I’m not on the front lines with Activity Days any more. I serve on the Stake level so I get to attend Recognition events and hear about great ideas but I’m not the one getting to carry out these fabulous activities you are seeing here.
I was stopping to get the mail the other day when I saw one of my old Activity Day girls sneaking around the side of my neighbor’s home. A car was following nearby, very slowly. Upon closer look, this car was full of other Activity Day girls and one of their wonderful new leaders. I knew something good was up!
I went over to the car and found out that it was the older group of Activity Day girls (the 10-11 year-olds). Each of them had chosen a different younger Activity Day girl to be their Secret Sister. For their activity, they put together little bundles of treats with a note to each girl. They were sneaking around the neighborhood delivering their treats to each younger Activity Day girl.
I loved it on the spot! Then it got better.
Their next assignment was to call each girl’s parents and find out the answers to a series of questions about their Secret Sister. They were then going to share about their Secret Sister as a surprise at their next Recognition Activity.
Girls celebrating other girls. What could be better? Being examples. Saying, “This is what it looks like to be in Activity Days. We care about each other!” We all know that friendships and relationships are often made because we invest time in getting to know another person. That is what this activity is doing. Plus, the younger girls will watch this and know how to be kind to those around them.
VARIATIONS: This idea could be incorporated into your Activity Days program in lots of ways. If you don’t have more than one group of Activity Day girls, who else could they be Secret Sisters to? Maybe you focus on the 7-year-old girls coming into Activity Days the next year. How about widows or older couples in your neighborhood? You could choose various women in the neighborhood who have influenced each girl. There are a variety of people who would benefit from this activity.
Growing up, I lived in a neighborhood that had many older women living there. When I was 12, we had a leader who asked each of us to choose individual women, then helped us do a “secret” something for them once a month for a year. After about 12 months, we invited these women to a dinner and activity to recognize and celebrate them. I still remember dropping off a bud vase with a garden rose and a note attached or a plate of treats that we had made then running away to hide in the bushes while our “Secret Sister” found their gift. The gifts were always simple, rarely cost much money, but were a way to say, “Someone is thinking of you.” You don’t have to do a gift once a month for it to be effective – keep it simple but make it meaningful.
Think about it. How would you develop this idea? Please, please, please tell me! I love this whole concept and can’t wait to see what you do with it!
Enjoy!