Indoor or Outdoor Activity
Ages 4 and up
Materials Needed:
- Small gifts or white elephants (garage sale items)
- Peanuts in the shell
Wrap up small gifts or party favors and place them on a table. You can also use white elephants (garage sale items or thrift store items). Make sure each gift is suitable for a boy or girl. Have an adult act as “Auctioneer” and sit in the front of the room with the table and gifts on display. The auctioneer will start the bidding with the first item at one peanut (each child should also have 15 peanuts within their possession). The auctioneer may give some hints as to what they are bidding for. Give the children the basic idea of how to bid. For instance, they wouldn’t want to spend all of their peanuts right away, they would want to work up to it. The children will step out of the bidding once they have spent all of their peanuts. They may trade gifts with other children after obtaining them.