Ping Pong Toss
Set up 25 plastic cups in rows of five.
Let the children try to throw pennies
or ping pong balls into them to win
candy. You can create bonus cups
by putting a gold star sticker on the
bottom of a few of the cups.
If they land their penny in that cup
they can win twice the candy. Or as
a fun alternative to those carnival
games that give out live gold fish, you
can give out mini bags of gold fish
crackers.
Target Game
Have kids try and shoot ping pong
balls off the tops of golf tees or two
liters with a water gun. Push gold
tees into Styrofoam block or set up
about five two liters in a row with lids
removed.
Place ping pong balls on top and let
the player shoot until all the water is
gone from their gun. Decide how far
back they should shoot depending
on their age. Don’t forget to have a
bucket of water nearby for gun refills.
Football Toss
Have the kids try and toss a football
through a hanging tire or hula hoop.
Three chances per turn. For more of
a challenge you can space the targets
out and perhaps assign higher candy
values to the harder to make shots.
Mystery Box
Have the kids reach into a decorated
box(shoe boxes are perfect)and try
to identify the object inside without
looking. Have lots of objects hidden
away to switch out. Ideas might
include:
• spoon
• half an apple
• sock filled with rice
• key
• sunglasses
• roll of toilet paper
Face Painting/ Tattoo
Station
Have one carnival booth set up for
face painting. This is a traditional
favorite at the carnivals and really
adds to the carnival theme party
atmosphere. Offer fun carnival
tattoo’s to double the fun.
Jellybean Jar
Fill a jar full of jellybeans and let the
kids try and guess how many are
in the jar. The closest one wins the
whole jar!
Pin the Boo! on the Ghost
Paint a ghost onto posterboard, and
cut out a construction paper “Boo!”
for each child. Place rolled tape on
the back of each Boo, and have the
children take turns trying to pin (or
tape) the Boo onto the ghost. The
child whose turn it is is blindfolded.
Erase the Pumpkin
We bring the chalkboard outside,
with a drawing of a pumpkin on the
board. We hand the kids a damp
sponge and they keep throwing until
the pumpkin is erased. We also play
this inside, over a drop cloth, and with
a sponge that an adult wrings out
before the kids start throwing.
Go On A Gourd Hunt
We buy several gourds per child, and
have a big gourd hunt. We give each
child a paper bag, and they face the
fence and close their eyes while we
quickly scatter gourds throughout
the yard. Then the kids turn around
and hunt for the gourds.
Spooky Freeze Dance
I give each child orange and black
streamers, and we dance to while
waving the streamers around. When
I pause the music, everyone freezes
until the music starts playing again.
Jump Hay Bales
Buy a few hay bales, and let the
kids climb all over the hay bales. It
requires no special prep, and kids
really enjoy it.
The Bean Bag Toss
Plausibly the handiest thing to have
on hand for any kid’s party is a small
selection of bean bags. Use them for
knocking over stacked cans, throwing
at a target, tossing into a bucket, or
for a quick game of Hot Potato. Use
squares of fabric about 5x5” sew
three sides together, fill with beans,
and then sew the last side. Or you
could buy some at a store. They could
easily be left plain or decorated with
just about anything.
The Milk Bottle Throw
Classic carnival game, right? Stack
soda bottles, plastic cups, or empty
soup cans and then knock them over
with a ball.
Mini Golf
Maybe you have a few golf balls and
putters around your house. One golf
ball, one putter, and an empty soup
can are all you need to put together
an easy golf game. Have kids knock
the ball into the can. Whoever does it
in the least amount of strokes wins.
A few other ideas:
• A laminated target which the kids can shoot a Nerf gun at
• Face painting
• A magic show
• A duck pond, a la a real carnival:
Fill a baby pool with water, and
write numbers on the bottom of
rubber ducks. Float the ducks
in the pool, and when kids
choose one out they get tickets
equal to the number on it.
• Bowling, using a store bought,
outdoor bowling set
• A “photo booth”. Also known
as: Just a place set aside for the
kids to get together and
wear silly masks while getting
their pictures taken.