How it works:

Kids sit in a circle around the mermaid. The Mermaid opens with a silly sentence. Kid to her left says ANYTHING they want (1 sentence). Other kids then act out the sentence (if a kid says shark – everyone swims like a shark). Mermaid encourages to make it even sillier! Then the next kid has a go, and so on, until it reaches back to the mermaid. A shy kid can whisper a sentence into a mermaid’s ear! Once it is back to the mermaid, she finishes the story with a final funny twist. Mermaid gives out micro prizes for coming up with such a weird and wonderful story.

Key points to success:

• Some kids will be shy – getting them to whisper to you is important
• After acting out the sentence, try to get the kids sitting again to keep the story flowing.
• Encourage nonsense and imagination

Starting sentence options:

• “Once upon a tide, I woke up riding a giant flying seagull.”

• “This morning I found a crab wearing pirate boots.”

• “I opened a treasure chest and a sandwich flew out.”

• “A shark asked me politely if I wanted to play tag.”

• “A dolphin stole my crown and wore it as a necklace.”

• “I discovered a magical seaweed that made me burp bubbles.”

• “A storm blew me all the way to a fish-and-chips shop.”

• “A sneaky octopus tried to braid my hair with shells.”

• “A baby stingray challenged me to a dance-off.”

• “I found a pirate ship powered entirely by penguins.”

• “A seal invited me to his birthday party under a bridge.”

• “A taniwha sneezed and made a giant whirlpool.”

• “I tried to sit on a rock, but it turned out to be a grumpy turtle.”

• “A mer-baby stole my flippers and ran laughing.”

• “A sea lion offered me a cookie shaped like a starfish.”

• “I took a nap and woke up in the sky with rainbows.”

• “A seagull yelled ‘HIYA!’ and dropped glitter on me.”

• “A crab stole my sandwich and danced away sideways.”

• “A giant jellyfish chased me because I took its hat.”

• “I opened a bottle and a pirate popped out doing ballet.”

How it works:

Kids sit in a small circle around the mermaid. Mermaid whispers a short mermaid secret/spell into the first child’s ear. That child whispers it to the next child. It goes all the way around the circle. The final child says the spell aloud. Mermaid reveals the original secret. They NEVER match — and that’s the joke! Mermaid praises the “silly ocean currents” for changing it.

Key to success:

Turn the failure (not getting the correct spell) into success – “Oh no! The ocean currents changed it! Mermaid secrets never stay the same on land — your magic transformed it!
That means your spell is now EXTRA powerful and EXTRA silly!”

At the end – finish with something like: “So instead of summoning sparkly seaweed spaghetti… we summoned a dancing penguin eating a sandwich!
AMAZING!”

Original starting spells:

• “Sparkly seaweed spaghetti.”
• “Wiggly jellyfish dance.”
• “Baby dolphin giggle bubbles.”
• “Glittery crab explosion.”
• “Whale-song sandwich party.”
• “Rainbow stingray wiggle.”
• “Turtle treasure tickle.”
• “Flippy-floppy mermaid flip.”
• “Boingy boingy sea sponge.”
• “Paua-shell pancake parade.”

How it works:

Pirate draws a circle (around 15m wide) in sand, or marks out an area with small sand-filled bags – this is the play area. The first kid (birthday kid) put the Taniwha tail into their pants/costume hanging out back. Mermaid shouts ‘Splash’, and the kid runs off, then the mermaid shouts ‘Chase’ and the kids run after trying to grab the tail. Round finishes when the tail is captured, or the kid exits the play area. A funny micro-prize awarded to the Taniwha kid (sneakest, fastest, loudest). The catcher takes tail (or nominates a new kid), and the game is played again. Variation is added by getting chasers to be jellyfish, crabs and so forth.

Opening setup:

“Deep in Aotearoa’s rivers live taniwha — powerful guardians who zoom, splash, and play chase. Today, one of you will become the Fast Taniwha, and the rest of us will try to catch its magical tail! But don’t worry — taniwha are friendly, and everyone will get a turn to be one.”

Key to success:

• Mermaid explains no tackling, holding, or hitting – just grabbing the tail.
• If the group size is large, then you can run two Taniwha at the same time
• Creative microprizes – sneakest, fastest, funniest, loudest taniwha.
• If the child grabs the tail more than once, then they choose who is next (someone who has not had a turn)!
• Mermaid to be loud – Splash (to run), Chase (start chasing) Stop – the Taniwha is caught (to stop after tail is captured).

Options

• Crab or jellyfish mode – add change (especially when small kids are Taniwha) by making chasers become jellyfish (wave hands above head) or crabs (skuttle like crab).
• Slow motion more – everyone must walk and move in slow motion.
• Four-legged mode – everyone to walk on hands and knees.

How it works:

Mermaid starts the music. Mermaid shouts at a creature: “Dance like a jellyfish!” “Swim like a tiny shark!” “Shuffle like a crab!”. Kids dance until the music stops. When the music stops → STATUE MODE. Anyone who moves joins the Mermaid Judge Squad (instead of “out”). Winner = last kid standing still → gets a special Crown Photo with the mermaid. Microprizes are given as kids are eliminated (e.g. crazy dancing).

Opening setup:

“Alright, my little sea creatures, when the ocean music plays, you’ll dance like whatever creature I call out — jellyfish, dolphins, crabs, stingrays, you name it! But when the music suddenly stops… FREEZE like a statue! If you wobble, wiggle, blink too big, or giggle too loudly — the ocean will spot you! Frozen statues only!”

Key to success

• Ensure that eliminated kids join the ‘judge panel’ as this will keep them included
• Encourage funky large dancing/movement as this will create chaos, laughter, and unbalance in the kids.

Dance options:

• Jellyfish wiggle
• Dolphin jumps
• Shark strong-swim
• Seal flop
• Eel slither
• Stingray glide
• Seaweed sway
• Starfish stretch
• Turtles slow paddle
• Whale slow dance

Ending:

“And our final frozen sea creature is… YOU! You danced like a dolphin, froze like a starfish, and wiggled less than a sea cucumber! Come take your royal mermaid crown photo — you are the Sea Statue Champion of the Tide!”

How it works:

Teams of 1, 2, or 3 kids are formed, depending on party size. Each team pulls a mystery ocean animal from the mermaid’s treasure bag. The whole team acts out the animal together, without talking, while the other kids shout guesses. Everyone gets up to 1 minute to guess. If they’re still unsure after 45 seconds, the mermaid may give gentle clues. Once the animal is guessed, the team earns a small prize or a praise award. The mermaid also gives out fun bonus awards — like “Biggest Smile,” “Splashiest Tail,” or “Silliest Sea-Creature Wiggle.”

Opening setup:

Out in the deep oceans, mermaids learn to speak with sea creatures. Today I’m going to test your ocean shapeshifting skills! I’ll pull an animal from my treasure bag…
Your team will BECOME that creature, and the others must guess who you’ve turned into!”

Key to success:

• Jump in if necessary – some kids will struggle, have clues ready to help prompt.
• If a kid is shy, acting – say, they can make sound effects.

Animals to act out:

• Dolphin
• Octopus
• Crab
• Jellyfish
• Stingray
• Seahorse
• Sea turtle
• Penguin
• Seal
• Shark
• Whale
• Pufferfish
• Eel
• Starfish
• Baby mermaid (“Merbaby”)

Micro-prizes

Come up with funny microprizes at the end of each round

• “Most Wiggly Jellyfish Award!”
• “Strongest Shark Snap Trophy!”
• “Brightest Starfish Smile Medal!”
• “Loudest Dolphin Cheer Award!”
• “Fastest Crab Scuttle Champion!”
• “Cutest Penguin Shuffle Prize!”
• “Fin-tastic Teamwork Ribbon!”