Friday, April 23, 2010

Picnic Games for Kids

Water Bombs filled with waterImage via Wikipedia

Picnics bring to mind memories of playing games and running about in wide open spaces. Kids still love to run and play. Use these picnic game ideas to keep your kids occupied during the next family outing.

When several kids are present, group games can be played. Divide the kids up into teams. A little friendly competition will get the appetite going. Choose games that are easy and fast paced.

Two such games are the potato sack race and the three legged race. With the potato sack race, kids can compete in teams of two or three. Each player hops to the opposite line and tags their partner who then completes his/her leg of the race. Once the final member of the team completes their segment, the race is over.

The three legged race can be played with kids and adults. Kids can pair up with their parents or each other. Tie a string or a scarf around one leg of each partner. The teammates will have to hang on to each other to keep their balance. When the whistle sounds, each team runs as fast as they can to the finish line at the other end.

Kids can test their catching skills with the water balloon toss. Each team of players starts the game facing each other in the middle. With each toss, the tossing partner takes one step backwards. This continues, until there is one team remaining whose water balloon has not burst. Be sure to bring a few towels to wipe off the participants. Water balloons can be filled at home and transported to the picnic venue in a container.

Older kids and teens will want to play games with a bit more action. Sporting goods stores sell outdoor game kits like badminton and volleyball. It takes very little time to set up the net and you are ready to choose your teams. Choose a parent to act as referee and score keeper for the games. In cooler weather, touch football will keep the blood flowing.

Young kids would be happy with simpler activities. Bubbles are entertaining to them. Instead of using the small wand that comes with a bottle of bubbles, purchase the big wand that creates bubbles of all sizes. Soak the wand in the bubble solution and let the kids run behind you and try to catch them.

Games give kids something to occupy their time at a family picnic. Pack your game equipment the night before so that nothing is forgotten. Don’t forget the first aid kit-you may need it.

Article by:

Nicole Dean welcomes you to www.ShowKidstheFun.com — a free website filled with activities to make memories with your children and www.ShowMomtheMoney.com — a fun and informative resource for moms who want to make money from home.

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10 comments:

Kay | Postcards Printing said...

Potato Sack Race and 3 legged race are the games that I definitely enjoy when I was younger, even now, whenever there is a family outing or team building in my previous office, We never missed to play this games.

Ian said...

It was a hot day yesterday and my 7 year old son and his 3 friends were bored. I grabbed a bucket of water and tore up some of my old car washing sponges in half. We then proceeded to have an all in water fight throwing wet sponges at each other, it was great fun. Very simple but lots of fun. Lucky I'm a big kid at heart!!

Unknown said...

Kay - those are definitely fun ones, too!

Ian - sounds like a total blast and a really good idea, too! Your kids are lucky that you're a big kid at heart!

zororiver | babysitting games said...

Hi, this brings back my old memory about Potato sack race. It was a great time, and now i'd like to have it again with my kids. thanks a lot for sharing!

Smooking said...

looks interesting, thanks :D

Unknown said...

You're both welcome! :-)

RIA Development said...

Thanks for the games suggestion.. I was just Searching for few... Many Thanks for this..

Unknown said...

You're welcome! :-)

Anonymous said...

I really liked your post. In this age of smart phones, ipods, Wii, Xbox, and Play Station video games, it is often difficult to get your kids to go back to the basics (which is the most fun). I also like to combine "old school" toys and new stuff. For example, my 7 year old just started collecting Mighty Beanz, which are like small weeble wobbles. Each Mighty Beanz is of a different person or animal, such as a lion, wrestler, or historical figure. I started a website called The Mighty Beanz Blog at http://mightybeanzblog.com that I work on with my son. We try to make the posts educational as well as fun. I view this as a combination of old types of toys with new technology.

ann smith said...

thanks for this very cute idea.. let me keep this reserved for my kids party.