Bowling is a ball game loved by people of all ages.
However, it’s not always easy for young children or older adults to make their way to a bowling alley and enjoy it.
In particular, many seniors—who lived through the bowling boom—may be thinking they’d like to try it again.
This article introduces handmade bowling ideas that you can enjoy at home or in care facilities without going to a bowling alley.
Many of these ideas are fun both to make as a craft and to play with, so please enjoy the making process as well.
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Enjoy at home! DIY bowling ideas (1–10)
Paper Core Bowling
Why not reuse toilet paper rolls, which every household has, to make a DIY bowling set? It’s a great craft to do with kids and is also recommended for recreational activities in senior care facilities.
For the pins, simply decorate the paper rolls with vinyl tape or similar materials.
For the ball, crumple up some newspaper and wrap it with vinyl tape.
Next, fix the paper rolls onto a piece of thick cardboard or similar base—here’s the trick: arrange them so they topple over one after another.
If you tape the inside of each roll to the base, you won’t have to set the pins back up each time they fall! This eye-opening idea makes a great conversation starter and is sure to liven up your crafting session.
Plastic Bottle Bowling
Let’s make eco-friendly bowling using empty plastic bottles! Prepare as many empty bottles as you like and add a little water inside as a weight.
Then decorate them however you want—wrap colored paper around them, stick on some stickers, or draw pictures—and you’re done! The more water you put in the bottles, the higher the difficulty, so adjust the amount according to age.
For the ball, we recommend using something not too heavy, like a lightweight colored ball.
String-attached pin
If you attach a string to each bowling pin, you can simply pull on the bundled cord to reset the pins to their original formation! It’s a handmade bowling set packed with clever ideas.
Make the pins by decorating empty plastic bottles with vinyl tape, etc.
Attach a string to each pin and tie the strings together.
When playing, set up a rod at both ends of a long table, run another rod horizontally between them, and hang/position the pins.
Adjust the string lengths so the pins stand upright properly.
It’s great for events too, so try it out in various settings!
Bowling made from cardboard
Let’s use the cardboard that keeps piling up from online shopping to make a bowling game.
You can cut the cardboard into pieces about the size of regular pins and attach some weight to make the pins.
Or, for a totally different approach, it could be fun to make a tabletop-sized mini bowling set.
For the ball in the mini version, marbles are recommended! You can roll them as they are, or you can build a cardboard launcher with a slight incline for rolling.
Customize it based on the play space and the players’ ages.
Kick Bowling
When we think of bowling, we usually imagine knocking down pins by rolling a ball held in the hand.
However, for older adults who have difficulty using their hands or standing up to throw the ball, kick bowling is highly recommended! Make pins that are significantly larger than usual using cardboard or thick paper, and prepare a large, colorful ball that’s easy to kick.
To make it easy to knock down the pins even without a strong kick, try to keep the kicking spot and the pins fairly close together.
Consider incorporating this into recreational activities at care facilities.
Try using various empty boxes
Let’s make pins in various shapes using empty snack and tissue boxes.
Any empty box you’ve finished using at home is fine! If kids are playing, start by hunting for empty boxes—turn it into a game right from the making stage.
Decorate the boxes you find by covering them with cute patterned paper or adding stickers.
For the ball, you can use a wad of crumpled newspaper or flyers, or look around the house for something that rolls.
It’s a bowling activity where you can enjoy the whole process: gathering materials, crafting, and then playing!
Bowling with bottles of lactic acid bacteria drinks
Here’s a small and cute bowling game you can make using lactic acid drink bottles.
Since the bottles themselves are small, you can even play on a tabletop! After rinsing out the contents, decorate the bottles however you like.
For the ball, try using a wad of newspaper or other paper rolled into a ball, or make a DIY ball by combining strips cut from a paper carton.
It only takes a light touch to play, so it’s enjoyable not only for children but also for older adults.
Gather some lactic acid drink bottles and give it a try!
Try turning the pin into a character
Design the pins you knock down in bowling as characters and give it a try.
Anything can be used as a pin—plastic bottles, paper cups, you name it! Once you’ve found what to use as pins, just decorate them with your favorite character designs and you’re done.
It can also be fun to purposely choose a villain or bad-guy character and play the hero by knocking them down in bowling! For the ball, prepare something that matches the size and weight of your pins, like a balled-up newspaper or a lightweight plastic ball, and start playing!
One-Touch Bowling
Here’s a DIY bowling idea where the pins won’t scatter and can be reset with a single touch.
It’s great for activities at kindergartens, nursery schools, or day service centers! For the pins, just decorate plastic beverage bottles.
Next, use thick paper like cardboard as a base and tape on ring-shaped strips of cardstock.
Place the plastic-bottle pins inside the rings and you’re done! Choose a light ball, such as a vinyl ball.
Even if the pins fall, simply stand the base upright and they’ll reset to their original positions with one touch!
Paper Cup Bowling
How about an easy-to-make bowling game using paper cups? You could simply place the cups upside down, but they don’t knock over easily that way, so let’s make pins by connecting two paper cups at their rims.
It’s a good idea to put a few marbles or small stones inside as weights.
Then decorate them however you like—draw pictures, add stickers, or glue on origami paper! For the ball, crumple up newspaper or flyers into a ball and wrap it with tape or origami paper to finish.