Highland Games Family Reunion
Our recent family reunion was unlike any other — we celebrated our Scottish heritage with a lively Highland Games-themed gathering. From tossing cabers to playing Hide and Seek with Nessie, the day was packed with fun activities that honored our roots while creating new memories. I’m excited to share how we made it happen!
How do I know if I have ancestors from Scotland?
One of the easiest ways to tell if you might have Scottish ancestry is by your surname, or that of your family members. You might think of Scottish surnames as being 'Mc' or 'Mac' names, like MacGregor or MacDonald, but there's actually a lot more variety in Scottish surnames. A helpful site could be Find Your Clan & Tartan to search a list of surnames.
Take a DNA test. Popular DNA testing services like AncestryDNA and MyHeritage can estimate the regions your ancestors came from, including Scotland.
Research your family tree. There are many websites like FamilySearch or Ancestry that can help you gain more knowledge about your ancestors and where they came from.
Fun & Games: Activities That Got Everyone Moving
The heart of our reunion was the Highland Games events! We adapted classic games like:
Caber Toss: The caber toss involves flipping a long wooden pole (the caber) end over end so that it lands straight in front of the thrower. The goal is to land the caber as close to the 12 o’clock position (directly away from the thrower) as possible. The thrower balances the caber against their shoulder, lifts it with cupped hands, gains momentum with a short run, and then flips it upward so that the heavy end lands first.
A caber is typically a log measuring 16 to 20 feet in length and weighing between 60 and 140 pounds. Since we haven’t been training for this event, we used an 8-foot landscaping timber, which was heavy enough for our purposes.
For younger children, the landscaping timber proved too difficult—if not impossible—to lift and throw. I brought pool noodles as an alternative, but even a slight breeze made them hard to throw. We discovered that a small metal handle from a Swiffer broom fit perfectly inside the pool noodle. It straightened the noodle and added some weight, making it much easier to throw.
Using orange spray paint, we drew a line for throwers to stand behind. We measured the distance from this line to the closest end of the timber to determine how far it was thrown.
Tug-of-War: Tug-of-war is played with two teams pulling on opposite ends of a rope. The goal is to pull the opposing team and the rope across a marked line on the ground. A team wins when the center of the rope crosses the center point of the playing area.
I ordered a 20 foot rope from Amazon that was soft to hold without gloves and long enough to comfortably allow 2 adults on each side. If you want more on each team, I would recommend a longer rope. Depending on what your rope is made from, gloves may be needed to make pulling the rope comfortable on their hands.
We used the orange spray paint again to draw a middle line as the starting point. Then, we marked two more lines—each 4 feet from the center line in opposite directions. If a team pulls the flag across their line, they win.
Stone Put: (Think shot put.) You can use real stones of different weights for different age groups. In the Highland Games stone put, competitors throw a heavy stone as far as possible, either from a standing position or with a short run-up. The goal is to maximize distance, with the competitor who throws the farthest winning. The Braemar stone is a specific variation in which the stone is held against the neck before the throw, while the open stone allows for more movement during the throw.
We used real rocks—thankfully, we have an ample supply in our front yard. We brought a 15-pound rock for the adults and a 5-pound one for the younger kids. Some of the adult ladies felt the 15-pound rock was a bit heavy, so I recommend having a few weight options available. A softball could also be a great alternative.
Relay Races: We combined four fun activities into one relay. There were four stations with activities that included securing a kilt, ringing a Highland cow, golf putting, and building a Scottish castle. This could be done as an individual relay—where one person completes all four activities—or as a team event, which is what we chose. I had two teams go at a time, with four members on each team.
For the kilt station, I bought plaid flannel that participants wrapped around their waist and secured either by tying it or using a clothespin. Once the kilt was secured, they ran to their teammate at the next station: hooping a Highland cow. I bought a cute stuffed Highland cow from Amazon and used pool diving rings, hoping they would hoop the cow’s horns. That didn’t work well. In hindsight, hula hoops would have worked better. Be sure to have participants stand a few feet back from the cow to make the challenge more fun.
After successfully hooping the cow, they ran to the next teammate, who used a putter to try to get a golf ball into a target area. I’m not sure how skilled your family is at putting, but mine won’t be going pro anytime soon—so instead of a hole-in-one, we just aimed for getting the ball into a designated area. We used an Aerobie frisbee as the “hole.” Once the golf ball landed inside the frisbee, they ran to the final station to tag the last team member.
The final activity was to build a Scottish castle using all 30 blocks I provided. I made a rule that the castle had to include at least one tower that was six blocks high. Each team had an identical set of 30 blocks in a variety of shapes. Some teams struggled with their towers falling, which made for a fun and entertaining challenge right at the end.
Hide and Seek with Nessie: Since Nessie is a World Champion of Hide and Seek, we figured she would love to challenge our family to a game. Before everyone arrived, I hid a small Nessie somewhere on the property. Throughout the reunion, whenever they weren’t participating in other activities, my family—especially the kids—were busy searching for Nessie. It took them a while, but my 10-year-old niece eventually found her.
Scotland Trivia: There are many trivia quizzes available online, but I selected 10 of my favorite questions. While everyone waited for the last-minute food to finish cooking, we used the time to answer the quiz and then review the answers together.
Food!!!
No reunion is complete without delicious food! My family was invited to embrace the theme of traditional Scottish fare. No, unfortunately, no one wanted to take on Haggis, however, think meat pies, Neeps and Tatties, smoked salmon, Macaroni pies, Chocolate Tiffin, shortbread, and Rumbledethumps. We even had a fruit and cheese platter where the block of cheese represented the Stone of Destiny. Everyone brought something to share.
Dressing Up?
Prizes
- Lion: Nestle Lion Candy Bar with a notepad with a lion on the cover
- Unicorn: Marshmallow Unicorn Poop and Unicorn Rubber Duck
- Unicorn: Haribo Unicorn-i-licious, and Unicorn Horn Sidewalk Chalk
- Highland Cow: The Highland cow we used in the relay with Cow Tales
- Nessie: Nessie that we used in the Hide and Seek game and a bag of Mother's Mythical Creatures cookies
- Scottish: Scott toilet paper with Scottie Dogs Licorice
- Butterscotch: Scotchbrite sponge, butterscotch chips, and Butterscotch Rootbeer
No comments:
Post a Comment