When all the kids in our family get together during the summer and the holidays we are always looking for ways to keep them entertained and to burn off that excess energy. Our family get-togethers include eight children of various ages so we always try to think of ways to entertain them as a group. The little ones do not want to be left out of the fun with the bigger kids so we do our best to make sure the games we pick are fun and easy for all ages. We have our favorites but I think the first game is our all time favorite. Even the older kid’s love playing this game and sometimes we adults get involved as well.
1. Hide and Seek – Who does not like to play hide and seek? Kids of all ages love this game and I even get in on the action when I can. One particular holiday I remember well was when all the other adults went out to finish a few last minute shopping errands and left me with all the kiddos. My daughter was the oldest and I believe she was fourteen at the time so she was a big help at the time. I was left in charge of finishing up the holiday cooking as well. When the kids started to get antsy I put the two oldest kids in charge of the youngest two and they had a blast playing hide and seek. We set down all the rules and set boundaries on hiding spots. The kids played for at least an hour and all had a wonderful time. I used to get invited to play quite a bit but when I started to jump out and scare them when they found me I got restricted to finding. Go figure.
2. Simon Says – This is a fun game as long as you have an older child or an adult in charge. The person calling out instructions says something like “Simon says to stand on one foot.” Everyone does what Simon Says. But if the caller does not say “Simon Says” but simply states “Stand on one foot” and someone does it then the person or persons who move are out of the game. The last one standing is the winner. The commands are generally said and done quickly so that the caller can take them off guard when they do not say “Simon Says”. It can get really silly and quite funny at times.
3. Red Light/Green Light – In this game, one person plays the “stop light” and the rest try to touch him/her. All the other kids line up about fifteen feet away from the person chosen to be the stop light. The stop light person faces away from the other kids and calls out “green light”. The kids then start to move towards the stop light but they should be encouraged not to run because at any point the stop light can call out “red light” and turn around. If anyone is caught in motion at this point then they are out. Then when the stop light turns around and says “green light” again it starts all over. The person to actually reach the stop light individual is the winner and becomes the stop light. If everyone is caught before reaching the stop light, the stop light person wins.
4. Relay Races – All the kids in our family loved it when the adults would set up relay races and we had a little friendly competition. We sometimes would have passing off the baton races and would pair up a couple younger children with an older child on each team. We had sack races and three-legged races. Children love these games and this is a fun one for the adults to get involved in as well.
5. Water Balloon Toss – A favorite of ours in the summer because it will definitely end with everyone getting wet. I have yet to meet a child who does not love to play with water balloons but you do have to have supervision for this game especially with the older children, and mostly the boys! They start a water balloon fight and the little ones can end up getting the short side of the stick. We loved the water balloon toss. You start by standing a few feet apart and tossing the water balloon to your partner and do your best to catch it gently without breaking it. You continue to move farther and farther apart as you toss the balloon and the last partners to have a balloon which is not broken are the winners.
There are so many lovely old games to play with your kids to keep them active and happy. These are but a few. Scavenger hunts are always a hit, find something round, find something green, find something hard, find something soft, etc. Then send them all out in the yard and whoever comes back with everything first wins. Hop Scotch, Dodge Ball, Red Rover, jumping rope, tag, and on and on. This is a great way to get your kids up and moving and laughing which is always a plus.