Home Children's Ministry Leaders Articles for Children's Ministry Leaders Fall Festival Ideas: 98 Great Varieties of Seasonal Fun

Fall Festival Ideas: 98 Great Varieties of Seasonal Fun

Outdoor

  1. Knock It Off – Kids use water guns to knock ping pong balls off tops of soft drink bottles.
  2. This Little Light of Mine – Standing 3 feet away from three lit candles, kids try to extinguish the candles before their squirt gun runs out of water.
  3. Water Sponge Toss – Kids toss a sponge at a person peeking through a plywood cutout.
  4. Water Sponge Toss Two – Kids toss sponges into lined up buckets.
  5. Dunking Booth – Put church staff and teachers in a rented dunking booth.
  6. Piñata – Every hour, gather kids together to bust a piñata.
  7. Goldfish Bowl Toss – Kids throw Ping-Pong balls at goldfish bowls. They keep a fish if the ball lands in its bowl.
  8. Obstacle Course – Preschoolers go over, under, and through a course.
  9. Bobbing for Apples – Kids try to bite apples floating in a tub of water.
  10. Pumpkin Sweep – Children sweep a small pumpkin along a taped course on the floor. Kids can race against each other or against time.
  11. The Carpenter’s Crew – Each player is given a hammer and a board with three already started nails. On go, the carpenter is given 30 seconds to hammer as many nails as possible.
  12. Football Toss – Kids toss a football through a hanging, swinging tire.
  13. Swinging Apple – Tie an apple to a string. As it swings from a doorway, kids keep hands behind their backs and get three tries to bite the apple.
  14. The Mummy Wrap – One player is the “wrapper,” the other is the “wrappee.” Racing against time, the wrapper wraps the wrappee with an entire roll of toilet paper.
  15. Penny Splash – Fill an aquarium with water. Sink three tall glasses so they sit upright on the bottom of the tank. Kids try to drop pennies into the glasses.

Fall Festival Ideas: Foods & Snacks

  1. Finger Foods – Put a piece of candy corn in each fingertip of a clear rubber glove. Then stuff the glove with popcorn. Tie the glove with curling ribbon.
  2. Taffy Pull – Have an old-fashioned snack experience.
  3. Popcorn – Attach straps to a tray. Fill popcorn boxes and place on the tray. Have a wandering hawker wear the tray and give away the popcorn.
  4. Mystery Drink – Freeze Kool-Aid in ice trays. Pour a clear soft drink over the cubes. Serve in clear cups and watch the color change.
  5. Banana Pops – Insert Popsicle sticks into bananas. Dip in melted chocolate. Freeze for two hours.
  6. Candy Grab – Kids get one chance to grab all the candy they can out of a bucket.
  7. Cotton Candy – Rent a machine, then all you need is gobs of sugar.
  8. Jell-O Eating Contest – Prepare Jell-O Jigglers according to the package directions. Put the same amount of Jell-O on each contestant’s paper plate. Kids put their hands behind their backs and race to be the first to eat all their Jell-O.
  9. Edible Bracelets – Kids make bracelets by putting Fruit Loops on licorice laces.
  10. Cookie Decorating – Provide shaped sugar cookies, icing, and sprinkles.
  11. Gummy Fun – Set out two paper plates for each child. Fill one plate with Gummy Worms. Pour Hershey’s syrup over the candy. With hands behind their backs, children pick up the candy with their mouths and set it on their empty plates.

Fall Festival Ideas: Success Tips

1. Everyone Wins – Give a prize for participation at each booth.

2. Instant Booth – Hang sheets on four PVC pipes. Connect the pipes and suspend from the ceiling with sturdy fishing line. You’ve just created a booth area.

3. Give It Away – Have each participant donate a nonperishable food that can later be donated to an area food pantry.

4. Costumes – Choose a theme and have kids come in costume for that theme. Discourage scary costumes, but be gracious toward any visitors who show up in “forbidden” costumes. Think outreach!

5. Everyone Plays – Encourage parents and fall festival staff to dress in costume also.

6. Staffing – Staff your fall festival with teenagers, grandparents, and nonparents. This way, parents will be free to help and enjoy their children at the booths.

7. Timing – Hold your fall festival the night of Halloween. That’s the time parents are looking for alternatives to this ghoulish evening.

What other twists on fall festival ideas have been a hit in your church and community? Please share them in the comments below!

This article about fall festival ideas originally appeared here.