Turn your meeting place into another country for the night with these themed ideas. All you need to do is pick a country and use the ideas below to put your themed programme together.

Learning the language

Could you pick out some common words (hello, thank you, please might be a good place to start) and learn how to say them?

Did you know?

If you wanted to say hello to everyone on the planet, you’d probably need to learn around 7,000 languages.

On the Map

Get a large map or globe and take a look at where the country is, what continent it is on and which countries/oceans/seas surround it.

National Identity

What gives the country its national identity? Could you make a flag or decorate a cake/biscuit in national colours? Do a little research to see what it’s like to live in the country – weather / main industry / economic situation / recent events. You could show a tourism video which would help you see what the country is like, and this could be followed up with a quiz.

Play a National Sport

Could you learn about or have a go at the country’s national sport. Check out some of the national sports by country:

Wales – Rugby Union

USA – Baseball

Sri Lanka – Volleyball

Japan – Sumo Wrestling

Iceland – Handball

Pakistan – Hockey

Canada – Lacrosse / Ice Hockey

National Dish

What’s the national dish (or a favourite food), could you try making it, tasting it or creating a game/challenge?

National Dress

Could the children and/or leaders come in national dress (where appropriate)? It will add to the atmosphere and make it an evening to remember.

Get into The Bible: Jigsaw Pieces

The key message

‘We are all unique, but equally important and everyone is part of one big family that fits together’.

Read:

Exodus 3:14 ‘Unique characteristics yet created in God’s image’

1 Corinthians 12:12-31 ‘Everyone is part of one family, God’s family’

Instructions

Each child is given a cut out jigsaw piece (from the template downloadable from leaders.boys-brigade.org.uk/downloads/jigsaw.pdf). They are asked to write, colour or draw what makes them who they are (colour of hair, school they go to, things they like to do, etc).

Talk about how we are all unique, whether we are part of the same family, live a few doors away from each other or thousands of miles away in another country, but that we are all equally important – part of one big family. Today we have been thinking about a particular country, learning about what life is like to live in that country, what food they eat and trying out some cultural/traditional activities and it is great to celebrate and learn more about each other as unique countries/individuals, but so important to remember we are all made in God’s image, part of God’s family, one big family across the whole world and Universe. Show this by asking the group to put the individual jigsaw pieces together to make a shape.