Handmade summer festival games: a collection of ideas you can enjoy at kindergartens, daycare centers, and at home.
At the festivals held all over during summer, you can enjoy all kinds of games like goldfish scooping, target shooting, and raffles! If you could bring fun summer festival games to a daycare, kindergarten, or even your home, the kids would definitely have a great time! In this article, we’ll introduce a bunch of ideas for handmade summer festival games.
They range from games you can actually play at festivals to make-believe play with a summer festival vibe.
Pick a few ideas from the ones we’re about to share and try hosting your own DIY summer festival!
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Handmade summer festival games: A collection of ideas you can enjoy at kindergartens, preschools, or at home (1–10)
Pretend play: running a stall at a festival
When you think of festivals, this is the scene that comes to mind—why not set up some food stalls and play shopkeeper? You’ll get that lively fair atmosphere packed with people and the excitement of “I wonder what kinds of stalls there are?” With yakisoba stands, takoyaki stands, shaved ice stands, and even ring toss, it’s hard to choose just one! Hang up some lanterns and have the kids wear happi coats to really set the mood, and it’ll be even more festive.
Best of all, it works great with either a small group or a big crowd.
Whac-A-Mole
If you have a whack-a-mole game at a festival, both adults and kids are guaranteed to have a blast! Make one by hand and liven up your summer festival.
Adults should handle decorating the cardboard base and cutting the holes.
The kids’ turn starts with making the moles.
Using an empty egg carton and construction paper, you can create round, cute moles.
Let the kids draw the faces too, so each mole has a unique expression.
Have the kids also take charge of moving the moles in and out by attaching them to wooden skewers or chopsticks.
You’re sure to have an exciting, heated game!
mini basketball
@brechojuribas Construímos um jogo de Mini Basketball para a festa junina, querem tutorial? #tutorial#festajunina#arraia#festajunina2025#minibasketball#basketball#jogo#minijogo#vaipraforyou#foryoupage#fyp
♬ som original – Ju Ribas
Let’s make something with items you have at home! Here are ideas for a mini basketball game.
These are great for anyone who wants to set up a basketball-like corner.
You’ll need cardboard or boards, paint, construction paper, plastic cups, double-sided tape or glue, clothespins, and balls made by crumpling paper.
The appeal is that you can make it with materials found at home or in a classroom! Give it a try.
You can also adapt it by changing to a hand-thrown ball method to suit the child’s age.
Handmade summer festival games: A collection of ideas (11–20) that can be enjoyed at kindergartens, nursery schools, or at home.
watermelon splitting
Here’s an idea for enjoying the popular summer festival game “suikawari” (watermelon splitting) in a safe and secure way.
Use plastic bowls and decorate them with green and red paper or paint, then stack them to create a watermelon.
Instead of a stick, use a bat made from rolled-up newspaper so even small children can participate safely.
By adjusting the rules for different ages—preschool, kindergarten, or elementary school—it becomes a game anyone can enjoy.
It can be done indoors and is easy to set up.
This is a perfect idea for summer events that gets everyone just as excited as a real watermelon-splitting game.
Goldfish scooping
You can even make a classic summer festival game—goldfish scooping—by hand! All you need are everyday items like a milk carton, vinyl tape, and PE tape.
First, make a “poi” scoop using a ring-shaped strip cut from a milk carton and a drain strainer net.
It’s safer for the teacher to handle the cutting and stapling.
Wrap the vinyl tape around the scoop you made.
For the goldfish, cut the milk carton into an egg shape, draw goldfish-like patterns, and attach PE tape as the tail with tape—that’s it! These goldfish actually float on water, so it feels more realistic.
Hope you catch lots of goldfish!
Wobbly Ghost
Let’s throw shuriken at the ghosts! Here’s a fun idea for wobbling ghosts.
Ghosts are usually thought of as scary, but using construction paper, let’s make some cute ghost targets! What you’ll need: balloons, construction paper, twine, curling ribbon, scissors, glue, tape, and colored pens.
The ghosts hang from the twine and sway gently, so aiming with shuriken will be tricky.
Making the ghosts together with kids is part of the fun, too!
fishing
Enjoy a fishing game at your homemade summer festival.
First, prepare sea creatures like fish and octopuses to catch.
You can use free illustration materials, or have the children draw them for extra fun.
Laminating the pieces you make will make them water-resistant and safe.
If you don’t have a laminator, use laminating film from the 100-yen shop.
Attach a paper clip to each piece, then fasten string and a magnet to a pair of chopsticks—and you’re done! Catching the fish is fun, but playing the shopkeeper and serving customers adds a different kind of enjoyment.
Have everyone make lots of pieces together!