A family reunion is all about spending time with the family, of course, but there may come a time when kids spend time with just the kids, and adults spend time with just the adults. As a matter of fact, this should happen, to give each age group a chance to catch up with one another about age-appropriate things.
Adults will likely spend their time together in a wonderland of nostalgia, perhaps playing horseshoes or cards while enjoying a few adult beverages. Kids, on the other hand, are a bit more difficult to entertain, and will likely need a few planned activities to keep them busy and happy.
Fun Things to Do For Kids
Here is a list of 10 fun family reunion activities for kids that will keep them busy for a bit:
Tie-dye: Buy packs of t-shirts, socks, and anything else that would be fun to tie-dye. You can use food coloring or buy kits specifically for this project. Don’t forget some puffy paints and other accents to give the project a part two!
Water games: Water balloons are a must, but they only last for so long, so be sure to have a bunch of squirt guns, water bombs, sponges, and anything fun for the water to keep them running around for hours!
Stepping stones: These make great keepsakes and look great as a decoration in any garden. Oh, and they’re easy to make! All you do is pour cement mixture into pie molds, and the kids do the rest. They can add handprints, stones, marbles, beads, or anything they might find outside on a nature hunt!
Large-scale finger paintings: Finger painting can be fun for any age! Buy white sheets (yes, the ones used for a bed!). Even check thrift stores for used sheets, they will be used for painting, after all! Lay the sheets flat with plates of finger paints and let the kids have at it! If indoors, make sure to line the floors with newspaper to protect them.
Friendship bracelets: Family can be considered best friends, too! Buy different types of beads, charms, yarn, twine, anything that can be made into a bracelet. The girls will love this one!
Bubbles: Sure, have regular bottles of bubbles, but if you really want the kids to have a blast, fill the bottom of a kiddie pool with bubbles and find a hula hoop that’s not too big to fit. The kids can make gigantic bubbles! Another thing they can do is stand in the middle of the hoop in the pool, and have two other kids slowly raise the hoop up above their heads, and the kid in the pool will be “inside” a bubble!
Drum circle: Okay, maybe not just drums, but any and every kind of instrument people have: Guitars, bongos, tambourines, chimes, rain sticks, and so on. You’ll likely need just one musically-talented child in the group to lead, and the rest can follow and have fun!
Cupcake decorating: Bake cupcakes and frost them with white. Place one cupcake in the center of one of those round painting palettes, and fill each paint holder with a different topping: sprinkles, m&ms, skittles, gummy bears, chocolate chips, jelly beans, colored sugar, and so on.
Scavenger hunt: Plan out a nice, long scavenger hunt, but make the last step ridiculous and fun like “to win, you have to eat this hotdog in under a minute!” Make it extra silly to keep the kid’s attention.
Flip flop/sneaker decorating: Buy some cheap flip flops and Keds-style sneakers, both male and female colors and set up a table with puffy paints, plastic gems, cartoon character decorations, ribbons, and anything fun to use for this project!
There you go, ten family reunion activities for kids! I understand that some of these family reunion activities are not suitable for indoor play, so I tried to include an even balance of activities that can be done indoor, outdoor, or both.
When it comes to planning family reunion activities, you will need to use your best judgement, and make yourself aware of any rules or limitations of your chosen venue. You don’t want to end up with a huge mess and/or a forfeited deposit!
Whatever activities you plan for the kiddos, I’m sure they’ll have a blast just being together as family!
