Kids 4th Of July - Fun & Games For the 4th

NOTE: Please feel free to utilize the game and party ideas listed below for your own personal use. All party and game information listed below is copyrighted material owned by S.L.Amon, copyright 1999 S.L. Amon, Amon Party Collections For Children, therefore, no part of this collection may be copied and distributed for commercial use, or added to another web page, or copied and pasted onto any message board. You are welcome to link to this page if you wish. Thank you.

Patriotic Water Balloon Toss

Fill up some red, white & blue water balloons; tie off the ends; then tie strands of red, white and blue ribbons to the openings for streamers. Have your guests line up into two equal lines, spacing the lines approximately 10-15 feet apart (closer if only younger children are playing); then have each person stretch out their arms and spread out horizontally until only their fingertips can touch. Once the lines are formed and the players are spread out, the players standing straight across from one another will become partners in the water balloon toss. Hand out one water balloon to each of the players on one side and let the toss begin! If you need more information on the rules for a water balloon toss click here and reference "kids games-water balloon toss."

A Fun Idea - If you end up with some leftover water balloons and happen to have some heavy-weight rubber bands on hand, you can tie the rubber bands around the balloon openings to make some water balloon yo-yo's to play with.

Oriental Trading

Bubble Gum Contest

Give each of your guests one red, one white & and one blue bubble gum ball to hold in one hand. Once the gum balls have been handed out, have your guests wait until you tell them when to begin; then have each of them put one gum ball into their mouth, chew it and make a bubble. Have them place the formed bubble into their free hand and immediately put the next gum ball into their mouth and repeat the process until the last bubble is formed. The first player to finish making all three bubbles is the winner.

Uncle Sam Dress Up Relay

You'll need two sets of clothing for this relay which should include an Uncle Sam's hat, a white beard, a blue jacket or shirt (one that's sized to fit the largest guest) and a red clip-on bow tie. (If you don't mind the mess you can use shaving cream for the participants to make their own beard; then have them wash their face and rinse their hands in a bucket before the next player can take their turn). You'll also need a bell for each team.

Have the players form two equal lines spaced approximately 6-10 feet apart. (If there are an unequal number of players, the first player in the shortest line can take a second turn) Place a set of clothing at the beginning of each line; then place a bell approximately 15 feet in front of each line (you can call it a liberty bell). When told to begin, the first player in line must completely get dressed up in the clothing; then march (not run) across to the bell. When they reach the bell, they are to pick it up with their left hand, turn and face their teammates, ring the bell, give their teammates a salute, then yell out "Fore score and seven years ago." Then they must replace the bell, march back to the front of their line, remove the clothing, and go to the end of their line. The next player repeats the process; repeat until the last player finishes. The first team to finish is the winner.

Red, White & Blue Obstacle Course

Obstacle courses are a lot of fun for kids of all ages and can be done as simply or elaborately as you want them to be, depending on the age group that will be participating. Safety is important, so be sure to choose activities that are appropriate for the group that you will be entertaining. Following is an idea for an obstacle course for younger children.

For this obstacle course you'll need a grassy area, 3 hula hoops (red, white & blue if possible), 3 small flags on sticks, a small bucket, three 4-6" rings (preferably red, white & blue), a tricycle, a beach ball, some white spray paint or spray chalk, a small wading pool, some bubbles, pennies, and a stop watch.

Depending on the amount of space you have, you can either set up your obstacle course in a large circle or in a zigzag fashion. Place the hula hoops on the ground approximately 3 feet apart. Approximately 5 feet away from the last hula hoop, place the small rings on the ground spacing them about 3 feet apart and poke one flag into the ground in the center of each ring; place the bucket next to the last ring. Place the tricycle approximately 5 feet away from the bucket and set the beach ball directly in front of the front tire. Mark a 2 foot horizontal line on the grass in front of the ball; then mark another horizontal line approximately 10 feet away. Place the wading pool another 6-7 feet away and fill it with water, some dish soap or bubble bath soap, and enough pennies for the number of participants plus a few extra.

Divide your guests into two equal groups and have each group form a line; then have the first player in each line flip a coin to determine which group will go first. (If there are an unequal number of players, the first player in the shortest line can take a second turn.) Each group will be timed with a stop watch and the group that finishes the obstacle course in the shortest amount of time is the winner. Before beginning, demonstrate to your guests how the obstacle course is to be run. The course will be run in alternating directions, ie., the first player will start at the end with the hula hoops, then the second player will start at the wading pool, and the third player will start at the hula hoops, etc.

After starting a stop watch, the first player begins by running to the first hula hoop, and stepping inside, picks it up and swirls it around their waist 3 times; then does the same with the other two hoops. Next, they go to the small hoops and gather each of the flags and place them into the bucket. From there, they hop onto the tricycle and push the beachball over the 2nd line using only the front tire of the bike to move the ball; both of the back tires must cross the 2nd line. Then the player gets off the bike, turns it around to face back the other way, placing the ball in front of the tire behind the line they just crossed. Next they fish a penny out of the wading pool filled with bubbles and run to the back of their line. The second player starts by getting a penny from the pool, pushes the beach ball over the line with the bike, turns the bike around and sets it up to go back the other way, grabs the flags from the bucket and places one back in each hoop, swirls the three hula hoops and goes to the end of the line. Then the third player starts at the hula hoops, etc. Stop the stop watch when the last player finishes and record the time. Then the next team repeats the process and is timed with the stop watch. The team that completes the obstacle course in the shortest amount of time is the winner.

Reach For The Stars

You'll need star shaped sugar cookies, string and blindfolds for this game. Roll out a batch of sugar cookie dough being careful not to roll the dough too thin; then with a star cookie cutter, cut star shapes. Poke a 1/4" hole in the center of each star and bake according to directions. The hole will close a bit, but after the cookies have come out of the oven, simply poke through the center again. While still warm, sprinkle the cookies with red and blue sugar crystals and let cool. Once cool, tie each cookie onto the end of a long string.

Hang your cookies from a tree branch, clothes line or ceiling; then have your guests each choose a cookie to stand in front of and have them tie on blindfolds. Tell your guests when to begin; then with no hands, see who can finish eating their cookie first.