Beach Balls and Think Tanks: Do you love games and entertainment for kids and adults alike?

Discover the best tips for keeping your kid entertained while they’re at the beach. Beach vacations can be great times of relaxation and enjoyment.

Balloon games mostly revolve around obstacle courses and having teams race against each other to be the first to complete a challenge. Since balloons travel so well and it’s hard to lose one, they’re the perfect game or activity for kids, leading to hours of active fun.

Have you ever played with smaller children?

It’s a favorite pastime of parents everywhere. Little ones really like playing hide and seek with their parents. When it comes to hiding things from their parents, though, there are always rules. You have to hide something in your own place first. Or you can’t hide anything at all. And sometimes, especially when parents aren’t around, it can be tough to know exactly what to do. That’s where Balloon Games come in handy. They’re great for children of all ages (and adults too!) because hiding things doesn’t require verbal or physical communication. Just stick a few little buggers in a balloon, and off you go!

Balloon pops

An addictive, fun, and challenging family game for all ages. Balloons are tossed from one to four directions in various patterns, and the goal is to knock them all into the pool. If there are multiple balls simultaneously, they all have to land in the pool — no switching off between them! The rules are simple — if one ball gets caught by a crab, then that’s it — it’s outta there! The catch is that some balls land in pools farther away than others — so keep an eye on your surroundings and plan your moves accordingly.

Have you ever wanted to play beach volleyball?

Just make a little sand area and lay down some beach cards or plastic. Then set up a simple tableau with some other items. You could do this with a piece of fabric or newspaper, but I like using plastic because it’s cheap and easily blown away if you need to practice concentration while throwing the ball. Create some net like division, then just volley your balloon or beach ball back and forth!

Paddleball

For a variation on volleyball, use simple paddles to swat the balloon. If you don’t have Ping-pong paddles or badminton rackets, make some by taping paper plates onto fat craft sticks, wooden paint stirrers, or cardboard tubes (paper-towel size is best).

Need to get moving? Add one to your basket — Pool Noodles.

Use pool noodles to propel balloons and beach balls for lots of high-energy play. Try a floaty version of baseball using noodles as bats. Or challenge kids to push their balloons along an obstacle course (a line made of chalk or tape, with obstacles to go around, under, and through — think cardboard boxes made into tunnels, laundry baskets propped up with blocks, so on). Tennis cue ball replacement is a fun, low-cost way to keep your hands busy and healthy.

Increase your own sense of humor and to relieve pressure — Bossy Ball

A bossy ball is a really fun game for kids to play. The basic idea is that each kid has their own little ball. The goal is to take the ball away from your opponent without getting hit by a ball from them. The trick is to keep track of where your ball is in relation to the field.

Motor Skill Development — Balloons and Strings

Good activity to do with children. It helps them learn how to work with their hands and allows them to practice some different skills. You can tie a string to a balloon and let it fly into the air, where it gets tugged by other children. Some children will catch it and take turns flapping their arms in the air, while others use their feet to help lift the balloon higher. As it rises, others will experiment with kicking or punching the bag to make it go faster.

Fun, easy-to-do relay race!

Dwadle waddle (or simply drape) is a simple game played with a ball under your arm. Keeping the ball with you for as long as possible without bumping into anyone or falling over, you win. Since the ball is flexible, you can also move it around in different directions, often crossing paths with other runners. If you perfect the waddle, it becomes easier the further you go; at some point, you’ll be able to move much more quickly than others around you.