|
With the recent heat waves and summer rain showers it’s about time we celebrated getting wet! Get out the paddling pools, water bombs and hose pipes and enjoy some refreshing water party games with the family – mum’s & dad’s included!
1. Water obstacle course
Kids will love racing each other around a water obstacle course, particularly if it’s a hot summers day and they want to be in their swimmers! You can easily create a fun water obstacle in the garden using paddling pools and other garden objects. Get the kids to crawl through tubes whilst being sprayed by a garden hose, jump in a small paddling pool, throw a wet sponge into a bucket and even slide across the finish line (using a 12 foot long plastic tarp that has a hose of water running down it).
2. Water race
A favourite summer party game at all picnics and parties, whatever the age! Divide the kids into teams with each team forming a line. At the head of each line is an empty bucket with a line marked across the middle. Some distance away is a bucket full of water. The first member has a plastic cup with which they must run to the full bucket and collect a cup of water. The player runs back and pours the water into the empty bucket. The first team to reach the marker on the bucket is the winner.
Kids will probably get wet, so best to do on a warm day and have some towels handy. Top tip: Add a little food colouring to the water to make it more fun.
3. Water balloon target game
Kids will love any party game that involves water balloons! You can buy water balloons. Once you’ve filled up the water balloons, get the kids to take it in turns to throw the balloons into the bucket. The winner is the person who gets the most balloons in the bucket – award water guns as prizes.
Divide into pairs and get ready for a close shave. One player in each team holds a squirt bottle full of clean, cool water. The other slips into swimmer's goggles and spreads shaving cream all over the lower half of their face. When the "go" signal sounds, the "barber" begins to squirt the face of his partner, from a distance of about five feet, trying to wash away any sign of shaving foam. The first team with a clean shave wins the race. Kids will get the chance to "cut up" with the next activity. Find out more about water balloon cut-up on the next page.
5. Water Splash Jump Rope
For this fun water game, you'll need a jump rope, some water, and a couple of plastic cups. You'll also need to have two people to twirl the jump rope. While the jump rope is being twirled, the players will need to hold their cup of water and attempt to do three jumps in a row, trying to keep their water from spilling. The person who has the most water in their cup after jumping is the winner. Of course a variation of the game is to continue playing the game until one person only has water in their cup.
6. Tug of water war
Choose a grassy patch in your backyard, garden or park. Draw a line, using spray paint or chalk about 5 ft long on the grass. Tie a knot at each end of a thick piece of rope (20 – 30ft long) and measure the halfway point with a coloured piece of ribbon. Lay the rope along the line and divide the kids into two teams and place a sprinkler at the middle point where the ribbon is tied. Once the teams line up on either side of the rope, the tug of war game begins. The first team to pull a member of the other team over the line and into the sprinkler wins.
7. Watering the plants
For younger guests, hand them each a watering can. Show them all the different variety of flowers and plants and get each of them to water their own area.
8. Slippery water slide
This is so easy to set up (providing you have some sort of toy slide or slight gradient in your garden). It provides hours of fun and tons of laughter. You need to purchase some plastic tarp (it needs to be at least 4ft wide and 12ft long) and attach it to the end of a slide of on an incline within reach of a hose. Spray the entire water slide with water and lay the hose at the top of the slide so the water continues to run down. Make sure there are no rocks or sharp objects sticking up to puncture the plastic or hurt children. Then, dressed in their swimming costumes or trunks, get them to slide down one by one – some going headfirst, feet first or even cross legged. Make it competitive party game by marking who gets the furthest on the slide.
9. Water balloon toss
Pair off kids into teams of two and line them up facing one another about 3ft apart. Give each team a water balloons Each team begins to throw the water balloon back and forth, taking a step back after each successful toss, widening the distance between them. The team that can toss the balloon the farthest without dropping or exploding the water balloon wins.
10. Water limbo
Use a hose pipe to spray a jet of water horizontally and get the kids to take it in turns to limbo underneath. Lower the jet after each successful limbo and put on some calypso or fun party music to get the guests in the full summer swing.
Top tip: Don’t forget the water pistols in the party bags
|
