The best beach games for children to keep your little ones happy and give yourself some time to relax.
Finally the holidays have arrived and with the lovely summer weather in Cornwall it’s time to hit the beach. Don’t you just love the moment when you sit down on your beach towel, sun in your face, book in your hand and you know, the family holidays have officially begun! You lean back, relax and then, just as you reach page 5 of your book, you suddenly hear a voice: “Mummy… I’m bored.”
With our top ten list of the best beach games for children you can enjoy the sunshine whilst the kids are having fun.
#1 Rock pooling
The all-time favourite beach activity that children never get bored of. All you need is a net and a bucket and off they go. Crabs, shells, rocks, mussels and seaweeds of different shapes and colours can be found in the rock pools. Older kids might even bring a book that will help them identify their catch or they could take pictures and learn more about what they have caught once you get back home. You can also turn it into a competition. The child with the best findings wins a prize.
Top tip: Make sure your children wear sturdy shoes as the seaweed and rocks can be very slippery and don’t forget to slap on a hat and apply plenty of sun cream. Just because it’s not that hot doesn’t mean you can’t burn.
#2 Beach Creatures
Instead of building the usual sandcastle why not try making your favourite animal: Turtle, Fish, Elephant or how about a sandman (instead of a snowman).
Top tip: Put a bit of water into a bucket and use it to compact sand and smooth the edges. You can also use shells, driftwood and seaweed to decorate your piece of art.
#3 Fill the bucket
This game is ideal if you have 2 or more children or even a group of children or families. Form 2 teams, each team has a bucket and a plastic cup. The first two players of each group run to the sea to fill up their plastic cups and return to pour the water into their bucket, then hand the cup to the next player in their team who does the same. The team which first completely fills their bucket with water wins.
#4 Beach Jenga
Build a sandcastle first. Then all players take it in turns to scoop out bits of sand with a shovel. The player who makes the sandcastle collapse loses.
#5 Sands Darts
Draw a big darts board in the sand and use pebbles or shells as darts. You can make up your own point system. Children who are older have to stand further away than younger ones.
#6 Beach Volleyball
If you don’t have a net just draw one in the sand. Can be played by 2 – 8 players. So much fun.
#7 Tug of War
Tug of War is the ideal beach game because you won’t hurt yourself if you fall over. Another game that can be played with any amount of players (depending on the length of your rope).
#8 Channel race
For this game you need 2 ping pong balls and buckets. Each team builds a channel in the sand and pops in the ping pong ball. Players then have to fill up their buckets with water and pour it into the channel, making the ball float from one end of the channel to the other. The teams whose ping pong ball hits the other end first wins.
#9 Flip-Flop Throw
Very simple game, just draw a line in the sand and everyone throws their flip flop as far as they can. You can also make up a score system and play several rounds to establish the overall winner.
#10 Beach Art
Ask your children to collect as many little treasures as they can possibly find on the beach: Pretty shells, coloured beach glass, drift wood, seaweed and other items that they think are worth collecting to create their own piece of beach art. The winner (everyone is a winner) will get an ice cream.
Plenty of great ideas for your next family holiday to Cornwall. Let us know which one was your favourite. Or if you know a beach game that is not listed here then why not share it with us?