Hi Mamas...I have some ideas but wanted to get some more. I am in charge of kid's games at our family reunion this year. They will be played outside. It's kids from ages 2-12; although I don't know that many of the 11+ yr olds will play these games. They might be involved with other things. I also need some ideas for prizes. I thought of going to oriental trading but any other ideas...
Thanks!
The adults can join in these.. even allow a child to lead a few rounds.
Simon Says and Red light green light.
You could do a cake walk.. but make it so that they win some small prizes..
You can use pinwheels stuck in the ground or little flags in the ground.. Place a number on each.. We used to also pick best dancer, craziest dancer. along with pulling out a number..
3 legged race
water balloon toss
wheel barrow race
sack race (use pillow case or trash bags)
musical chairs
scavenger hunts are always fun.
a piñata
croquet
finger painting or a food fight
Horse shoes, Corn Hole, 3-Leg Race, Musical Chairs, Freeze Dance, Tag, Soccer, Wiffle Ball, Baseball, Kick Ball, Scavenger Hunt....think field day at school
For your youngest kids (2-5), they may be more interested in having a pile of sand to play in with some sand toys and trucks.
As for prizes, what about just some ribbons (Oriental Trading) for everyone who participates. Then have something that every child gets (participating or not) like maybe a water bottle, frisbee, or a few small items.
Corn hole or horseshoes. You could have an bigger kid course and a smaller kid course (so it's fair). You might have to run off the adults too. :)
Parachute games are really fun and so are tug-of-wars. Check your local parks and rec dept. Ours rents out game kits for really cheap. They have the parachutes, tug-of-war ropes, horse shoes, carnival games (ring toss, bean bag toss, ker plunk), soccer equipment, baseball equipment etc.
3 legged race
race with the burlop bag?? -the right name is excaping me
we used to hide change in a pile of saw-dust or sand and dig.
Egg toss
water ballon toss
Prizes.. we would check the dollar store and walmart as well.
Here's some of the sites we've used for ideas:
http://www.family-reunion-success.com/outdoor-lawn-games....
http://spoonful.com/summer/summer-games - if it's hot
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/funny-outdoor-game-ideas-f...
http://suite101.com/article/outside-family-reunion-games-...
But in all honesty, the kids are often difficult to engage in playing games, they want to do their own thing other than the pinata, it's the adults that get into playing the games! (And we do this every year.) They will do crafts at the craft tables, have their face painted and play with another person, so last year we set up board games and Legos, plus had several footballs, basketballs, and soccer balls for them to use in addition to the crafts, pinata and face painting.
We get things on clearance or on sale for prizes...bubbles, sidewalk chalk, crayons, jump ropes, balls, Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars, small bags of Legos, frisbees, water bottles, Slinky's, etc. I go to the Dollar Spot at Target and check their clearanced regular stuff, and craft stores like Michaels and Joann's, they have fun stuff all the time near the checkouts. And I always check out Dollar Tree and often find lots of fun stuff there.
There are websites that show you how to re-create the minute to win it style games. they look absolutely hilarious and fun!
here is just one example
http://www.queen-of-theme-party-games.com/minute-to-win-i...
http://gameshows.about.com/b/2010/04/19/plan-a-minute-to-...
my sister always pulls off an amazing race for everybody- it's gets all ages involved and working together to figure out clues etc. Always a big hit especially for teens (they even help with the younger ones)
