Do your kids need to put away their phones for a bit and get some exercise?
I have an idea for them, and for you, that will put phones to work and have your kids get in at least a mile or more than 2,000 steps. Along the way, I promise you there will be laughs and memories made too.
Plan a trip, a birthday party, a pick-me-up, or a just-because visit to Cordova Mall with your child and a small group of friends. I did this for my oldest daughter on her 12th birthday.
Then I repeated the same idea four years later for my youngest daughter at age 11 on a random Saturday with her closest pals. Each time was a blast! The kids loved it. We took so many pictures and made so many fun memories.
I knew I should share this idea and even my exact list with other parents to follow or use as a guideline to create their own. My suggested list is below (and a printable copy is at the bottom of this post). But feel free to customize a list of your own for a wild, wacky adventure that will have you and your children talking about for days, weeks, months, and maybe even years.
If you try it, leave a comment on how it went. Or, if you have ideas to add to this list, I’d love to hear them!
Tips For Moms Who Do the Mall Hunt:
1. Keep the group to four or less if you will be hosting and managing this by yourself. If there are five or more kids, ask another parent to help you so you have more control and can keep a better eye on the kids, especially if under the age of 12.
2. Bring a clipboard and two copies of the list and put your child in charge of crossing off the items. Your child can designate to another kid if desired.
3. Instruct kids to bring cell phones if they want to take pictures, but you be the designated photo-taker, too, as the hostess.
4. If kids are bringing purses or personal items, do a check constantly to make sure they have everything with them as you move through the mall. In my first round of this scavenger hunt, one of my daughter’s friends left her purse behind, and we had to hunt that down in addition to the list. Thankfully, we found it safe and unharmed.
5. Allow about two hours for this hunt from start to finish. It may only take an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the kids. But that provides start and finish time at the food court. I suggest bringing money to enjoy a treat after. Also, spend time just sitting and looking through the captured photos afterward.
Now, for the Hunt! Here’s the List:
Mall Photo Scavenger Hunt
I divided Cordova Mall into four sections– A, B, C, and D.
Start and end in the Food Court.
Take a picture of yourself doing each of the following 12 things.
(Moms can take photos):
- (A) Eat a free sample in the food court.
- (A) Dance around (or sing a song) in the food court.
- (A) Pose in front of a car or other vehicle that is inside the mall.
- (B) Act like you are riding the little kid’s ride.
- (B) Find a pair of shoes you like in The Shoe Dept. Encore Store.
- (B) Hide in and around the fake plants near The Shoe Dept.
- (C) Find an item less than five dollars ($) inside Old Navy.
- (C) Pick out a purse you like inside Ross.
- (C) Pick out a toy you would enjoy inside Toy Kingdom.
- (D) Find an ugly outfit inside Belk.
- (D) Ride the escalator inside Belk.
- (D) Choose a bed comforter or sheet you like inside Belk (upstairs).
- (D) When you leave Belk, make the symbols for Y..M..C..A… and sing the song outside the store.
Bonus silly fun – The attendees will do these things in between the checklist above. This is organized by section of the mall (A, B, C, D):
- (A) Yell out, “I have to pee and maybe more!” really loud that others can hear.
- (A) Stand in the Starbucks line and say to someone, “Ugh, this is the worst coffee ever! I’m leaving,” and leave.
- (B) Start jogging, doing swim moves and backstrokes. Say loudly that you are training for a triathlon.
- (B) Roar like a dinosaur at a kid walking by.
- (B) Walk backward and quack like a duck in front of two stores.
- (C) Go up to Auntie Anne’s Pretzel store and say, “Can I just smell a pretzel? I can’t buy one. I just want to smell one?”
- (D) Get someone’s autograph on a piece of toilet paper.
- (D) Ask a store cashier/clerk for a breath mint or piece of gum. Say you need it because your breath stinks.
Have the best time!
You never know what you may see or the interesting people you come across. My youngest daughter encountered two guys dressed like Ghostbusters (in May), so we had to take a photo with them.
