Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Enlist several assistants to help set up and supervise game booths. Borrow some tables from your church or another organization you or a friend belong to, and buy lots of dollar-store toys for prizes. Purchase or make tickets for winners to redeem for the prizes. Buy extra prizes to distribute to kids who don't win any or win significantly fewer, and plan categories, such as "Honorable Mention," so no one's feelings get hurt.
Give out only as many carnival tickets as you have prizes. Divide the tickets equally among the kids and tell them they can play any game as many times as they like, but to win a prize they'll have to surrender a ticket to the game booth. Allow them to take turns choosing their own prizes after all the tickets are gone and they're through playing.
Set up 10 containers as bowling pins at the end of a table. If the children are very young, use clean, empty food cans and don't leave any spaces between them. Use smaller cups or glasses with spaces between them for older kids. Give them three ping pong balls for each turn, and tell them to try to toss the balls into the containers.
Repeat Step 2, but give the children some quarters to toss instead of ping pong balls. Use smaller coins for older kids.
Remove the top flaps from a long, flat box. Turn it upside down and cut three holes of different sizes at one end. Have the kids stand at the other end and roll golf balls down the length of the box, trying to get them into the holes. Assign point scores to each hole, with the smallest worth the most.
Set up three 1-gallon buckets in a straight line, one behind the other. Leave about a foot of space between them. Have the kids try to toss three golf balls or baseballs into the buckets. The farthest bucket gets the highest score.
Prop a large sheet of plywood against the wall of a building, preferably with no windows. Blow up a bunch of balloons and attach them to the board with masking tape or thumbtacks. Use big balloons for young children, smaller ones for older kids. Let the kids toss three darts, trying to pop the balloons. Make sure you have lots of extra balloons to replace popped ones.
Stack empty cans in a pyramid at one end of a table. Give the kids beanbags or softballs to throw at the pyramid. Designate a number of cans to be knocked down to win a prize.