Games that liven up festivals. Ideas that children can enjoy.
Festivals and fair days are fun events that kids can take part in, aren’t they? In addition to local festivals, many kindergartens, nursery schools, and elementary schools also plan summer festivals, don’t they? In this article, we’ve gathered ideas for festival games and activities recommended for those who want to find games that kids will love or want to know about events beyond food stalls.
It’s packed with fun ideas you can enjoy both indoors and outdoors, so please use it as a reference.
If you’re making the games by hand, having the children help will make great memories!
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Games that liven up a festival. Ideas kids can enjoy (31–40)
Children’s Bon Odori
Speaking of bon-odori, it’s a quintessential summer tradition and an event that everyone—adults and children alike—can enjoy together.
Festival music and Japanese drums are performed atop a yagura decorated with neatly arranged red-and-white banners and lanterns, while everyone dances in circles around it.
There are also many children’s bon-odori songs used as anime ending themes.
Even without a yagura, just playing the music and dancing is sure to get everyone excited!
Kids Flea Market
How about hosting a kids-only flea market, a “Kids Flea Market”? From listing to selling, everything is done by children, and even the customers are only children.
Kids often get bored with toys quickly or outgrow them, leaving many unused.
Knowing that the next person will make use of them makes the seller happy and also fosters a greater awareness of valuing things.
Slime Treasure Hunt
A slime treasure-hunting game where you turn the pool water into slime and search for hidden prizes inside.
There’s a product called slime powder, and using it lets you easily transform water into slime.
Lots of kids love slime, and if you play in summer it might feel nice… or maybe a little gross? Either way, you can enjoy a quirky kind of treasure hunt.
Put in small items like super balls, and the child who collects the most within the time limit wins! How about offering prizes to the winners? If you fill a vinyl pool with water and run it there, it won’t take up much space, so it’s great for small festivals.
agar play
Agar-based safe clay: agar clay.
With its unique, jiggly texture that’s surprisingly addictive to the touch, this clay is made primarily from food ingredients, so it’s safe even if a little ends up in the mouth—perfect for playing with small children.
There are products from various brands, but you can also make it yourself, which might be fun to try.
You can use agar and water, and even a mold like a milk carton to pour it into, so you can make it with items you already have at home.
Mix in different food colorings to create lots of colorful batches!
soap bubble
Bubbles are loved by both adults and kids, and it’s exciting when lots of them float around all at once.
We used to play by blowing through straws, but now there are all kinds of bubble products.
There are ones that make big bubbles and ones that create many bubbles at once—you can choose what to use depending on the occasion.
Games that liven up festivals. Ideas that children can enjoy (41–50)
Curling game
A handmade curling game that lets you enjoy strategy and a satisfying feel using familiar materials.
Cut cardboard to your preferred size to create the course, then lay a PVC sheet on top to form a slick playing surface.
Use plastic bottle caps as stones and flick them with your fingers toward the target area.
Beyond the fun of aiming by adjusting force and angle, competing with friends makes it a hit at festivals and events.
You can also customize the caps—add stickers or weights—expanding the gameplay depending on your ideas.
Balancing competitive play with crafting, it’s an easy-to-join game for children from lower to upper elementary grades.
omikuji (a Japanese fortune slip typically drawn at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples)
Speaking of food stalls and festival nights, that means the grounds of a Shinto shrine.
And when you think of a shrine… yes, omikuji fortune slips! If you offer a variety of omikuji, they’re sure to become the talk of the town.
Not only store-bought omikuji—making your own is a great idea, too.
Come up with irresistibly fun themes together, like love fortunes, future fortunes, or grade fortunes.
You can also get creative with how you hand them out: have a swimming goldfish choose a fortune, pick one by shooting an arrow, or draw one with a roulette wheel—the possibilities are endless!