A performance to liven up the campfire
How do you like to enjoy a campfire?
It’s nice to relax while watching the flames or chat with your friends, but it’s also fun to put on performances or play games together!
In this article, we’ll introduce some activities you might want to try during a campfire.
Along with skits, songs, and dances, we’ll also share plenty of easy games that everyone can enjoy—be sure to use them as a reference!
- [Campfire] Carefully selected fun games recommended for recreation!
- Material you can use for skits: a roundup of recommended acts for campfires
- Fun activities that liven up a camp: recreational games
- Songs you can dance to around the campfire. A roundup of recommended tracks for dancing.
- [Elementary School Rec] Recommended Games and Performances for a Fun Party
- A fun, everyone-joins-in game that gets everyone excited!
- [Elementary School] Games and Recreational Activities to Enjoy at a Forest School Camp
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- [For University Students] A Roundup of Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- Great for camping! Recreation games for kids
- Fun activities for junior high school students. Recreation games.
- Recreation Ideas That Truly Excite High School Students! A Fun Collection of Activities
- [For Elementary Schools] Recommended Exhibits and Recreational Activities for a Cultural Festival
Activities to liven up a campfire (21–30)
Magical Banana
Let’s play Magical Banana and get everyone excited! Have you ever played Magical Banana? It might be easiest to describe it as an association game played to a rhythm.
It originally appeared as a segment on a TV show and became a hit! Now it’s a staple of recreational games.
It starts with “Magical Banana! When you say banana?” and you answer with something associated with bananas—like “yellow”—then pass it to the next person with “When you say yellow?” If you miss the rhythm or can’t answer, you’re out.
Who am I?
It has a simple rule: one person draws a theme as the prompt, and everyone asks that person questions to get closer to the correct answer.
If you choose themes that anyone can understand and keep the questions easy to answer, people of all ages can enjoy playing.
Since it’s a conversation-driven game, it’s fun even in the dark when the only light is a campfire.
Because communication is key, it’s also perfect for helping participants bond.
Genghis Khan (also refers to a Japanese grilled mutton dish called ‘Jingisukan’)
This is a dance performed to “Dschinghis Khan,” a disco song from the late 1970s.
It’s often used as background music at school sports days and performances, so many people likely danced it in elementary or junior high school.
In 2023, the Fighters Girl, the cheerleading team for the Nippon-Ham Fighters professional baseball team, also danced it.
There are various choreographies, and it’s fun not only for kids but also for adults, so how about using it as a campfire activity?
Birthday chain
At a campfire, there are often people meeting for the first time, so it’s important to create opportunities for introductions and conversation starters.
Here’s a simple game using birthdays that’s perfect for that.
Without speaking, participants communicate their birthdays to those around them and arrange themselves in order of birth date.
Once everyone is lined up, they announce their birthdays in order to check if it’s correct.
Other than not using their voices, there are no restrictions, so the unique ways people communicate can become great conversation starters afterward.
Row, Michael
I think a situation where everyone gathers around a campfire and sings would create a great atmosphere and be fun.
Instead of just singing normally, adding a bit of a game element could help deepen the sense of unity.
We’ll build “Kogeyo Michael” through a call-and-response between a leader and the participants.
In each preceding verse, the leader specifies who will sing the calls and how, and then the participants sing according to those instructions.
With a relaxed vibe, it seems like a gentle way to liven up the moment.
Can we stand up together on the count of three?
A great campfire activity is a recreation game called “Standing Up Together.” Sit on the ground in a circle and hold hands with the people next to you.
Then, on a unified cue like “Ready, go!”, try to stand up all at once.
If it goes well, everyone will stand, but if the way you apply force or your timing isn’t aligned, you won’t be able to move.
It’s surprisingly difficult, so give it a try.
This activity is also used in team-building workshops, which are designed to help each person perform at their best as part of a team.
The railroad tracks go on forever.
It’s a fun, rhythmic song that paints a picture of train tracks stretching on forever and the scenery you can see from them, paired with a dance everyone can enjoy.
The song’s gentle, cheerful rhythm and its travel-inspired theme make it perfect for a campfire setting.
As you sing, alternate tapping your own knees and the knees of the person next to you to bring everyone’s feelings together.
It’s a delightful group activity that builds a sense of unity through harmonizing voices and forming a big circle.
Adding train-whistle callouts in the middle makes the atmosphere even more playful, so that’s highly recommended, too.