Recommended for childcare! Game and activity ideas to liven up a summer festival

Wobbly Ghost Target Game

[Make-and-Play Craft] Wobbly Ghost Target Game ♪ Let’s make it and have fun ♪ Perfect for festivals [For ages 1–3]

Here’s an idea for a “ghost target game” that could be used for summer haunted houses or Halloween decorations.

It’s easy to make: just cut construction paper into ghost shapes or inflate balloons, then stick on facial features! Using decorative tape or yarn to add a three-dimensional look is also recommended.

Once the ghosts are ready, attach string and hang them from the ceiling.

This version sways gently and is fun to aim at, but since it doesn’t topple like a standard target, if you use it as a game, it might be best to assign point values to each ghost and compete by the total score of successful hits.

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sasashina

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[Indoor Curling] How many points can you get?

2018 Shimizu Nursery School Summer Festival

Let’s enjoy a curling-style game indoors.

Kids can stick their favorite character onto a wheeled platform and simply slide it toward the areas marked with points! Since controlling the strength is tricky, it might veer off in unexpected directions.

You could also divide the target into easier and harder corners to match the children’s ages.

Because it takes a little time to get the hang of it, it’s helpful to set aside some practice time.

Hope they rack up lots of points!

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tsukada moe

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Candy grab

Candy Grab & Scoop Set

Candy grab games are full of dreams, aren’t they? You can make up your own rules, but a common one is that you can take home as much as you can grab with one hand.

These days, many allergy-friendly snacks are available, so it’s a good idea to choose the candy carefully so that children with food allergies can join the game.

On the day, if you let both adults and children participate, people will naturally start cheering for whoever’s playing.

It would be great if everyone could score lots of treats as a fun festival memory.

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Sparkle scooping

Two-year-old Ena-chan tries glitter scooping at a summer festival #shorts

A glitter scoop game that’s popular at festivals and easy for kids to try.

It’s a booth where children scoop up shiny floating trinkets and super balls bobbing on the water.

There are all kinds of scoopable toys—candies, animals, goldfish, bugs, and more—so choose according to the target age.

You can float the toys in an inflatable pool, a washbasin, or a bucket; if your budget allows, renting a basin with a flowing-water feature could make it even more fun for the kids.

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Plastic Bottle Bowling

On hot days, indoor play is the way to go☆ Plastic Bottle Bowling

Bowling’s popularity shows signs of a modest comeback here and there.

Many malls and shopping centers now have bowling alleys attached.

Some even have kid-friendly lanes with no gutters.

With that in mind, we recommend a handmade, warm-and-fuzzy “PET bottle bowling” booth for festival stalls.

For small children, use empty plastic bottles and a sponge ball; for older kids, use plastic bottles filled with water and a volleyball—prepare pins and balls suited to each age group.

The key to making it a hit is to set a rule where players receive a prize no matter how many bottles they knock down.

ring toss

Apia Summer Festival: Festival Stalls and Ring Toss Corner – Jul 27, 2013 (HD)

When it comes to festivals, you can broadly divide things into food stalls like takoyaki and cotton candy, and participation-based attractions like goldfish scooping and lotteries.

Among the participation-type games, the classic of classics has to be ring toss—you just can’t leave it out.

One reason it’s so recommendable is how easy it is to customize: you can change the throwing distance based on the children’s ages, or adjust the size of the rings.

You can probably rent a ring-toss target board—one with numbers and wooden pegs—from a rental shop.

It’s also fun to lay out snacks directly and use them as the targets to toss rings onto.

And of course, it’s almost a given to display one or two big snacks that are practically impossible to win.

Great for sparking conversation!

Goldfish scooping

Handmade Festival: Goldfish Scooping ♪ Easy Craft! Festival Vibes! Make it and play!

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!

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