Fun Beach Games for Kids

When it's time for the kids to settle down but Mom and Dad are sick of constant refrains of "I'm bored," corral the crew for a game that keeps them close at hand but well-amused. Before leaving for vacation, stop at your local dollar store and pick up a bag of little green plastic soldiers and/or miniature plastic farm animals. Most dollar stores carry some variation of one or the other, which typically have between 25 and 50 pieces per bag. Get Dad (or Mom, Grandma, or cousin Sam) to take the kids for a short walk along the shore while you mark some boundaries in the sand. Use whatever you have on hand--shoes and towels--or bring along styrofoam floating "noodles" that are so popular with kids for swimming. Line the noodles into a rectangle to designate the boundaries inside which the kids must stay. Bury the soldiers and animals inside the rectangle, but not deep, keeping a tally of how many of each you've buried. When the kids return, give them plastic shovels and buckets, and set them to work excavating for treasures. Have a nominal prize ready for the one who finds the most items buried in the sand.

Another low-key game involves collecting seashells and small pebbles. Set a designated amount of time for the kids to gather their beach finds in a bucket and then issue a challenge for each child to create a mosaic in the sand using their shells and pebbles. Suggest they make an umbrella, a sailboat, a flip flop or other beach-related item. Be sure to photograph the completed art projects.

Set up an inexpensive bandminton net and give the kids rackets and a birdie. They'll spend hours hitting the birdie back and forth while slipping and sliding through the sand. They'll likely have so much fun the adults will be tempted to join in.

Bring a plastic T-ball stand and make "bases" with flip flops or sand pails. Referee a game of T-ball, and watch the kids hit the plastic ball and run the bases in hot pursuit of sliding into home. Never use anything other than a plastic ball while at the beach, as even a softball could inflict serious harm if inadvertently hitting someone.

Keep the kids busy creating a bowling alley in the sand. Suggest they smooth the alley with water and pack it down with their shovels. Bring a plastic set of bowling balls and pins and divide the group into teams.

Bring sealable sandwich bags and have the kids fill them with sand and close them. Make a giant tic-tac-toe board in the sand and have each person toss his sand bag at a chosen block. If the bag opens, that person is eliminated from the game.

One of the simplest beach games is playing with an inflatable beach ball. Available for about a dollar at retail stores, simply blow up the ball and create the rules for your game. One fun option includes timing how long the kids can keep the ball going back and forth without it falling in the sand.

Bring a bag of balloons and have the kids fill them with water. Toss the balloons back and forth between individuals or teams. When the balloon breaks, that team or person gets a point. The team or person with the highest number of points loses the game. Be sure to collect all of the broken balloons as they break, so you don't litter the beach.

Horseshoes has long been a favorite beach game for kids and adults alike. Metal horseshoes can cause harm if they hit someone, so heavy plastic sets are available in the seasonal departments of retail stores.

These beach games should occupy the kids for an entire day, in between dips in the ocean and walks along the shore. In fact, some of them may be enticing enough to get the adults involved as well.