You don't have to wait for the county fair or a carnival to come to town for your kids to experience the fun of carnival games. These inexpensive games can be set up in your own house or backyard. They are a perfect addition to a child's birthday party or a neighborhood party. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Beanbag Toss
1. Cover a large box with white butcher paper and attach the paper with tape.
2. Turn the box upside down and use a pencil to sketch a picture of a character on one side of the box, such as a clown or a puppy. The character should have a wide open mouth.
3. Use the box cutter to cut out a hole where the character's mouth is. The larger the size of the mouth, the less challenging the game will be.
4. Color the character with marker. If necessary, add more tape around the mouth to keep the paper secure.
5. Place the box on the ground and put a line of colored tape on the ground. This is the line children have to stand behind to toss beanbags into the box. You can put different colored lines on the ground for children of different ages.
6. Give children three tries to get a beanbag in the character's mouth. Give prizes to children who get all three beanbags in, or give points for each beanbag and award prizes according to point levels.
Pyramid Toss
7. Stack plastic cups upside down in a pyramid on a table. If it's a long table, you may wish to set up three or four pyramids in a row.
8. Tape a line on the floor a certain distance from the table, or a few lines for children of different ages to stand behind.
9. Give children three tries to throw a soft rubber ball at the pyramids.
10. Award prizes for how many pyramids the children can knock completely over.
Ring Toss
11. Set various 2-liter bottles of soda on the ground or a table.
12. Put a line on the ground or a few lines for children of various ages to stand behind.
13. Give the child three tries to throw a plastic ring around one of the bottle necks. You can give the 2-liter bottles of soda away as prizes or have other prizes for the winners.
Darts
14. Use markers to draw targets on a poster board. Have each target worth different points.
15. Set the poster board up on a wall or an easel. Place a tarp on the ground under the poster board so the sticky darts that fall don't get dirty and lose their adhesive.
16. Place lines on the ground where children have to stand behind and give them three darts to try to hit the targets. Give different prizes for the different levels of points achieved.
Fish Pond
17.Set up a screen. This can be a blanket or shower curtain hung from a line strung between two trees or a doorway. A blue blanket or an inexpensive shower curtain with an aquatic print on it are good options.
18. Attach string to a wooden dowel, like a fish pole. Attach a paper clip to the end of the string.
19. Have the children throw the string over the screen. An adult attaches a small prize to the paper clip and tugs on the string to let the child know she has a "catch."
Tags: stand behind, children three, poster board, three tries, 2-liter bottles, 2-liter bottles soda, ages stand