Instead of investing money in an indoor birthday event, take advantage of the free natural landscape, and plan outside games for your child’s birthday party. Outside games allow kids the opportunity to be as boisterous and wild as they want and save you the headache of having to worry about your prized possessions while party goers romp around. For your next birthday event, plan some inexpensive and healthy outside exertion to set your event apart from the standard fare.
Keep in Mind
While heading outside is beneficial to rambunctious kids, it does present some dangers. When planning your outside birthday event, ensure that you have plenty of supervision so that excited guests don’t wander off. Also, select playing areas that are away from potential hazards like large roads to ensure that your party time is safe and enjoyable.
Make Room for Fun
Many outside games require extensive space. If you don’t have a yard large enough to accommodate game play, considering moving your party to a park or other large outside space. Trying to cram a game into a confined space can lead to accidents and could put a damper on your fun. In many areas, park shelters can be rented for a nominal fee, allowing you to set up your entire party at the play-friendly park.
Wet Games
Beat the summer heat with water birthday games. Try a round of Filler-Up. You’ll need two pitchers of equal size, several standard plastic cups and two spray bottles full of water. To play, divide guests into two teams. Set the pitchers on one end of the field and place teams on the other. Tell the teams that, one at a time, the team members must place a plastic cup on their heads and the individual holding the spray bottle must spray until the cup is full. The team member then races with the cup full of water to pitcher. The first team to fill the pitcher wins. Or, give a sponge relay a go. Play this game in a similar, two-team fashion, except place a bucket of water and sponges at the starting line. Instruct players to transfer water by soaking it up into sponges and carrying the soaked sponges across the playing area.
A Walk on the Wacky Side
Give your birthday party guests some outside play options. Try the peanut push in which you lay peanuts in the shells on the ground, and players must push them with their noses to a specified location. Create stilts, and add excitement to a standard race. Using old coffee cans, drill holes in the sides and run string through them. Allow players to step onto the cans and hold the strings to keep them attached to their feet as they venture across a field.
The Classics
There is no need to reinvent the wheel when planning your outside birthday games. Instead, fall back on some classics. Engage players in a round of Red Light, Green Light by standing on one end of a field and asking players to go when you say, “Green Light,” and stop when you say, “Red Light.” Gather some bats and hold a round of dizzy bat races by asking players to spin with their head to the bat and the bat to the ground, and then run the length of a playing field. Or, go with an age-old favorite–sack races. Gather sacks and have players step inside to race across a field.
Photo Credit
- on the playground image by Frenk_Danielle Kaufmann from Fotolia.com
