"Survivor"-themed 12th birthday party

Twelve 12-year-olds.

Nine challenges.

Four hours.

One Survivor!

plates for eating large or small pig snouts

For the second time, we threw our daughter a Survivor-themed birthday party.

I thought the planning would be easier because I already had a blueprint from two years ago, and that did help, but I couldn't simply rinse and repeat. First of all, the participants were two years older so some challenges had to be a bit harder. Second, seven of the twelve participants had played the first time and I wanted to give them a different experience.

Of the nine challenges, five were new. Of the five new, two were multi-step.

The day ended up being quite a bit more humid this time (so we skipped applying tribal face paint), but luckily the threat of a thunderstorm evaporated.

Also this time, the girls were considerably savvier. They made valuable suggestions on how to improve the game. For example, they advised me to shuffle the votes before reading them to prevent players from figuring out who voted for whom.

Last time I forgot to tell the girls about the hidden immunity idol (but one found it anyway).

This time I forgot to take a photo of the rewards, which included a Survivor board game, Survivor-style middle grade novels by Jeff Probst and Chris Tebbetts (signed by Chris!), and a disposable underwater camera (which will require the winner to get photos developed the old-fashioned way for the first time in her life).

See the recap from last time for the overall structure and fun details.

See here for highlights from this time:

 blue (water) tribe, which they named Einhorn

(tribe names could not be an English word;

"einhorn" means "unicorn" in German)

  orange (fire) tribe, which they named Bae

("poop" in Danish)

 tribal council
(tiki torches were on site—see previous photo—but 

not snuffed out for each person voted out; 

they looked too cool lit)

 voting table; can you spot the hidden immunity idol?

 there it is

 tribe and individual immunity, same as last time

(both from Guam, my first international author trip)

 table for water and two individual challenges

 dinner and Survivor clips so they know 

what they're getting into

 challenge 1: communication; 

tribes had to complete five tasks without talking; 

winner was the tribe that was faster three out of five times; 

here they're building a human pyramid;

other tasks: put yourselves in order of birth date
(month/day only), then house number

 using their bodies to spell out answer to question

"What day in June marks the end of school?"

 tribal council

 voting

 challenge 2: coordination;

one Survivor had to assemble a cardboard box, 

then rest of the tribe had to pass five tribe-colored popsicle sticks 

down the line one at a time and drop them in the box—
without using their hands;

if box assembler couldn't finish it, she could tag in someone else—

but they'd have to add a sixth stick

 challenge 3: aim;

tribes had to complete three challenges that required aim;

winner was the tribe that was faster two out of three times;

here they are on second-floor deck trying to throw a cardboard roll 

into the relatively small opening of a patio umbrella cover 

held by their tribemates below 

(each tribe member had to get it in once)

 challenge 4: puzzle;

a repeat from the first time, and a personal favorite;

 tribes had to complete identical, 100-piece, jungle-themed puzzles;

only when they got to the end could they tell that one piece was missing;

to win, they had to find the piece, hidden somewhere in the yard

(some players remembered from last time that there was a hidden piece

but still had to complete 99 pieces before searching)

 I did not hide the same piece from each puzzle so a tribe

might find and try to use the wrong piece (which did indeed happen);

however, one piece I hid was mostly green and the other had some blue,

so the girls rightfully pointed out that this was not fair because

the blue one was easier to spot

challenge 5 (first individual challenge): unusual food;

round 1: rhubarb/fish sauce/curry powder mixture;

round 2: anchovies;

round 3 (same as last time): crickets; yes, bugs 

(but bugs that are flavored and sold in candy stores)

 tribal council tiebreaker: walk while balancing a cup of water

(thought up on the spot; we had no ties last time 

and I didn't expect any this time)

 the only snag (literally): the individual immunity idol necklace

got stuck in the hair of one Survivor;

another Survivor rescued her

challenge 6 (no photo): knowledge/deduction;

 I asked series of Survivor-related true or false questions; 

Survivors who thought the answer was true moved to my left,

false to my right;

the process of elimination was fairly quick (on the second question!)

 challenge 7: strength/stamina;

Survivors had to hold themselves up by one arm

 challenge 8: balance;

Survivors had to stack candy hearts; 

winner was Survivor who stacked the most (but it was not a race); 

prior to this, the highest I'd seen was 11; 

here, one Survivor (who had already been voted out, unfortunately)

stacked 23!

 challenge 9: memory;

I showed Survivors a sequence of island-related images

(palm tree, turtle, campfire, footprint, shell, spear, skull); 

they had to recreate the order with their matching set;

I started with sequences of four and worked up to seven

 final three (the winner is on the right)

Fierce competitors!

Girl power!

Survivors all!

Bill Finger T-shirts for the family

Imagine their enthusiasm.

If your family is now jealous, no need.

The Everything Store

The Everything Store by journalist Brad Stone came out in 2013. It’s about Amazon.com, which launched in 1995. 

However, there was an Everything Store that predated both the book and the site.

“The Everything Store” was actually its nickname. Its name name was Towers Pharmacy.

 1978

It was in New Haven, CT. It had an old-fashioned, S-shaped, speckle-countered luncheonette. It had a post office. It had a Cheers-like cast of employees and regulars.

It was popular with Yale faculty and students (including Flashdance actress Jennifer Beals, who once did a school photography assignment in the store) and Yale Repertory Theatre performers including James Earl Jones, Christopher Walken, and Hal Linden, among many others.

the luncheonette

And from 1979 to 1987, it was my dad’s.

 the pharmacist at work, 1986

At least once I (age tween) helped the cook make eggs for a customer. On Saturday mornings, I took classes at the nearby Creative Arts Workshop and my sister and I would hang out at the store before and after; one of my jobs was cutting the plastic binds off the new stacks of newspapers. There was a small toy section in the back. I was excited when the store added a small spinner rack of cassettes. I’d eagerly anticipate trips to the nearby comic book store where I binged on new releases (60 cents apiece) and back issues alike.

the luncheonette menu

One night there was a break-in and my dad had to go down there in the wee hours to assess the damage. One day he did the Heimlich maneuver on a choking customer and saved her life.

 preparations for Hurricane Gloria, 1985

The photos here were the only ones we had of Towers as of the post date, though in 2023, I found a few more, including this one:

When I was starting my sophomore year of high school, my dad sold the store. One September afternoon, my friends Mike and Seth and I went there to help pack up the inventory. My family hoarded quite a few birthday cards for future use.

After that, the building became, among other things, a Korean restaurant.

I don’t know what it is now.

But for a while during my childhood, it was everything.

5/9/16 addendum: This is what it is now:

(Still the Korean restaurant.)

“Survivor”-themed 10th birthday party

Twelve kids.

Nine challenges.

Four hours.

One Survivor!

Yes, the girls had to vote each other out. And were great sports about it, as the photos and three short videos below illustrate.

The background:

My love of the TV show Survivor led to my daughter’s love of Survivor which led to a Survivor-themed 10th birthday party. Knowing this would be rather involved, I started planning it soon after her 9th birthday.

I wondered if it would be upsetting (to the girls, the parents, or both) if we retained the elimination aspect. But I believe in honest competition and facing fear and teaching young people how to lose gracefully. So we kept in voting out (though we did not allow forming alliances, not that there would have been time anyway).

I told the girls that they are friends first, Survivors second. I said that being voted out is a compliment—it means others think you are good enough to beat them. And believe me, every girl wanted to win.

I asked them to think of other games they love to play with friends (chess, Uno, Monopoly)—and asked them to think of how they feel when a friend wins. Then I asked them to imagine if those other games allowed you to get rid of your competition. They understood...and seemed to like the prospect.

It was game on.

How it worked:

• The Survivors were asked to come in white T-shirts, shorts with pockets (in case they found the hidden immunity idol), and sneakers.
• Soon as they arrived at 5 p.m., they ate hot dogs and hamburgers (we spared them rice) while I showed them relevant clips from several episodes of Survivor:

• an introduction (how the competitors meet and start the game)
• a merge
• a food challenge
• an endurance challenge
• a tribal council

• To form two teams of six, they randomly drew buffs (either blue or orange bandanas). They each got a matching Survivor sticker (blue = water, orange = fire) and a nametag. (As in real Survivor, not all the players knew each other beforehand; it was a mix of friends from school, the neighborhood, ballet, etc.).
• They had five minutes to come up with a tribe name (my only parameter: the name could not be an English word) and draw a tribe banner using only different shades of their respective tribe colors.
• With Survivor music playing, they entered the arena with titters and a few jitters.
• Some challenges were for immunity and reward, and some just immunity.
• It went challenge, tribal council, challenge, tribal council…no down time.
• Players voted out could participate in most subsequent challenges (it was a party), but they could not win rewards or vote at tribal council.
• They merged at eight players, at which time they dropped their buffs and had five minutes to apply tribal face paint.
• The party was scheduled to start early enough so most of the challenges were in daylight but late enough so that the last couple—and, most importantly, the last tribal council—were in the dark.

We experienced two setbacks while setting up and two mishaps during the game.

The setbacks:

• Two hours before the Survivors arrived, we discovered that a squirrel had gnawed a hole in the hose connecting the grill to the propane tank; my wife shrewdly duct-taped it so the young Survivors would not starve as their adult counterparts often do.
• An hour and a half before the Survivors arrived, as I tested the two eight-foot planks that the players would have to cross, one snapped under my weight; I rushed to the nearest hardware store for a replacement.

The mishaps:

• One player fell when the plank slid out from under her; luckily the grass underfoot was soft and after I repositioned the plank, she got right back on.
• One player cut her lip while trying to catch an ice cube in her mouth (for a challenge).

At least no one was medically evacuated. And no tears, only cheers—of support, for their teammates when voted out as much as when giving their all.
 
The photos/videos: 

Competition site. Note bricks along fence. 

They will come into play soon.

 

Tiki torches and team mats.

Tribal immunity and individual immunity. Both from Guam.

Tribal council. Bonus: a window.

The voting slips and box.

Rewards included Survivor bandanas, a Survivor board game, 

Survivor-inspired adventure novels for kids thanks to 

my generous author friend Chris Tebbetts, 

a book I wrote called Vanished, an LED light stick (three colors!), 

shampoos/lotions (thanks Holiday Inn or Homewood Suites), 

and for the Sole Survivor, the DVD of the complete season of Survivor Palau.

Gift/reward bags and Survivor music.

The hidden immunity idol (AKA Field Day medal).

Can you find it? (One of the girls did even though I 

forgot to announce it!)

Survivors watching Survivor.

The orange (fire) team.

 The blue (water) team.

Me as Jeff Probst explaining Challenge #1: strategy. Each team stands

on an island (i.e. bedsheet); first team to flip its island 

without any player stepping off wins.

The second tribal council.

Voting.

Challenge #2: giving/following direction. Callers guide 
blindfolded teammates in picking up five team-colored flags 
scattered across yard; first team to return all five of their flags 
to its mat wins.

Challenge #3: balance/aim. Survivors must walk a plank holding a cup of water 

and toss as much of that water as they can into a container; 

once all team members have crossed, 

team whose container holds more water wins.

Challenge #4: puzzle. First team to complete a 100-piece rainforest puzzle wins.

Twist: teams did not know till piece #99 that piece #100 was

hidden somewhere in the yard.

Blue team finished first (it took 18 minutes); look hard and you 

might notice the gap for the missing final piece they are off searching for.

Can you spot it?

Testing the hidden piece they found.

After four group challenges, the tribes merged and 

took a break from the game to apply face paint.

Merged and merry.

Merged and menacing.

Merged, menacing, and approaching.

Challenge #5: courage/mind over matter. The dreaded food challenge.

Dish #1: a dill mustard/relish combo. Most ate it.

Dish #2: vegetarian caviar (seaweed). Some ate it. Some gagged.

Dish #3: crickets.

 Technically crick-ettes. (But still crickets. And three ate one!)

Eating caviar.

Revealing the crickets.

Challenge #6: strength/endurance. Hold out two bricks (five pounds each) as long 

as you can. I now know five pounds is a bit too heavy for 10-year-olds.

Challenge #7: dexterity. Toss snowballs (saved in freezer from winter) 

without dropping or crushing.

Challenge #8: memory. Survivors must arrange up to seven island-themed pictures 

(anchor, canoe, castle, palm tree, shell, turtle, volcano) 

in the order I just showed them. I started with three images; all four Survivors 

aced that and the next round. Winner remembered six.

The final three.

In the excitement, I did not photograph the winner (above on left).

6/17/16 addendum: Survivor-themed 12th birthday party.