Award small carnival prizes to all game winners.
From games to tasty treats to prizes, carnivals pique the interest of many kids. When hosting a carnival, use your imagination and a few supplies to create exciting games children will love. Awarding prizes, such as plush toys, candy and inflatable toys, to all game winners will entice the children to try every game.
Target Practice
Fill three or four soda pop bottles with about one inch of sand to make them sturdy. You can use 20 oz. or two-liter bottles. Take the lids off the bottles and place the bottles on an outdoor table. Put a Ping-Pong ball on top of each one of the soda bottles. Mark a standing line about 10 feet from the bottles; adjust the distance according to each player's age. Have children use a water gun to try to shoot the Ping-Pong ball off the soda bottle. If a player can shoot the ball off the bottle in 30 seconds, he will win a prize.
Penny Toss
Place several plates on a table and space them about eight inches apart. Mark a line about 10 feet from the table, adjusting the distance as necessary. Give each player five pennies to try to toss onto the plates. If a player lands a penny on a plate and it stays there, he will win a prize. Tell the kids they have to toss the pennies gently to get them to stay on the plates.
Can Pyramid
Spray-paint several soda cans and allow them to dry. Place the cans in a pyramid shape on a table. Kids can use beanbags or rubber balls to try to knock down the cans. Mark the standing line depending on each player's age. Award prizes to kids who knock down all the cans.
Ring Toss
Use two-liter bottles set up in a triangle shape for a carnival-style game of ring toss. You can purchase rings online or use embroidery hoops from your local craft store. Children must try to toss the rings around the necks of the soda bottles from a designated line. For each bottle that a child rings, award her a prize.
Lucky Lollipop Tree
Purchase several bags of lollipops and placed a colored dot on the end of some of the lollipops sticks. Paint the bottom of a cardboard box brown and paint green leaves on the top of the box to resemble a tree. Poke several holes in the box and place the lollipops in the holes. Children select a lollipop from the "tree." If there is a colored dot on the end of the stick, they win a prize. If the lollipop has no colored dot, they still get to keep the treat.
Tags: each player, soda bottles, about feet, about feet from, down cans