Three-Legged Race
You’ll need a start and goal line and several pieces of twine for this game. Form teams of partners. Each player must tie one of his or her legs to the other player’s leg so that when they move, they move with three legs. The goal is to race from the start line to the goal line and back again. The first set of partners to reach the start line again is the winner. You can fall and get back up and continue the race, but you won’t win unless you catch up to those who are still moving at a steady pace. Kids will want to pair up with adults in this game, but be careful. You are likely to fall during this race, and kids take smaller steps than grown-ups. You don’t want to fall and hurt a child, so if you do pair up with a kid, be sure to move slowly when the race is on.
Potato on a Spoon Race
For the Potato on a Spoon Race, you’ll need some regular-sized stainless steel or plastic spoons and some small- to medium-sized potatoes. The potato should be slightly larger than the spoon to make balancing a little tricky. You will also need to establish a start line and a goal line. Everyone balances a potato on his or her spoon and when the whistle blows, you must make it to the goal line and back without dropping your potato. If you make it back first, you are the winner. You can also play this game with an egg—but it might be a good idea to hard-boil the egg before the game begins!
Sack Races
For this game, you’ll need to dig up some old pillowcases or burlap sacks. Kids really love this game. Each kid climbs into the sack and, holding the edges of the sack up around his or her hips or waist, must hop from the start line to the goal line and back again. Many kids will fall over and you’ll laugh a lot during this crazy game. If adults grab a sack and start hopping with them, the kids will squeal with laughter—the adults will look even sillier than the kids!
