14 of the best recreational activities to enjoy on a Picnic

With cooler weather just around the corner, people are gearing up for picnics outside in the cool afternoon sunlight. Enjoying the fresh air with family and friends, good food and activities for everyone to enjoy is one of the best times. Other than preparing the food, picking activities can be difficult if not everyone likes them. Here are some activities to enjoy on a picnic.

Kids Games

There are some games that most people would consider to childish, but what better way to stay young than to release your inner child and have some fun? Try some of these activities and see if your inner child emerges for some family fun!

Freeze Tag

This classic game of freeze tag can get everyone up and running around. With one person who is “it” has to run around tagging those who are not “it” but tapping them, once tagged, the person who tagged them yells out “freeze” and that person has to freeze until another person who is not it tags them to unfreeze them. If the player tags everyone before their 3 minutes is up they win. After the 3 minute timer another person becomes “it” so everyone has a change to be “it’. It’s a great way to get some exercise in while releasing all that pent up energy the kids have!

Board Games

Board games are a great way to get everyone to sit down and play together, although if it’s too windy you might want to avoid anything with paper or cards such as monopoly or the Game of Life. You can play games such as Guess Who, Twister, or Backgammon. With two player games such as backgammon you can do a tournament style so whoever wins plays the next person and so on.

Water Balloon Fight

This is if the warm weather has held out for you. A good out fashion water balloon fight is the best to cool off if the temperature is still high. You could also do a water balloon toss between kids and adult. Make it a challenge to see who can go the furthest without breaking the balloon.

Fly a Kite

The best thing about cool days with the wind just right is being able to fly a kite. Teaching the technique of getting your kite in the air and keeping it there is like a right of passage for the younger kids. The look on their faces when they accomplish this amazing feat is priceless. And knowing you helped them achieve that goal makes it all worth while.

Scavenger Hunt

My kids and I love scavenger hunts. My sister would make them throughout our town for us to do during the summer. Although this takes some time to come up with the clues and to hide the clues, it is so much fun watching the kids think about the each clue and watching their faces light up when they figure out where they have to go next. She always had some sort of prize at the end waiting for us when we got there. Freeze pops, chocolates, Ice cream. It was always themed and always a big hit.

Bubbles

What kid doesn’t love bubbles. Chasing them, popping them and looking at all those colors come to life in a little sphere of water and soap. You can have a competition on who can make the largest bubble or who can pop the most bubbles. Dogs love popping bubbles too so don’t forget to include your furry friends as well.

Family Games

These activities to enjoy on a picnic with the whole family. When the whole family gets involved it is such a good time and the memories last forever.

Yard Games

There are so many yard games you can bring with for your picnic. Latterball, Cornhole, Bozo Buckets, Horse Shoes, Yahtzee, Jenga, Bocce, or Spikeball. You can play on teams with some or one one. Have friendly competitions or just play for fun. The great things is that the kids can join in too.

Card Games

Card games are great when you don’t have a very windy day. You can play adult games like Poker, or include the kids and play War or Go Fish. There are so many card games you can play with the family. Our favorites are Euchre and Hillbilly Rummy, but we also play Uno, Cards Against Humanity, or Monopoly Deal. There are so many card games to choose from and it’s always a good time.

Frisbee

Frisbee is another fun game to play with the family. Teaching the younger children how to throw properly can entertaining. If you get tired of playing regular Frisbee you can play Fricket and have a competition. We use reflection poles and plastic solo cups when we play. Since my extended family is extremely competitive this game can get very loud very quickly with taunts and laughter.

Catch

Playing catch isn’t just a Father/Son activity. My sister and I like throwing the that ball around when we have a minute to enjoy it. This can be for just two people or it can be for many. The more people involved the better time you have trying to catch and throw the ball to others. You can go around in a circle or you can call out someone at random and toss it to them. What a fun activity to do with the whole family.

Relaxing Activities

After a day of fun games and activities the family wants to start winding down with some relaxing activities you can do before going home for a comfortable nights sleep.

Going on a Walk

Going for a walk is the most common activity when outdoors, but it is a good time to relax and have a conversation with your loved ones or with your kids. Talk about the local birds, bugs, trees and other items in Nature.

Fishing

Not every picnic area has a fishing area, but if you do this is a great time to spend some quiet time. You can also use this time to teach the younger kids how to fish. My son loves teaching his cousins how to fish, what tackle to use to catch certain fish, what fishing pole to use, how much weight the line should be. He loves it and goes fishing every chance he can.

Reading

This is my favorite way to wind down. I always try to bring a book to read. Something light and funny to keep the happy moods going through the rest of the day. This is a great way to relax and relieve some stress after a busy day planning and participating in activities with family and friends.

Enjoying Nature

This is probably the most relaxing thing to do after an exciting afternoon of fun with friends and family. Just sit down and enjoy the nature around you. Listening to the sounds and watching the butterflies or birds, smelling the flowers or just feeling the dirt and ground beneath you. This helps me loosen those tense muscles from running around and just enjoy the quiet sounds around you.

These activities are a lot of fun and gets the family together for an active afternoon. We hope you will try some of these and let us know how your activities go at your next picnic! If you need some easy snacks check out our blog post.