Blue and Gold Banquet

I started working on all the preparations for this year's Blue and Gold Banquet back in November.  It was one of those things that I was super excited to put together and I worked a lot on the details over Christmas break.  Pinewood Derby was awesome in January.  But then it was hurry up and wait time till February for the Old West Blue and Gold Extravaganza!
















I made 17 cute hobby horses, one for each of the scouts; along with vests, and large beanbag horseshoes.  The boys also received a cowboy hat and bandana as part of their gear for the night.  All the work paid off, because the night turned out exceptional.  My seasoned scout parents said it was one of the best meetings they'd ever been too.  And coming from the old-timers--that's a compliment!
















We had a chuck wagon feast of pulled pork sandwiches, Lil' doggies (hot dogs), baked beans, wagon wheel pasta salad, broccoli salad, 10-gallon hat cupcakes, Haystacks (rice krisy squares), Cow Patties (No-bake cookies), and Lassos (extra-long licorice ropes).   The Watering Hole was available to rewet the whistles too.

The spread was amazing, the tables were beautifully decorated with cowboy boots and lanterns, and the hand-outs and awards were smokin' hot!  The night was more than successful--it was FUN!!  The boys filled their cowboy boots with goodies from the "Happy Trails to You" trail mix bar.
























The Blue and Gold Banquet is the only time that the Cub Committee Chair hosts the pack meeting instead of the Cubmaster.  So I made a bunch of things to honor and recognize the supporters of our program.  Starting with the Bishop, he received a Cowboy Bubble Bath to take home.

All the den leaders and cubmasters received Cowboy Cookies in a Jar.

All the parents and grandparents received a pat on the back and a 100 Grand reward for helping their Cub Scout down the Trail to Eagle.  And after dinner, the boys received their reward of picking a pony to go on the "Pony Express"--our activity of games and skill.
















The boys had to make marshmallow shooters and knock down the cans from horseback.  The scouts were told that they had to do everything from horseback, just like the cowboys did in the old days, and so they shot those cans with the hobby horses pinched between their knees!
























"There's a Snake in my Boot" game was another winner.  The kids had to lay on their tummies and drop snakes into paper boots. 













I covered hula hoops with rope and the kids had to throw them and try to ring the sawhorse!  Thanks goes to my friend Stefanie for having her cub scout and husband make the horses!













The beanbag horseshoes turned out cute and they were thrown into a bucket. No activity was a waste of time or just a time filler.  All of the challenges came right out of the cub scout books and I just personalized them to fit the Old West theme.  The Snake game was "eagle golf" from the Wolf book. 

I loved being a den leader, but I really love being a Cub Committee Chairman. I've watched the attendence go from 25 people to 90+ at our pack meetings since I was put in back in August.  I did this exact same thing for a couple of years before in our other ward, but it was never this much fun for me.  I think the only difference is my perspective. Everything matters. Nobody does as much for my kids as I do. If they are to have a good experience, I have to create that.   I always did a good job before, sometimes even with rave reviews, but it wasn't always a memorable event.  It's been occurring a lot to me over the last few years, that you only get one shot with your kids--your own and even your cub scouts. I've had influence over dozens and dozens of children I've come in association with in scouts and preschool, and every effort is worth the time because it's not so much as what you do but how what you do  makes them feel.  So:  Do Your Best.  That's the Cub Scout motto, right?  It's a motto for lifetoo.

Expecting a child to not move, be quiet all the time, and be ever conscious of your meaningful attention--is for idiots!  Some people must have forgotten what it's like to be a kid.  They have to learn--I get that--but "learning" also includes interacting and having interesting experiences with all of our senses. Good memories help preserve what we learn!  We have FIVE senses and feelings and brains...and they all work together to create perspective of our lives.  Kids have to sit quietly all day in school, church, most extracurricular activities, and so on.  When do they interact and have fun? Cub Scouts should be FUN.  So I switched up the presentation of the general outlined program to include more hands-on activities and now the participation levels at pack meeting have sky-rocketed.  The boys are loving cub scouts, my den leaders are thrilled with a break from the mundane, entire families attend now, and the primary president and Bishop think I walk on water.  (Toot! Toot!)  Word has gotten out about the new and exciting things going on in our program and now other wards want to join with us and gleen from what we are doing.  That might be a little tricky to pull off with their leaders not supporting the program as they should--but they plan on coming to my planning meetings and are anxious to work with us.  I think it's fantastic!  Just goes to show that every detail is worth the time--because ultimately--every boy is worth the time!