If you’re organising an outdoor party, then picnic games should be on the agenda. You can spend a lot of money taking your children to an amusement park but for a fraction of the cost you can have as much fun enjoying a picnic closer to home.
In this era of endless television, video games and computers, a picnic is a welcome change for most of us and a few well thought-out activities can go a long way to making the event a huge success.
For indoor time in the heat or just a quiet time after eating, start off with a hamper of printable picnic games. You can print out a whole bundle of them, or choose individual ones to suit the picnickers. And it doesn't matter where you are in the world because you can pay with PayPal and then print them off yourself.
This hamper of games is downloadable in an instant and individually would cost a whopping $72.45. However, they are available together for $19.95 (around £13) - terrific value.
There's also a great bargain pack of printable BBQ Party Games. These games will amuse everybody and keep the children entertained too. Just what you need for a fantastic picnic.
The instant download games site belongs to a British friend of mine who now lives in Canada. I can guarantee you'll get good service, wherever in the world you live.
If you have enough people at your picnic you can also organise more active team games, such as
badminton
or a
sack race.
For large groups of children or young adults
icebreaker games
are a fun way of getting introduced to everyone.
Alternatively divide into teams or pairs for a
treasure hunt
or choose from one of the Guru's (real name, Rebecca!) great variety of
scavenger hunts.
For teenagers and grown-ups
a limbo contest
is fun and very entertaining. Find out how flexible everyone is!
Depending on the number of guests, you can coordinate a variety of entertainment. You’ll need to consider the amount of space available and the sort of ground.
If, for example, you have a large expanse of grass in a park, you may want to organize picnic games of croquet, boules or lawn skittles so that everyone can join in.
The alphabet game Going On A Picnic is a good way to calm down the children and young teens after a bout of activity.
Another quiet pastime is to draw portraits of each other on paper plates. This is fun for guests of any age and ability.
According to Jean, a visitor to this site from the USA, who was looking for games for a Mother & Daughter picnic, “Drawing portraits of each other on paper plates is a blast”.
Small prizes can be given to the best portraits, or the funniest!
Picnic games in the garden, a park or on the beach can be a great way to unwind from the grind of everyday life and put aside our adult responsibilities for a while.
Depending on the number of guests, you can coordinate a variety of entertainment. You’ll need to consider the amount of space available and the sort of ground. 
, boules or 
