Reid and I went to the fun fair at Melissa’s kids’ school last Thursday night and once again we had lots of fun. I came away we 13 ideas of activities to do with large groups of kids, eat a fun fair, community picnic or a birthday party:
1. Lollipop garden – you need a large piece of green styrofoam with many lollopop stick-sized holes and many lollipops, some of which will have colour on the bottom of their stems. The coloured stems entitle the holder to a prize. Everyone gets to keep the lollipop they choose.
2. Pocket lady/man – sew patch pockets onto a lab coat and place one or more little “prizes” in each pocket. The children get to empty whichever pocket they choose and if they choose any empty one, the get to choose again.
3. Basketball throw – turn a “meeting room” chair so that the back touches the ground and place a large, round waste can in the centre of the legs. The children try to toss a basketball into the waste can and have it stay there. Getting it to stay is a challenge in and of itself.
4. Beanbag toss – a large board with holes and some beanbags are the minimum requirments but someone with artistic skills could paint an amusing picture that incorporates the holes.
5. Hockey shot – hang signs in the top and bottom corners and also in the cente of a hockey net and award points according to what sign was hit. The number of points could determine the size of the prize.
6. Face painting – small stencils can be used with traditional face paint and sponges or, if volunteers with some artistic skills are available, face paint pencils are also available for freehand drawing of small designs. With unlimited time and talent, freehand painting could be offered but the kids in line will be restless. Recipes for making your own facepaint from cold cream and food colouring are available.
7. Fishing game – a long stick with string attached and a bulldog clip on the end will make a safe “fishing pole” to be cast over a board painted with an underwater scene. Volunteers hiding behind the board can clip an age-appropriate prize to the fishing pole.
8. Balloon pull – a room with helium-filled latex balloons in a variety of colours looks a bit like an undersea flower garden. There is no contest with this, the children can choose the balloon or their choice. If giving a prize is important, some balloons could be marked and prizes awarded for selecting the “lucky” balloons.
9. Cake walk – in our Strawberry Shortcake Sweet Treats Carnival
book, the children simply chose a numbered circle to stand on and then a number was called but in the game Reid played, the participants walked around in a circle while music played and when it stopped, they moved to the closest number and waited while a number was drawn to determine the winner.
10. Sponge dunk tank – the logistics involved in building, filling and staffing a dunk tank are a little daunting but the fun of soaking a principal, teacher or other person need not be sacrificed. A painted board, like those at tourist attractions that depicts part of a scene with a place for a person’s face to peek through, and some large, utility sponges and a bucket of water will achieve nearly the same effect with much less effort. The “dunkees” can even wear rain gear if the weather is a bit chilly.
11. Hammering challenge – about 40% of the kids in the school will be attending a new school in the fall and to get them excited, there was a “help us build the new school game”. I think slightly older kids would like the opportunity to test their strength by hammering a nail into a board. Prizes can be awarded based on the number of hammer swings required to push the nail down a certain distance.
12. Mini putt – there was a fancy golf challenge at the school but I think that kids would have fun trying to put a golf ball into a glass, small sand pail or large bucket. Par for each could be determined in advance.
13. Ring toss – I remember doing a ring toss as a kid with rubber canning rings and a peg but I’m not sure how many people have access to the rubber rings anymore. At the Upper Canada Village fair last year, the ring toss game was played with rings made from twine and the pegs were nearly a metre tall. I think shorter pegs would work best but you would want to put up a barrier around them to be sure that people didn’t trip on them. As always, prizes would be determined based on how many rings were on the peg at the end.
All of the above games could be played on a per ticket basis. Keep the proceeds for a charitable endeavour. Charging a nominal fee will also help kids to prioritize where to go and (hopefully) spread them around the games.
I would consider spicing up the usual door prize draw by giving people the opportunity to “vote” for the basket they’d most like to win by placing their ticket(s) in separate buckets. The baskets on offer were well-planned: a large flower planter; “family fun” (playing cards, board game, snack food, etc.); and car cleaning supplies.
And if you’re standing in a long line to buy tickets like I was and you have ideas on how to improve the process, the games or whatever, don’t complain and say that you’re going to send an email to the organizers. Go to the next parent council meeting or join whatever group is responsible for the planning. Melissa said that there are about 1000 kids in the school and 12 people attend the parent council meetings. I’m guessing the complainers I heard weren’t among the 12. I was frustrated and offended on Melissa’s behalf.
I sure hope Reid’s new school will have a fun fair because I have all of the ideas to share.
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