Looking for Latter-day Saint mutual activities for youth? You have come to the right spot! Here are TONS of ideas for fun activities – both for individual group meetings and combined activities.
I spent over two years serving in the 14-15-year-old Young Women’s class for our ward. It was a great experience – and I often feel the girls taught me far more than I ever taught them.
Helping the girls plan activities were one of my favorite responsibilities, and we had a lot of great activities over the years.
However, coming up with ideas can be a challenge, so I put together this list of activities. Many of them we did with young women, but most can be easily adapted for young men.
Need some ideas for younger kids? Check out this list of 40+ fun activity day ideas for boys and girls. Some of these might be fun for the older youth, too! You might also enjoy our list of combined youth activities as well.
Things to Consider
When planning an activity, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Remind the youth that all activities should have some kind of spiritual aspect or skill development involved in them.
Does that mean it can’t be fun?
Of course not! But there should be something that uplifts and inspires – even if it’s just having a spiritual thought at the beginning or at the end.
- Activities don’t have to be fancy or cost a lot of money – in fact, in most situations, they really shouldn’t.
I think it’s important to do activities that can be done in most wards – regardless of budget.
- It’s so important to consider all the needs of the youth and to remind them that while not every activity will be their favorite, they will be blessed for making the effort to go.
I also think it’s important to encourage the youth to remember that while they may not always get a ton out of every activity – being there may affect another girl.
Here are a few questions you can ask the youth to help them come up with ideas as well:
- What is something you’d like to learn? I learned so many fun ideas and skills when I was in Young Women. There are so many ways they can learn at activities!
- What are some different jobs or skills people in the ward/stake have? I think it’s great to involve other members of the ward and stake with the youth – especially if they don’t normally interact with them. It’s such a great way to help expand the network that the youth know, and it’s great for the adults as well!
- What do you enjoy doing? Over the past few years, a shift has been made to help the youth meet their goals. Making sure you know the youths’ interests is key, and encouraging them to come up with ideas that meet the interests of all the girls (at some point or another) is important.
It really can be hard to come up with ideas, but those thought-starters can help.
Latter-day Saint Mutual Ideas
And now on to the activities! I have split these into different categories, so hopefully, you’ll be able to navigate this pretty easily.
Some of these are specifically for young women, but many of them could be used for young men’s activities as well! I originally wrote this list for my young women’s group, which is why I say “girls” quite a bit. Feel free to substitute boy where applicable 🙂
Also keep in mind that these are just ideas. They may not all be applicable or of interest to your group. I’ve just compiled ideas based on what we’ve done in our ward, activities the members of ward have suggested, etc.
Some of the ideas below are better for combined activities, while many of them can be done with a smaller group. Encourage the youth to be involved in the planning and execution of the activities as much as possible!
Service and Community
Clean nursery toys – My sister said that the girls in her ward really loved this. It was very casual and laid back, and the girls were just able to chit-chat as they gave the toys a good cleaning.
Random acts of kindness around town – Split into groups or go together (depending on the size of your group) to do nice things for people around town. Here are some great random acts of kindness ideas.
Foreign Food Night – Assign each girl a different country to bring a recipe from. You can also find a variety of recipes and have each girl choose one.
Missionary Culture Night – Invite different members of the ward to come and speak briefly about their missions. You can ask them to bring a sample of some kind of regional dish if they’d like. You can turn it into a panel and have the youth ask the former missionaries questions.
Make family home evening kits – You can have the youth make these for their families or as a service project for younger families in the ward). Lots of fun ideas online. You could also get some of the “Come Follow Me” kits available from various places online and have the youth compile these. Etsy has some great lesson kits.
Dinner/Babysitting for Young Couples in the Ward – I saw one of my friends share that her ward did this. Several couples with young children were invited to the church for a dinner that was prepared by the young women, and while they ate, the youth watched their kids. If you have a lot of couples in the ward, you could do this multiple times so everyone gets invited.
Gift Wrapping Night – This is a fun one for around Christmas time. Members of the ward can bring by gifts (I would probably put a limit on how many gifts) to be wrapped by the youth. I would find someone in the ward who is particularly skilled at gift wrapping who can be there to help.
Christmas Shopping Babysitting – We did this several times when I was in Young Women. For 1-2 hours, people can bring their kids by the church to be babysat while parents go out to do Christmas shopping
Service Scavenger Hunt – There are different acts of service set up in the ward boundaries for the youth to complete. They get a clue at each place when they are done for where to go next. This is a good activity for a larger group. It helps people out and brings out the competitive nature of the youth. The acts of service shouldn’t take very long (something like sweeping the porch, taking out the trash, etc. should be encouraged to families participating).
Visit a retirement center – Most retirement centers welcome youth groups. Look for some in the area to find out how to set up a time for the youth to come.
Make visual aids for primary chorister – There are lots of ideas online that can be printed off and colored, laminated, etc. for primary. I saw someone suggest this online, and I thought it was such a fun idea. Reach out to the primary to see what they need.
Prison visit – This may sound a little bit weird, but I’ve heard of a lot of youth groups doing this and saying it was the best activity. I’ve mainly heard of this in Utah – you can go visit the prison, and you can have the youth listen to an inmate speak. From what I understand, it can be a very powerful activity and representation of the Atonement. This would obviously need to be arranged through the proper channels.
Plant flowers or garden – at the temple, church, or for members in the ward
Cookie decorating and delivery to members in the ward
Index-a-thon – I think that indexing is one of the easiest ways to get the youth involved in family history. You can meet at the stake Family History Center or just have a bunch of laptops for the youth to come and index as much as they can during the evening!
JustServe.org – This is the Church’s website that provides great ideas for service needs in your area. Always check this out if you are in need of some ideas!
Heart Attack – Either less active youth or just people in the ward who might need some cheering!
Help Incoming Refugees – You can go to this site to get in contact with your local refugee center for service opportunities.
Days for Girls – This is a wonderful organization and causes to get the girls involved with. They are always in need of the period kits that they bring to girls in third-world countries. You can learn more about their mission and how you can get involved here.
Grocery Store Service – Have the youth hand out flowers to random people at the store and return grocery carts to the corrals outside.
Welcome to the Neighborhood – Visit and serve a new family who has moved into the area (members or not)
Make Baby Blankets – You could do baby quilts, but I think tied fleece blankets are even better. The youth could learn to make blankets and give them to the expecting mothers in the ward.
Make care packages for missionaries – Here are some fun missionary gift ideas.
Creativity
Canvas Night with mocktails – We did this for a Relief Society activity, and while I wasn’t there, I heard it was a blast. You can usually get a canvas for pretty cheap – but you could always just use paper. Our ward had someone in the stake come and teach the class. Have fun drinks and snacks to go with it!
Photography Night – I have a friend who shared tons of fun and easy ways to improve your iPhone photography on Instagram recently, and I thought it would make for a fun activity. You could have someone teach about phone photography or real photography.
Plastic Bag Water Color Prints – Loved this idea! Very simple but fun.
Make your own bath bombs – Here is an easy tutorial on these.
DIY nail polish – My friend recently told me how easy it is to make your own nail polish. I think it would be so fun to do an activity! If it doesn’t take up enough time, you could do manicures and pedicures with the girls as well. Here is a great tutorial on this.
Make temple name bracelets – Here is an example of this.
DIY Lip gloss – Here is a great tutorial on this.
Calligraphy Night
DIY Jewelry
Newspaper Fashion Show – Split the youth into different groups, assign them each a different theme, and have to make outfits out of newspaper. Have a fashion show afterward to show off what they made!
Book Page Wreaths – Here is a tutorial
Temple Picture – We did this for a Relief Society activity, and it was a hit – you can check out all the details here. You could ask the youth ahead of time what temple they want to make their picture of so you can have them each cut out ahead of time.
Pumpkin or Watermelon Carving
Shrinky Dinks – This was a fun way to make this more church-centered.
Tie-Dye Night
DIY Scripture Cases
Friendship
Game night – Encourage the youth to bring their favorite games and just have a fun night of competition, fun, and laughter. Here are some of the best board games for groups.
S’mores and Hot Dogs
Clothes swap – Bring clothes that you no longer want or don’t fit and swap with the other youth. This would be a nice one to do for all the youth.
Speed Friendshipping with adults in the ward – I think it’s important to have the youth interact with adults at church. Speed friend shipping is a pretty common activity, but inviting the adults can make it a little different. You set up tables (or one big long one) and set a timer for about 2-3 minutes. Each time it goes off, one side of the table switches. Provide a list of questions to be asked.
Team Building Activities – Too many of these to list, but here is a great list of team building activities.
Unbirthday Evening – a fun, birthday-themed activity where you highlight each of the youth.
Parade of Rooms – a tour of each girl’s bedroom. Make sure they know this before you come 🙂
Egg Drop Activity – This is a fun competition. Match the youth up in pairs and have them create some kind of contraption to keep an egg from cracking when dropped from a roof in it. Bring a variety of materials that can be used to make the device (and encourage the youth to come with some as well). Here is a way to make this a little more church-centered.
You are Special – This is a great picture book with a wonderful message. Here is the description of this activity.
Favorite Things Activity – This is always a fun one. There are different ways to play this, but essentially, everyone brings a favorite item (make sure to set a price limit). Everyone draws a number, and you start with #1. The first person goes up and talks about the item they brought. Then the person with #2 (and so forth) goes up and gets that item, and then describes their own. The last person to go gives their items to #1. I know there is a version where you bring three of each item, but I think it’s best to keep it to one item to keep it inexpensive.
Brown Bag Guessing Game – We did this game a few months ago, and the girls seemed to enjoy it. Each person is supposed to bring an item that represents them and puts it in a bag. The bags are mixed up, and you start with one person. They grab a bag and then try and guess who brought it. Once the person is guessed, they talk a little bit about what they brought and why.
Book Club – Have a book for the youth to read and discuss or just have each girl bring their favorite book to talk about. Snacks are a must!
Talent night – have each girl teach something she’s good at.
Modesty fashion show – My friend told me this was a really fun activity they had in their ward. I’m sure there are many ways to do it.
Glow in the Dark Dinner
Spiritual Development
Escape Room – These are ALL the rage right now, and several people have created some really fun, LDS-themed escape rooms. They can take a lot of time to set up, but everyone says they are a huge hit. Here is one from Cranial Hiccups – Hope of Israel Escape Room.
Scripture Charades
Strength of Youth Advertisement – Several ways to do this – you could have them be print ads or make a video or skit to perform. Assign a different topic from the Strength of Youth to each girl or group of youth.
Bible Customs – Have a fun night where the youth learn and experience different Bible customs. One person online said that they washed the girl’s feet and ate Biblical food. Here are a few different ideas.
General Conference quote jars – Print off a bunch of popular quotes from past General Conferences and have the youth decorate jars to put them in. Encourage them to read one each day.
Scripture Dodgeball or Tag – This is a fun and spiritual twist on these popular games. Once someone is out, they can only get back in if they quote or paraphrase a scripture.
Create a Mormon Message Video
Book of Mormon Study Night – Share a variety of ways for the youth to study the scriptures.
Role play missionary lessons – This would be a fun one to do with the missionaries. When I was at BYU, I would sometimes volunteer at the MTC as a “fake” investigator. The missionaries would have to teach us lessons. It was really fun. You could have the youth teach with one of the missionaries someone else.
Temple Time Capsules – This is a fun one to help the youth prepare for the temple. Read more here.
Clue – Book of Mormon Murder Mystery – Here is everything you need for this one! It sounds SO fun!
Temple Tour and Picnic
Book of Mormon Cake Decorating – Give each team a bunch of decorating supplies and a pre-baked cake. Each team will draw a Book of Mormon scene from a hat and have to recreate it.
Missionary Night – Learn what being on a mission is all about. Have little classes about how to press a shirt, how to do laundry, challenges of a mission, etc.
Scripture Scavenger Hunt – Here is a simple way to set this one up.
Home and Family
Modest Fashion on a Budget – It can be so hard to find modest clothes, but there are a lot more resources these days than there used to be. You can have someone teach the youth about thrift shopping, hacks to make clothes a little more appropriate, and places online to find clothes (there are a lot of great boutiques. Journey Five is my favorite).
Recipe swap – Bring a favorite recipe and share the recipe. These can be compiled into a Young Women recipe book.
Babysitting Night – Teach the youth different babysitting skills and help them make a “babysitting kit” they can take with them to babysit.
Freezer Meals – Make freezer meals for people in the ward. Here are some good freezer meal ideas. I love all the ideas from MyFreezEasy.
Financial preparedness/Money Management Night – I have heard a lot of people have success with this. Have different workshops on money management – make it applicable to their age now and how they can start being financially literate at a young age.
Job search night – Teach the youth how to find jobs at their age, different types of jobs available, how to make a good impression, and conduct mock interviews.
Dating Night – invite couples of various ages, ask them questions (how they met, what qualities did you notice first, the secret to a happy marriage). Have yummy desserts at the night.
Family History Center – Make an appointment with the family history consultants in your ward and ask them to help the girls get started with family history. Make sure they have set up an LDS.org/FamilySearch.org account beforehand.
Home Cleaning and Organization – learn how to organize (school, home, etc.)
DIY Cleaning Products
Preserve living memory – learn ways to record your personal history and that of living relatives
Meal planning/prep night – We did this recently, and it was pretty successful. We had the youth prepare a simple meal that they got to take home for their families. It was freezer-friendly so they didn’t have to eat it right away. We did chicken pillows with Magleby rolls and frozen veggies. It was a really fun activity!
Home Maintenance – learn a variety of home skills such as sewing repairs, laundry, changing a light bulb, checking a filter, etc.
Motherhood panel discussion – Invite mothers from various ages, stages, and circumstances to be on a panel. Have questions prepared from the youth to be asked.
Job Panel discussion – This would be a great way to introduce the youth to a variety of career paths. Invite members of the ward or community to share their career paths, how they’ve gotten there, and even how they balance work and home life.
Family traditions – Have each girl come prepared to share a favorite family tradition, and, if reasonable, have them do some kind of activity with it. This would be a fun one to do around Christmas time.
Daddy/Daughter Date or Mother/Son Date – Lots of different daddy-daughter date ideas are out there. Fun night of father/daughter bonding! Here is a list of some fun ideas.
Dollar Dinner – Teach the value of eating on a budget. Take the youth to the grocery store and give them each a couple of dollars to buy something to go with dinner you will go prepare afterward. They can work together (someone decides to buy pasta, another buys pasta sauce, etc.) or on their own. It would be fun to have some kind of theme or rules for choosing the foods. You could teach them about various easy ways to save money on groceries, such as Ibotta or digital coupons.
Make a cookbook – I think it would be fun to let them decorate a cookbook. One of those kinds that have recipe cards/index cards in it would be best. Everyone could bring a favorite recipe that the others can write down and put in their cookbook. Alternatively, you could have the youth get recipes from members of the ward and compile a ward cookbook.
Family History Show and Tell – Come prepared to share a fun or interesting story from their family history. Here is an example of one group that did this and how it looked.
Candy Bar Husband – I thought this was so fun when I was in Young Women. Here is how this one works.
Mother-Daughter Night – Lots of things you can do for this. Spa night, cooking night, have the youth prepare a dinner for their moms…anything! I thought this M&M night sounded like fun!
Family recipe night – everyone brings a family favorite to share.
Health
Nutrition Night – learn about how to properly fuel their bodies, make healthy and balanced choices, etc.
Emotional Health – This is such an important topic! You could have someone come and speak about emotional health, dealing with hard teenage emotions, how to take care of themselves, etc. Mental health is so important and many teens struggle, so this could be a really wonderful activity for them.
Healthy Food Hunt – Go through the grocery store and have a healthy food scavenger hunt. Here is an example of how this would work.
Essential Oil Night – Teach the youth about different types of essential oils and their uses, how to make DIY products with essential oils, etc.
Skills
How to Modify Clothes – Find a skilled seamstress in your ward or stake that can teach the youth how to take clothes that might be too short, tight, etc. and how to make them more comfortable and appealing to them.
Make scrunchies – Here is a tutorial.
Hair/nail tips with a beautician
Auto care night – Important for anyone to learn – how to change oil, a tire, detail the inside of a car, etc.
Learn to make rolls – Here are a couple of easy roll recipes:
- The AMAZING Legendary Lion House Rolls Recipe
- The BEST Quick Dinner Rolls Recipe: Ready in less than an hour
Make bread for the sacrament – Here is a good bread recipe.
Cake making and decorating – I love this cake decorating book for easy and delicious cakes!
Sew temple bags
Etiquette Night/Manners Dinner – Growing up, we had a dinner dance for the kids 14 and up. It was SO fun. You’d be matched up with a “date” and be encouraged to use proper etiquette while eating a yummy dinner, and then there would be a dance afterward. The week before it, we would have an etiquette night where we learned proper manners for eating out, how to set a table, etc.
Outdoor cooking – Dutch oven cooking, cooking over a fire, cooking with a grill…whatever. Teach the youth how to cook outside! Here are some great dutch oven recipes.
Camping/Survival Skills – You could teach the youth how to setup a tent, build a fire, and other survival skills.
Gardening Night – Help the youth learn how to garden! This could be a fun, hands-on one at someone’s house.
Self-Defense – I think this is such an important skill. I know of a woman who was attacked while walking on a river trail, and she was able to survive because of the self-defense skills she learned at a Young Women activity. There are lots of groups and individuals that teach self-defense to groups.
Interior Design/Decorating Tips – This was an activity that was done in Relief Society once, and it was so fun! We had salads and sandwiches to start with, and then a sister in the ward who is an interior designer gave a short presentation on easy ways to decorate our home. I loved it!
Learn to make cinnamon rolls
Technology night – learn how to safely use the internet and social media as teens and adults.
Budget Night – Teach about how to live on a budget, creating a budget, how to save money, money-saving apps and tools, etc.
Career Aptitude Tests – These can be fun and help the youth learn about what things they might be interested in. You could have them take it during the activity or after, and they could all prepare something about what their career choices were and how they might do them. You could also invite in people in different careers to share their experiences.
Create and Film Short Videos – learn how to edit them in free programs like iMovie – share them afterward with a popcorn night.
College/Education Night – learn about different colleges, education options, how to prepare to apply for college, etc. Have a panel of people who have done different types of schooling and share what they. have done to get where they are. It’s a great way to show kids that are many different pathways and help them find out what might be best for them.
Infant Care Night
Make homemade ice cream – Either in a bag or an ice cream maker will do. Here is my favorite homemade ice cream recipe.
Sushi making
Learn to hem
Physical Fitness
Many of these could be made more exciting by making them glow in the dark!
Nerf Gun wars
Summer snowball fight with flour snowballs
Blacklight Volleyball
Chair Soccer
California Kickball
Fitness class (yoga, Zumba, barre, weight training)
Archery
Outdoor game night
Ultimate Frisbee
Water games – Here are some various water activities.
Disc Golf – These courses are usually free. You may need to ask around the ward to borrow some discs, as they can be a little expensive to buy.
Bike ride
Nature Walk
Water balloon volleyball
Ultimate Frisbee
Capture the Flag
Human Foosball
Miscellaneous
Cupcake Wars
Iron Chef Competition
Lip Sync Battle
Improv Night
Pinewood Derby – I know the church is moving away from scouting, but I would imagine most stakes still have their pinewood derby racing tracks. I think the youth would love to make their own cars and have a race!
Printable Idea List
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Need ideas for younger kids? Check out this list of 40+ fun activity day ideas for boys and girls. Some of these might be fun for the older youth, too!
I would LOVE to hear your ideas. Feel free to share below.
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Katie is a Colorado-native, BYU graduated, and most importantly, wife to one and mother to three beautiful boys. She is passionate about sharing her experiences with others – especially about pregnancy, breastfeeding, cooking, and crafts. She is currently training to be a Certified Lactation Educator. She loves spending time with her family and helping others find joy in family life.
Carolyn Smith says
I would like to print a list of YW ideas.
Thanks
Ticianne Andrade says
That’s amazing! Thank you for sharing!
I’m from Brazil, and I’m a Stake Young Women President. I would love to share these ideas with the sisters of my stake, but I should translate them into Portuguese to do this. Can I do this? Of course, I would put the source of information (your web page).
Katie says
Yes, please do!!
Bryan T. Gustafson says
With absolutely zero disparagement intended, the author indicates, in sum, that these ideas are largely applicable to young women or young men. When I looked closely at several of them with an eye towards using such ideas for a young mens activity, the ideas are “sappy” and sentimental and not likely to be appreciated by many young men (such as comparing your future mate to qualities found in a candy bar).
Katie says
Hopefully you are able to look past the “sappy” ideas and find ones that your youth group will enjoy 🙂
stefanie says
Thanks so much for all your hard work on this! It is great list and helped me out so much!
Ricky Hamilton says
I’m a little disappointed. The title said “youth activities.” While many of them can cross over everything said “girls.” If you say the list is for both genders I would actually word the text to include both. Isn’t today the day for gender equality (said in jest)?
Katie says
My apologies, Ricky. I originally wrote this list to be shared with the young women in my ward, which is why I said girls. I just got lazy when I wrote this post and didn’t change it out!
brooke says
omgoodness this is an amazing list with so many good ideas
thank you so so much
Jeneta Masson says
Fabulous! Thank you for taking the time to put a comprehensive list of wonderful ideas together.
Katie says
You are so very welcome! I’m so glad it was helpful.
Leilani says
This is amazing!! These ideas are sooooo cool!! I can’t wait to suggest these mutual ideas and do them with my class!!
Katie says
Oh I’m so glad! I hope that there will be some that you all enjoy 🙂