 square, coloring pages, and puzzles.
7:30 pm Group Games
Duck, Duck, Goose; Shipwreck; hide-and-seek; and freeze tag.
Check this out for great ideas: 15 High Energy Games For Small Church Children’s Ministry
8:00 pm Movie With Snacks
Ex. Superbook, Veggie Tales.
After movie closing activities, use these ideas after the movie ends until the children are picked up by the parent.
- Bible story with songs
- Veggie Tales Coloring and Activity Book
- Kids worship time
The more songs with motions, the better.
9:00 pm Pick Up
Have a volunteer at a table with your sign-out sheet. Be sure no child leaves without being signed out by the parents. (You want this for church insurance purposes, record keeping on who signed out the child, and as a double check that all children were picked up.)
Extra Tips For Extra Success
- Have extra activities on the sidelines. It’s better to have too much planned than not enough or if something flops. Rainbow scratch paper works great for kids of all ages.
- If it’s nice outside, do as much outdoors as possible.
- If the kids get antsy. STOP, get up, sing a song, play “Simon Says”, or play animal charades. Do something to get them moving.
- When it’s getting close to ending time, “let” the kiddos help clean up. Praise them for their efforts.
Utilize A Kids’ Night To Reach Your Community
This could be a great outreach for your church. Advertise in your neighborhood or invite church families to tell their friends.
Looking for a step-by-step guide to starting or restarting your children’s ministry?
Check out the Children’s Ministry Bundle For Small Churches!
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