Sleeping Giants 😴🏰🏑
Sleeping Giants 😴🏰🏑
Story / Theme:
The giants are fast asleep in their lair, but if they wake up, they’ll try to steal your ball! Keep moving, keep control, and stay out of reach.
Equipment:
Large inflatable balls (one per child + extras)
Rackets (for adults and children)
Cones to mark the giants’ lair (circle in the middle)
How to Play:
1. Assistant coaches form a circle lying down inside the lair, pretending to be asleep — each with a racket.
2. Children move around the room dribbling large inflatable balls hockey-style with their rackets.
3. At random, the coach shouts: “Wake up, sleeping giants!”
4. The giants jump up and try to steal the children’s balls by reaching in with their rackets and tackling their ball and returning it to the lair.
5. If a child loses their ball, the child either sits out or finds another ball and continues playing.
Progressions: Role Swap: Children take turns being the sleeping giants (for those who want to).
Timed Wakes: Giants wake up every 30–40 seconds to keep children on their toes.
Double Trouble: Have two lairs so children must watch more than one area.
NOTE: Often, the children prefer being the giants themselves, so you can just play a quick game with them chasing, and then play the rest of the game with them as giants.
Variations:
Safe Zones: Create small cone “safe spots” where children can stop for 3 seconds before rejoining play.
Treasure Return: Children can try to sneak into the lair to steal back balls without being caught.
Seasonal variations for your Sleeping Giants 😴🏰🏑 game, perfect for weaving in a touch of imagination and celebration during different parts of the year:
·
· 🎄 Christmas – Sleeping Snowmen
· ☃️ The snowmen are snoozing in their snowy cave! But if they wake up, they'll roll after your snowballs (inflatable balls)!
🎅 Coaches = snowmen with red scarves and foam rackets
🧤 Optional twist: kids wear gloves/mittens to make dribbling trickier
🎁 Balls = snowballs or presents they must protect
·
· 🎃 Halloween – Haunted House of Mummies
· 🧟♂️ The spooky mummies are asleep in the haunted house... but when they wake, they lurch after your cursed pumpkins!
🎃 Balls = inflatable orange pumpkins
👻 Add cobwebs or Halloween music for theme
💀 Mummies = coaches wrapped in toilet paper or using “ghost rackets” (white foam)
·
· 🐣 Easter – Sleeping Chicks
· 🐥 The giant chicks are snoozing in their coop — but if woken, they’ll peck at your Easter eggs (balls)!
🥚 Decorate balls with pastel dots or stickers
🐰 Kids try to sneak past the coop (giant lair) without waking them
🍬 Wake-up cue: “Cock-a-doodle-doooo!”
·
· 💘 Valentine’s – Sleeping Cupids
· 💘 Cupids are resting in their heart-shaped clouds, but if disturbed, they try to snatch your love letters (balls)!
💌 Dribble the “letters” safely without being tapped by the cupids' rackets
❤️ Add pink/red cones and heart decorations to the lair
·
· 👩👧👦 Mother’s/Father’s Day – Snoozing Parents Game
· 😴 Mum and Dad are trying to nap, but noisy kids are playing with bouncy breakfast items (eggs, toast = balls).
🥱 If parents wake up, they try to “scoop” the breakfast and go back to sleep!
🥐 Make balls food-themed with stickers or call-outs like “Don’t drop the toast!”