WHAT ARE FUN GAMES TO PLAY AT THE BEACH?
- Beach Scavenger Hunt
- Beach Ball Hot Potato
- Beach Ball Relay
- Best Sand Art
- Sand Pictionary
- Water Bucket Relay
Regardless of the time of the year, Filipinos love visiting the beach. Whether it is a long weekend, somebody’s birthday or a huge family reunion, the beach remains constantly a great destination to relax and have fun. Beaches offer plenty of activities for adults like banana boat rides, cliff dives, snorkeling, and free diving. Yet, activities for kids are comparatively limited. To keep the children busy, here is a list of some fun activities and challenging games that even adults can play.
BEACH SCAVENGER HUNT (WITH PHOTOS AND VIDEOS)
The beach scavenger hunt can be played by any number of opposing teams with more than two members. Normally, scavenger hunting requires collecting items on a list. To make things even more exciting and challenging, include specific attributes like color, smell and size. Instead of just a “plastic bottle,” urge the teams to seek a “green plastic bottle.
Also, include supplemental instructions on the items to scavenge the list that the children may require to photograph or take a video of. For example, “a person’s footprint in the sand” or a “boat”. The first one to collect all the items and complete the list of pictures and videos wins the game.
Here are some of the items typically found at the beach that you can include in the list.
- Birds (specify a particular number of birds)
- Hat
- Grilling pan
- Tent (specify a color)
- Surfboard
- Sandcastle
- Various kinds of shells (specify a number)
- A bag filled with trash
- Moss
- Perfectly shaped stone
Take note that playing the scavenger hunting game requires close supervision. Each team must be accompanied by an adult to ensure the children’s safety.
BEACH BALL HOT POTATO
The game begins with everyone sitting in a circle. Like the Trip to Jerusalem game, music is involved. The game starts once the music is played. As the music plays, the beach ball hot potato is being passed around either clockwise or counterclockwise. The game master will be the one to decide when to stop the music. Once the music stops, the person holding the ball is out of the game. The last person left is the winner.
BEACH BALL RELAY
Similar to the beach scavenger hunt, the beach ball relay can be played by any number of teams with two or more players. Each team must have their own beach ball and objects they must wear like sunglasses, hats, arm floaters and flippers. Team members must take turns running from the start to the finish line, wearing the objects and with the ball between their knees. If a player drops a ball, they must go back to the starting line. The team with all members completing the challenge wins.
BEST SAND ART
As much as kids love playing extreme running and jumping activities, they like to exercise their imagination and be creative. At the end of the day, after all the strenuous games, play the best sand art game. Grab a bucket of water to moisten the sand. You must have a list of objects and easy things to draw in the sand. Whoever produces the most creative sand art wins. Here are some ideas that can be done with sand.
- Fort and sandcastle
- The human mermaid
- Animal shapes
The game can be played individually or by teams. Ensure each player or team will have their own bucket of water. After playing sand art, make sure to fill up holes and flatten surfaces to avoid injuries.
SAND PICTIONARY
Sand Pictionary must be performed by teams of four or five members. Before the game starts, there are a few things that you must produce. Write down a list of beach objects on separate scraps of paper. Ensure the papers are folded neatly so that the content is hidden before placing them in a bucket. Each team picks out a paper and is required to portray the object in the sand, the other members of the team must guess what is being drawn. After each correct guess, the team member drawing must subsequently select another paper and draw the object in it. The process goes on until three minutes is up. The team that guessed the most objects wins.
WATER BUCKET RELAY
Another game that requires balance and speed is the water bucket relay. The game is best played individually. Provide each child with a cup, spoon or large shell. These will be their tools to fill up an empty bucket. Children will enjoy the challenge of trying to prevent the water from spilling before they pour it in the bucket. The person with the highest water level collected in the bucket wins the game.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Nothing makes a beach trip more fun than some good beach games. Not only do they keep the kids entertained when they get tired of swimming, but it is equally a great way to bond. With water and sand, kids will never run out of games to play with. As one would expect, it will be even more fun for them if you join the games. So start listing down the games and items you will need to provide a memorable beach trip for the kids. When playing the games, always bear in mind the set of beach etiquette to maintain order and cleanliness of the beach.
