We have to entertain a bunch of kids while their parents are at a meeting. I need help thinking up stuff to do with them. They will be aged from more or less 4-12 I would guess, and we need to do inexpensive stuff with them, mainly outdoors. They have already said no to a waterfight
So far we have come up with face painting (obvious I know), t-shirt printing with potato prints and making their own juggling balls with rice and balloons (somone elses idea, they swear it’s great).
What other stuff can we do with the kiddies that won’t cost too much, isn’t too complicated, messy, etc. We will be outdoors I think, but not able to roam too far
Divide the kids up into teams with 2 to 4 players on each team. One person on each team will be the mummy and each team will be given 2 rolls of toilet paper. They will have 5 minutes to complete to circle around the mummy and pass the toilet paper to each other while wrapping the mummy in it. Either have the kids vote on the best mummy or you decide which group made the best mummy design.
Scavenger hunt
Make a list of things for teams to look for in their pockets, or in the field where you are playing, rocks, sweet gum or other distinctive seeds, a gum wrapper or other bit of litter. Divide into teams or pairs. Make sure you have older kids with littler kids to help with reading the list. Make sure each team has a list and a crayon or pencil to mark off the items as they find them. Tell the kids there is a bonus item that is not on the list in the field and whoever finds it gets a prize for the group to share and hide a bag of gum or mints in a tree, under a rock or newspaper or something.
Blindfolded stinky shoe search
Put a blindfold (or just have them put an old pillowcase from home over their heads) on each person and have them take off their shoes. They then throw them into a pile in the middle of the floor. The referee then jumbles them all up and then shouts GO! The first person to find their shoes by touch and smell alone and put them on is the winner.
Who moved?
Have all players sit in a circle and then chose a person to be it. Have whoever is it wait away from the group so they cannot see or hear. Have one (for younger) or two to four (for older) players move where they are sitting within the circle. When it returns they have to figure out who has moved.
Capture the flag
Divide into two teams. Divide the play area into two parts so that each team has opposite halves. Each team will receive a flag (large bit of colorful cloth or old towels of different colors) to hide in their area; they will also have a jail for anyone that they catch in their play area. You should have a jailer for the inmates of the jail. Allow each team several minutes to hide their flag. Once the flags are in a safe place, signal the players to search for the flags. When a player from team A enters into team B’s territory, a player from team B tries to tag them and send them to jail. You can only get out of jail if one of your team members touches you again without them getting caught. Use colored ribbon tied to the arm of one team to distinguish who’s on what team. The first team to find the other teams flag is the winner.
Sardines (a variation of hide and seek)
Pick one person to hide and the rest of the players look for the hider. As the seekers find the hider, they are to squeeze into hiding place with hider. This is done until the last seeker finds the hiding place. The last person is the new hider.
Woah! Those are some great games I tink I will be playing some of them this summer with my adult friends! There is nothing in this world that beats a good scavanger hunt in my opinion! The shoe game might be a bit dangerous with my lot tho
I forgot to mention that the kids will likely not be there all at the same time, but rather on a more “drop in” basis which is why we are trying to do “station based” activities, like the t-shirt printing stall and the juggling tent.
