One of the most popular youth group fundraisers seems to be the good old fashion breakfast after Mass. Those who have great experience in organizing breakfasts or other meals for the parish have made a science out of it. They know exactly how people respond, what they expect when they arrive for the breakfast, what brings in the most money, etc.
Looking back on the breakfasts I have organized, I was thinking about how I could have used the time much more as an opportunity for the parish to grow together. More specifically I was thinking of way to lighten the hearts of those there, especially regarding the attitudes towards youth. Recently, I have been thinking of things I could have done to be a bit more creative and lighten the parish up a little.
Here are some of the ideas I came up with. Each of these are very simple (and cheap) ideas that will simply lighten things up a bit. Please share any more that you have in the comments section below!
- Ensure there is music playing in the background. Why not try soundtracks from kids movies or musicals.
- Have each person draw a card and ask them to answer the question before they grab a plate. Use questions like ‘How is Your Day?’ or ‘What is your favorite breakfast food?’
- Put Sudoku puzzles at the tables with pencils. Maybe make your own and have the youth color or write positive things on them.
- Have everyone that is serving and cooking wear sunglasses, a funny hat, or make t-shirts that are the same.
- Cut out coupons from the Newspaper and put them on the tables or on the chairs for people to take with them.
- Use food coloring on some of the food. You could offer them colored pancakes or eggs. Make two or three colors and give them a choice.
- Put trivia questions or icebreaker questions on the table with a little sign that encourages them to answer the question with their table before they begin to eat.
- Organize the tables so they spell something or look like something that people notice and smile at.
- Stack their cups, silverware, napkins, salt, pepper, etc. on their tables in unique that just makes them wonder why you did it.
- Put pictures of saints, prayer cards, etc, with a sign that tells everyone at the table to discuss their favorite saint, confirmation saint, etc.
- Have a ‘theme’ for every breakfast. You could have a summer theme, use beach towels as table clothes, put on summer music or the sound of waves.
- Put a bell at the exit door with a sign that says “Ring the bell if you enjoyed your breakfast!” Make sure the sign is big (and the bell is big if possible).
I could probably come up with 100 different ideas. The point of the article is simply to get your brain flowing with some unique ideas. New and different things makes it so much more fun for the youth and the adults that are helping. It plants a positive seed in the parishioners heads about breakfasts and gets them to come to see what will happen next.
The one thing to ensure your youth and adults know is that if people choose not to participate, it is ok. You wouldn’t want to hand a man a card telling him he had to answer the question before he eats and then he turns around and heads to the nearest Perkins to get breakfast.
Again, please let us know if you have other ideas that you can share below!
Lastly, don’t forget to open the doors to the church and fan the great smell of warm pancakes into the church just after communion. It’s get them every time!
