– Name of Your Youth Group or Good Morning America!
Call parents ahead of time. Get to kidsÕ homes early and video tape them being woken up. Show video in youth group. You may find it funny to mix in movie clips. Use in conjunction with their birthday or graduation. DonÕt make it too long. It should not last more than 1 minute per kid.
Be creative on who wakes them up (wake up fairy, a spin-off movie character, etc.). DonÕt expect the rooms to have good lighting – they wonÕt. Use a sleepy-time bed head pajama character to sell, pajamas with footies and great patterns are funny, sleepy-time music is on any kidsÕ tapes.
Ask them dopey questions like…how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? Interview the personÕs teddy bear. Try any approach thatÕs spontaneous and funny. Responses from kids so early in the morning are bound to be funny.
Guidelines:
Warn the parents. They may think youÕre crazy, but most parents respond favorably to anything focusing some attention on their child.
Select young people who will respond appropriately. Shy kids will just hide under the covers.
Make the most of the moment. Wake them up slowly, and have some fun before they are fully conscious.
Take someone along to help. One of you can interview, and the other can work the camera.
School days are better than holidays or weekends. TheyÕll have to get up early anyway, and the freshness of the experience will help the word get out at school.
The only ones who should know anything about your plans are staff and parents. Surprise is essential.
Idea by Young Life
