This is a popular activity where youth members covertly cover someone’s yard with a “flock” of pink plastic flamingos. People pay to send a “flock to someone’s yard and people pay for “flock insurance to keep them away from their yard. The flamingos stay for a few days before “flocking to someone else’s house.
First you need to buy a “flock” of pink lawn flamingos. A dozen plus is a good number. Make signs that will travel with the flock as to who has placed them, the reason for their placement and who the funds are benefiting. After you have your flock and signs, advertise in your church that members can purchase the flock to show up in a friend or family’s front yard with the funds going towards your youth event. (Your group can determine the price.) The youth would then put the flock in the designated yard with the signs and also a note attached to their door of who “flocked” them. The flock would stay in that yard for 24 hours and then travel to the next yard.
A great variation would be to do this during the winter with plastic snowmen or plastic penguins. Then again, flamingos look good in the snow too! Flamingos can be purchased online. One recent development–the company that manufactured the classic pink lawn flamingos has gone out of business, so it may be harder (or more expensive) to get the birds. Consider using smaller flamingos or a different animal. Perhaps you could get plastic sheep and “fleece” the community or a flock of geese and “goose” people.
Previously published on thESource and 2010 National Youth Gathering Resources. Updated for thESource in April 2012.