We have a whole pack of resources and ideas for Trefoil members that you can download.

Download resources

These lists are not exhaustive. You may well have already tried many of these ideas, but we hope that you have found something new to you.

Thanks go to your country and region programme and development advisers for who worked together to produce these lists of ideas: Andree Best, Eleanor Bird, Wendy Clegg, Lynne Harper, Wendy Hinton, Carole Jones, Morna MacDonald, Jean Mullane, Gillian Rees.

Sheila Leete
National programme and development adviser

Additional programme ideas for in-person or virtual meetings:

  • Try origami - like making a hat or a boat.

  • Make your own mini Guy and guess which villain each Guy is.

  • Make your own Christmas crackers and think of a motto.

  • Have a bake off or competition to decorate cakes or other party food - pick a theme and set a time limit.

  • Pamper themed meeting with face masks and a guided meditation.

  • Have a go at making a rope mug coaster. You can find instructions online.

  • Try out a virtual escape room or why not give making your own a go?

  • Try out creative challenges with items from around the house. Collect together the following 10 items before coming to the meeting or Zoom call, and at the meeting you have 10 minutes each to make a hat, a 3D animal and a ‘thank you’:

A duster

Scissors

3 elastic bands

3 coloured pens, pencils, or felt pens

An old shoelace (or a similar length piece of string)

A sock

A cardboard box that is ready for recycling – maybe an old food packet

A clean plastic bottle that is ready for recycling

An old magazine that is ready for recycling

A safety-pin

  • Try a Zoom play, in person puppet show, or write your own.
     
  • Get quizzing - each member of your Trefoil writes their own round of quiz questions for the rest of the group.
     

  • (Virtual) book club - organise a book club with your fellow Trefoil members and then discuss the book in person, or on a messaging or video chatting platform.

  • Activities themed around guiding songs - try one of the following activities based on popular songs sung in guiding and scouting.

  • Come up with your own Desert Island Discs find the information here.

  • Download this virtual memory game or make your own generation-game style remembering challenge with items from around the house.

  • Have a ‘jam’ session. Put varying amounts of water into some jars or bottles and suspend these from a horizontal pole like a broomstick. Tap with a spoon adjusting the sound by adding or taking out some of the water. With practice you will be able to play a scale or a simple tune. Challenge each other to play short extracts from 2 or 3 pieces of music and ask everyone to write or draw what the music suggests to them. Afterwards, share and compare.
members in high-vis, bin bags, and litter pickers stand on a windy beach with Trefoil written in the sand in front of them

In person meeting ideas

  • Litter pick starting at normal meeting place and dividing into smaller groups to go out for an hour with litter pickers and bags.
  • If you're involved in Girlguiding, or have links to the local area, why not try a 'get to know Trefoil' evening and perhaps welcome a new member or 2!
  • Make up words to a well-known tune (and dance?) about your Trefoil to use as a recruitment tool.
  • Paper plate puppets: add ‘hair’ (wool, old scouring pad etc). Sellotape a light plant cane. Tables turned on their side make a stage, now you are ready to do your show. Why not try scenes from guiding history and perform for the local units? 
  • Go on a local area walk finding local landmarks, learning history, or even try geocaching.
member wearing a red top and apron paints a flowerpot carefully

Conversation starters

  • Show a piece of jewellery which you bought for yourself and tell when, where and why you bought it.
  • Share an interesting or funny article of news from a newspaper or other media.
  • Recite or read a verse - or 2 - from a favourite poem or song.
  • Tell about a funny incident whilst on holiday.
  • Cook together such as mug cakes, quesadillas, or pizzas
  • Everyone scrunches up some cooking foil and creates a sculpture to illustrate something they have done during the past week. Members have to guess what. Don’t forget to recycle foil afterwards! 
Member in blue gilet having a tea party outside in the garden with cuddly tigers and scones

For members who can't come to a meeting

  • Try a tea party in a bag: each member is hand delivered a little bag containing a letter, a teabag, a biscuit, a paper puzzle and a hyacinth bulb to plant. Everyone has afternoon tea on the same day at the same time and think about each other. You could try this on Zoom too.
  • Have a ‘pavement artist’ evening. All you need is some thick, coloured chalks, a pavement or driveway, or a washable table top if you can’t get down that far, and a bucket of water to clear up afterwards. Take your artistic skills to visit members who can't make the meeting.