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Are you planning a fall festival or harvest party? Whether you’re planning one for your church, school, or small group of close friends, these types of celebrations are an excellent way to gather with your friends and community to ring in the autumn season. A key element to a successful harvest party or fall festival is the party games available for kids to play, many of which are variations of carnival games. To help with your planning, I’ve compiled a list of a few fun and easy to organize games ideas for your upcoming harvest party or fall festival.

Party Games for Your Harvest Party or Fall Festival

Try to ring the pumpkin: Create a small pumpkin patch by lining a few rows of pumpkins. Tie pieces of rope into rings, and have older kids toss the rings and try to loop a pumpkin stem. You can modify this game for younger kids by allowing them to try “catching” an entire pumpkin with a hula hoop.

Collapse the can pyramid: Prepare for this game in advance by covering ten empty soda cans with construction paper. Remove the tabs from the tops so they will stack. Build the pyramid by lining up four cans on the bottom, then stack three on the next row, then two, and finally one can on top. Mark a line about 8 to 10 feet from the can pyramid. Have each child player take a turn by standing on the line and throwing a softball at the pyramid. He or she wins if the pyramid collapses.

Plan a pumpkin relay race: You need a large pumpkin for each team. Mark a start and finish line beforehand. Have the children line up with half of the team on the start line and the other half at the finish line. When the whistle blows, the first racer from each team must turn the pumpkin on its side and roll it the finish line. Once the finish line is crossed, the next child in line is tagged and has to roll it back to the other end. This continues until all the members from one team have had a turn. This game may be modified for indoors if you use small pumpkins.

Host a balloon stomp: This game requires some preparation because you have to blow up a large amount of balloons in advance, depending on the number of kids you expect to play. Create prize tickets and stuff them in about 1/4 of the deflated balloons. Blow up all the balloons, including the ones with the tickets inside, and spread them around a room or confined area before the children arrive. Allow each child to pop their choice of two balloons. They win a prize if one of the balloons they stomp has a prize ticket in it.

Feed the pumpkin (or turkey): Make a wooden cutout of a large pumpkin or turkey. Make sure to cut a large hole for the mouth. Give each child player three bean bags or plastic balls and have them try to “feed” the pumpkin (or turkey) by tossing them inside the mouth opening.

Find a lucky duck: Fill a baby pool or large aluminum tub with water. Place floating plastic ducks, the type used as bath toys, in the tub. Use a permanent marker to write “Winner” on the bottom of a few of the ducks and mix them in with the rest.  Allow each player draw a duck from the water. If the child picks a lucky duck that says “Winner”, he or she gets a prize.

Organize a toy swap meet: Notify parents and children in advance that there will be an optional toy swap at the fall festival or harvest party. Ask that each child who chooses to participate in the swap bring a toy. Set up a drop-off point at the entrance and give the child a swap ticket for each toy he or she brings. Collect the toys until a designated time, and then open the toy swap to all the kids who brought something to swap. The child may exchange a toy for every swap ticket. This is a great fall festival game to play with groups of people who may have things to give but not much money to spend.

You can find other games and activities for kids like these at Creative Kids Ideas.