Things to do with newspapers

Newspaper island

Starting off with an exotic story of how you came to be stranded on an island with only washed-up newspaper to hand, the group need to work together to complete a series of tasks that will help them survive there.

With a stack of newspapers and lots of sellotape as the only resources they have on the island, the groups need to build a shelter which is big enough for the group to stay under, make clothing to protect them from the sun, build a watch tower, use the words and letters from the printed newspapers to make an island menu and, as a final task, build a raft to escape the island!

This game can be adapted to suit different ages by choosing different tasks to complete or adding more challenging tasks to the game.

This game gets the group thinking, being resourceful and using their creative flair!

Trashy fashion

Got a few newspapers lying around? Why not transform them into some new outfits and put on a fashion show for your friends!

What do you need?

You’ll need a stack of old newspapers and a roll of masking tape or sellotape.

Start making your outfits

Divide the group into teams of 4-6 and give each team a stack of newspapers and some tape. The girls then have ten minutes to transform their ‘model’ using the newspapers by creating an outfit over the model’s clothes. Some amusing creations will emerge!

You can make this a little bit more interesting by giving each group a theme for their costumes, whether it be a princess from a Disney film, a character from The Simpsons or an outfit inspired by the Wild West.

Have a camera ready to snap a picture of the wacky newspaper fashion creations!

Peebles Guides tried out this game – we love their outfits!

Shrinking island

This is a quick game that encourages team work. You need to be fast and to use your imagination to stay in the game.

The aim of the game, which is suitable for 8-10 people, is to stand on the ‘shrinking island’. The groups need to attempt to keep afloat on a sheet of newspaper as it shrinks.

Each group will be given a piece of newspaper, and everyone needs to keep their feet on the newspaper without touching the floor or any walls. In each round, a piece of newspaper will be torn off and it will keep been torn until they are unable to successfully stand on the paper together. The group that can survive with the smallest piece of newspapers win.

Groups are free to come up with creative ideas to stay on the newspaper, whether it be standing on each other’s feet, forming a human pyramid or taking off their shoes.