Games that liven up festivals. Ideas that children can enjoy.
Festivals and fair days are fun events that kids can take part in, aren’t they? In addition to local festivals, many kindergartens, nursery schools, and elementary schools also plan summer festivals, don’t they? In this article, we’ve gathered ideas for festival games and activities recommended for those who want to find games that kids will love or want to know about events beyond food stalls.
It’s packed with fun ideas you can enjoy both indoors and outdoors, so please use it as a reference.
If you’re making the games by hand, having the children help will make great memories!
Games that liven up festivals. Ideas that children can enjoy (11–20)
ball throwing
I don’t think there’s anyone who has never been to a festival or a fair.
And the festivals and fairs you went to as a child are the kind you remember even as an adult.
When it comes to fun-filled fair games, “ball toss” is the go-to—if you’re unsure, pick this booth! If there are lots of elementary school kids, the trendy strikeout-style ball toss is recommended; it’s fun for both adults and children.
For festivals focused on younger children, lay the targets flat instead of standing them up.
Using sponge balls makes it enjoyable even for little kids.
Sometimes a ball will just roll and accidentally drop into a hole.
You could even set up two versions tailored to different age groups!
Whac-A-Mole
How about trying whack-a-mole, a classic game that people of all ages can enjoy? At arcades, moles pop up from a flat surface and you hit them with a hammer, but you can easily make your own by crafting the holes from cardboard and moving the moles in and out from the back.
Of course, the moles are operated manually behind the scenes.
Give it a try—work hard to pop the moles up and pull them back down!
Basketball
If you’re looking for a game that excites crowds at festivals and fairs, basketball is a great pick.
It’s easy to incorporate into preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school events, and its simple rules make it highly engaging.
Using a mini hoop or basket, players just throw a ball from a set distance, and every successful shot draws cheers and energizes the venue.
You can adjust for age by giving younger kids smaller balls or closer shots, and increasing difficulty for older kids.
Adding a scoring system or prizes boosts motivation even more.
It’s a versatile game that’s fun both indoors and outdoors, so we highly recommend it.
Handmade food stall
When you think of fair and festival events, the first thing that comes to mind is food stalls, right? How about making the stalls themselves out of cardboard? Not only the day of the festival—building the stall is fun too, so it’s perfect for building excitement and atmosphere leading up to the event.
It’s surprisingly easy: just combine a few large cardboard boxes to make the table section and attach the roof on top.
Let the little kids take charge of decorating the signs for takoyaki or cotton candy—they’ll have a blast.
If you have red cardboard, you could even make homemade lanterns!
Yo-yo fishing
Yo-yo fishing is a classic at night stalls and temple fairs.
There’s a hook at the end of the paper string, and you use it to snag the little rubber ring attached to the yo-yo water balloon and lift it out.
Since the string is made of paper, it will tear if it gets wet, so be careful to keep it dry, and lift slowly while considering the weight of the yo-yo.
Ball rolling game
The ball-rolling game is where you roll a ball over a bunch of paper cups lined up, and you get the prize in whichever cup the ball lands in.
Since all you do is roll the ball, it’s a festival game that even small children can enjoy.
You can put prizes in the paper cups, change the cup colors and make it a points-based game, or put winning tickets in only a few cups—feel free to get creative.
If you keep the prizes separate, you can get just the paper cups and a ball at a 100-yen shop, so it’s very easy to set up.
Games that liven up festivals. Ideas kids can enjoy (21–30)
Goldfish scooping
Goldfish scooping—the classic sight at summer festivals and fair stalls.
Didn’t everyone try it at least once as a child? It’s also fun just to watch goldfish of various sizes, from red ones to black telescope-eye goldfish, gracefully swimming about.
And goldfish scooping really shows kids’ personalities: some plunge their poi into the water without hesitation, while others carefully survey the different fish and think hard about which one to scoop.
You don’t see it as often these days, but it’s something you’d love for them to experience at least once.