Inexpensive School Carnival Game Ideas

Bomb the Cans

• For this game, you will need empty soda cans and tennis balls. Stack the empty soda cans like a pyramid on a shelf. Mark a standing line about 10 feet away from the cans. Give each player one tennis ball. He has once chance to hit all the soda cans and knock them down. For smaller children, allow them two chances to knock the cans down. Award each player that knocks all the cans down with a small plush animal to take home.

Penny Toss

• Get an old bed sheet and paint different colored dots on the sheet. On each dot, write the names of the prizes. On one dot, write large plush toy--or whatever your top prize may be. Create line about 10 feet from the sheet, which contestants must stand behind. Give each player five pennies to toss on the sheet. The player tries to toss his pennies on the dots to win prizes.

Prize Dig

• Hide small, inexpensive prizes in dirt for children to dig up. Fill a small plastic swimming pool with sand and hide small prizes in the sand. Give each player a shovel and allow him to dig up a prize. Keep a bucket of water next to the pool so players can wash off their prizes.

Guess the Amount of Candy

• Purchase a couple of cheap bags of candy. Take glass jars and fill a couple of glass jars with a different kind of candy. Be sure to count each piece of candy you put in the jars and write down the number. Place the jars of candy on a table, and let children write down their guess and name on a piece of paper. At the end of the event, read the guesses and the player who guessed the closest amount of candy in each jar wins that jar of candy to take home.

Lollipop Dots

• For this game, you will need a large bag of lollipops and piece of cardboard. Shape the cardboard like a tree truck and poke holes in the cardboard to put the lollipop sticks in. Take a marker and mark a colored dot on the end of some of the lollipop sticks. Put the lollipops on the cardboard "tree." Each player gets one lollipop; if it has a dot on the end of the stick, she wins an extra prize. Either way the players get to keep their lollipop.