More Frugal Summer Fun Ideas

If you have children, or if you are a big kid yourself, plan a get together with your friends and family and cool off with outdoor water games. You can buy water balloons, fill them up, and enjoy a fun afternoon with your family and friends. Of course, we are all familiar with the old water bag or balloon soaker toss game that is similar to catch. Make 2 lines of kids and adults facing each other with about 3 feet between them. Player 1 tosses the bag or balloon to the player directly across. If everyone in the line makes it at 3 feet, then they move back a foot more. When a pair misses and bursts their balloon, then they are out of the game. This continues until there is a winning pair. You can use water balloons for this game or some people prefer zipper sandwich bags as they are easier to pick up when the game is over.

Another simple, fun water activity is water gun or water balloon battles. You can purchase cheap water guns or balloons at the dollar store for this activity; it is less structured and only requires preparation if you use balloons. If you use water guns, then just fill a bucket with water and each player fills his/her own gun when needed. No cleanup is necessary for the water guns either.

Another fun game is called "Fill the Bottle." For this game you need small paper cups (about 4 oz), 2 clean, empty coke bottles (20 oz or 32 oz), and a bucket for each team. Each team has a member lay on the ground and hold the 20 or 32 oz empty coke bottle on his/her head. Teammates take turns running to the bucket and filling up a 4 oz paper cup and then going over and pouring it into the empty coke bottle. Once each player on the team has taken a turn, the bottle person moves to the front of the line and the last person in line lays down and becomes the bottle person. This gives everyone the opportunity to be the bottle person and "get soaked." When the bottle is full, the bottle person runs to the finish line with it without spilling it. Of course, the winning team is the first to fill up the bottle and make it back to the finish line.

Another game that is similar is called the "Over/Under Game." For this game, you need 2 sponges, 2 buckets, and 2 pitchers. The object of this game is to compete with another team to fill up the team's pitcher. Two teams line up with a bucket of water on one end and a pitcher on the other. Player 1 fills up the sponge with water and passes it over his/her head to the person behind him/her who passes it to the person behind them between their legs. This repeats all the way down the line where the last player rings the water out of the sponge into the bucket and runs the sponge to the front of the line where he/she fills it back up with water and continues the cycle. The winning team is the first to fill up the pitcher.

Water games are a great way to enjoy the great outdoors and beat the heat at the same time!