Pick church carnival games that are simple to play.
Church carnivals are community outreaches that provide entertainment for kids in a safe environment but creating a list of games can be challenging. Carnival-style games with varying skill requirements will appeal to most children and adults. Whether searching for a set of seasonal inspired games or simple activities for a few booths, church festival games will give kids a chance to win prizes and candy.
Pumpkin Patch Game
Perfect for fall, the pumpkin patch game is simple and requires little skill. Before the carnival begins, toss hay and set out hay bales in your booth or game area. Use paint markers to mark a few plastic or real pumpkins on their bottoms. Hide the marked pumpkins among the others and place them on and around the hay bales. Children have to guess which pumpkins have the markings to win a prize. Move pumpkins around frequently to keeps kids guessing. Give candy to everyone who plays, but reserve toy prizes for those who actually find a winning pumpkin. You might give kids three chances each.
Sponge Slap
Before the carnival, design a standing cartoon board with a cut out face. Use a religious figure like a large, muscled Samson as your image. Have a volunteer stand by the board while placing his or her face in the cutout. Prepare a bucket of cold water filled with three large sponges. As kids line up, they toss the sponges at the volunteer, one at a time. Anyone that smacks the volunteer’s face gets a prize.
Soul Pop
The "Soul Pop" game requires moderate preparation. You will need several filled 2-liter soda pops and plastic rings. You will also need index cards with scriptures written on them in permanent markers. Tape the cards to the fronts of the sodas. Set up the soda pop rings on the ground spacing them out as evenly as possible. Game players take turns tossing the rings at the soda pops. When the guests ring a bottle, give them a mini bottle of soda or a 2-liter to take home. Every kid should have two or three chances to win. Alternatively, you might give small novelty toys, rather than drinks, to kids. Have kids read the scriptures when they ring the sodas.
Bean Bag Toss
Sew or buy bean bags stuffed with corn or dried beans. Set plastic pails around the booth. Use a permanent marker to assign points to each pail. Write the numbers large, so everyone can see them. For example, some pails should read "25 Points" or "50 Points." When kids ring the buckets, they earn the points displayed on them. The goal is to earn at least 100 points. Give kids three or four bags to use, then hand out prizes to the winners.
Tags: Before carnival, kids three, might give, soda pops, three chances