What are you doing for the 4th of July? How about some retro fun? I’ve noticed that most old fashioned activities don’t cost much… and they are lots of fun. I guess I can have my pie and eat it too.
Here are a few ideas that might take you back a few years…
Three Legged Race
- a bandanna for each team
- a whistle
- crepe paper for a finish line (to get your photo finish!)
Watermelon or Pie Eating Contest- I don’t know about you but I have a hard time thinking about a pie that I slaved over being gobbled down in seconds… so I’ll opt for the watermelon.
Water Balloon Toss- A team of two tosses the water balloon to each other. With each successful catch you take a step back. You can also play in teams of three, two people hold either side of a large towel and try to catch the balloon on the towel.
- filled water balloons
- you can also play with large towels (great for littler kids)
Hula Hoop Contest- I used to rock at these… see who can go the longest.
- hula hoops for contestants
Wheel barrow race- one contestant holds the legs of the other while that person races on their hands
- strong arms!
- a whistle to start the race
- crepe paper for a finish line
Horse Shoes- many parks have courts if you are lucky enough to find them. I have a Rubber Horse Shoe Set
- horse shoes
- two stakes
Bean Bag Toss
- bean bags – I’ve sewn them from small pieces of fabrics and filled them with beans.
- targets- any thing from a large piece of strong card board with holes cut in it to buckets placed with different points depending on distance.
Thinking about these activities really takes me back to my childhood… to blazing hot July 4th’s complete with sparklers, fireworks, watermelon and great memories.
for the pie eating contest, we use just cheap aluminum pie plates with chocolate pudding in it. not really a pie, but definitely less expensive and time-consuming then the real thing!!
ANd the lovely messy faces covered with pudding afterwards make great photo opportunities!
How about a watermelon seed spitting contest, grin. Our church had them every year, and yes I did it once, won, retired to let someone else try.
Ha, I was just musing last night if people eat all those seeds or if you have to spit them out =)
Great ideas for my 24th of July Pioneer activity day this month! I also plan to use your taffy pulling that day as well as letting the kids make their own stilts using old #10 cans and rope. Thanks for the ideas! I am also hoping to figure out a way to make my own handcart for my kids to pull around using wood scraps.
I saw this on a 4th of July roundup and just had to pin it. I hope you’ll share your best post of the week on my Friday Flash Blog Linky Party going on ALL weekend at The Jenny Evolution.
Jennifer
thejennyevolution.com