Swaps

Bring some S.W.A.P.S (Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere):

Swaps are dodads, usually little pins, that each troop makes to share with other Girl Scouts at the event.  It's a fun way to mix up the girls, and rub elbows with other Girl Scouts.  Here's the GS site on swaps.       Here's another GS site.    Here's a bunch of examples.

How do we make them?   Swaps 101. 

Parts of a SWAP

1. A small, durable craft (preferably made of more than sticky pre-cut foam shapes) 
2. A safety pin 
3. A tag with the troop number, and anything else such as a motto.  Best not to put girls contact info on the swap. 
4. Have fun with your girls.
   

Materials?  Anything.  The only limit to SWAPS are size, time, and your imagination.  Typical materials include foam, buttons, string, sticks, bags, pipe cleaners, twine, ribbon, wooden shapes, beads, clay, and whatever else is at your disposal. 

Keep it simple....  Here's a simple one for starting out.  Here's a site that sells the coil-less pins, $0.65 for 35.

Or get fancy.... make several different ones, use a theme.    At Leading the Way, Chula Vista used the Wizard of Oz theme for several different swaps including ruby slippers, diplomas, hearts, medals, and wands.  They earned their spirit award!

Here's a site with lots of ideas.  Kits here.

How many should we make?

Try to make one for each girl attending, if each group makes 90, everyone will get one, but make as many as works for you and your girls.

We'll have the girls exchange swap pins before dinner.  The girls will come together, and adults usually step back as the girls exchange, hunt, barter, and trade the pins.  It's just like trading that the kids do at school. 

What then?  Some girls pin them to  hats, but they can be pinned anyplace, a banner, a scrapbook, a lanyard.