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Get The Kids Away From Devices With An Old-fashioned Fun Day!
Don’t nag at your kids for spending the whole weekend glued to their tablets. Create an outdoor fun day that they would love to choose over screentime.
Embrace An Outdoor Fun Day
We all know that fresh air and sunshine are a winning recipe – but what exactly is the benefit to children when playing outdoors?
– lower risk of myopia, or near-sightedness
– exposure to bright light enhances health and mental performance
– higher activity levels
– mood stabilisation, lower stress levels and better concentration
– improved sleep rhythms;
– the chance to learn social skills, overcome fears and develop a lifelong connection with nature
– and perhaps most critically, children are happier after playing outdoors
68% of school children in South Africa get less than one hour of outdoor playtime; 14% get more than 90 minutes.
With this in mind, it’s time to lead those little ones outside for some old-school fun!
It’s Easier Than You Think
It’s up to you how much work you want to put into an outdoor fun day. Are you inviting 20 other people or are you simply hosting a small family braai to get the kids in the spirit of spring?
Outdoor Fun Day Catering
Either way, our ideal (lazy) menu is:
Boerewors rolls with homemade tomato relish, or just buy All Gold. (Braai them while you play one of the fun games on our list).
Watermelon/Ice cream cones/Individual popsicles
Drinks of your choice. This can be bougie bubbly with fruit, frosty beers or even just a big bowl of punch (spiked or not – it’s up to you!)
Outdoor Fun Day Entertainment
The list of outdoor fun day games is never ending…just google it and you’ll see. We’ve narrowed it down to three games that are not just goofy but suited to the whole family, cheap and relatively mess-free. They are also scalable depending on how many people you are or how much space you have.
Pass the apple/whatever
This can actually be played with any fruit of your choice. Or a ball or roll of toilet paper…use your imagination!
Two equal teams, each standing in a row.
Clasp the *item of your choice under your chin and pass it to the person next to you without using your hands. For added humour feel free to blindfold the participants, or even force them to stand on their knees. Silliness, laughter and goofy joy is the name of the game. Don’t take it too seriously! The first team to pass the *item through the whole row, without dropping it, wins! If the item does drop, you have to start over again.
Egg toss
Multiples of two, paired up and facing each other, one step apart.
The name pretty much says it all: Each pair gets a standard raw chicken egg and must throw it, overhand to each other. After each successful throw-and-catch, they give one step backwards each, increasing the distance between them. The team that ends up successfully throwing and catching the egg from the furthest distance without breaking it, wins. If the egg drops without breaking, you can continue. If it drops and breaks, start over, standing close to one another again.
One of the teams can try to sneak in a boiled egg to fool the others…but don’t be shocked if they retaliate by throwing their raw eggs at you!
Water war
Basically, just a game of silliness and high jinks! After the Egg toss situation, and if the weather permits, have buckets of water balloons and simply lob them at each other. Yes, it’s infantile, but you know what, it’s also amazingly fun! There really are no limits on the activities you can have with an outdoor fun day!
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