Are you throwing a 4th of July party but aren’t quite sure what kinds of games to play? Don’t worry, all you need is a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing and you will have a top-notch party planned in no time! The 4th of July is a holiday that is almost synonymous with backyard barbeques, parades, and fireworks. Let this be the fun party game theme that accompanies the reason why we celebrate the 4th of July.
Any game that can be played outdoors is a good place to start. The 4th of July is also typically a time where most people, no matter where you live in the country, are experiencing warm weather. So, feel free to introduce water games to your 4th of July celebrations as well. They also provide a nice way for guest to cool off if needed.
Having outdoor races is fun for kids and parents to both participate in and to watch. One great game that you can do at a 4th of July party is a relay race. Relay races are relatively simple in their concept but can be adapted to fit any theme. For example, use American flags as the object that each team member must race to retrieve before tagging the next member of their team. Using water balloons in relay and other race games adds a new dimension of fun to the game when at any moment someone’s balloon may pop. Create rules of your own such as that the children must march to the goal instead of run or that the target item, such as the water balloon, must be carried back in between your legs. You can adapt the rules to fit the level of difficulty you think that the group participants can handle. Capture the Flag is another type of race game that can be adapted to involve, what else but, American flags as the goals. Keep in mind the proper respect and reverence that all must show the American flag during these activities.
Another great outdoor 4th of July party game that is less active is having a sidewalk chalk contest. Give the participants some 4th of July related theme. Allow everyone a certain amount of time to work on their masterpieces. Judge according to age groups or choose an overall winner. Sidewalk chalk is a great 4th of July game because it is appropriate for most ages. After all, you are never too old to draw. There is relatively little planning and clean-up as well because all you need is sidewalk chalk and the rain or sprinklers can clean off the driveway in no time.
Of course, candy is a kid’s best friend so any game that involves candy is going to be popular. Gumballs in patriotic colors can be used in several ways. One idea is to fill a jar with the candies, after counting them beforehand, and then having all of your guests write their guess as to how many candies are in the jar. When all guesses have been submitted the one who had guessed closest to the actual number wins the jar. Bubble gum blowing contests are also popular but could get a little sticky especially with younger people. Bubble blowing contests can take on many forms, but in this example all you need to do is to give each participant a red, white and blue gumball. What the player has to do is chew and blow a bubble with the first gumball before moving on to the next gumball. The fastest one who can consume and blow bubbles with all three pieces of gum wins!
Perhaps you are looking for a game that is a little less messy or physically demanding. There are all kinds of crossword puzzles, word searches, word scrambles and other guessing games that you can print off of the Internet or create from scratch yourself. You can test your guests’ knowledge of the things associated with the 4th of July in a competitive manner by timing people to see who can get the most answers right in the allotted period of time.
