Kid Games @ Family Reunion

You could have a people scavenger hunt. Make a list of questions about the older family members and the kids need to find who fits the question.
for instance:
1) find the person who served in WWII in the Pacific
2) find the person who is named after great grandma _____
3 find the person who saw The Beatles in concert

As the kids go around and ask questions they are also getting to know their elder relatives and a little about their lives. And as we all know elders love talking about their younger years.

You could hand out prizes for 1st and 2nd place. I would say a list of 20 questions. The prize could be a trophy or a book of Mc Donalds gift certificates.

Are you also going to be responsible for "buying" all those kid games or supplies???

relay races
treasure hunts
pin the tail on the donkey
pinatas
egg on spoon races
get out a long huge "banner" type paper, and have all the kids put their hand prints on it, with the date on it, for a nice souvenir of the event

Have a puzzle table.

Have a blank book, and have the kids write things in it... (but then you'd have to decide who gets to keep this book)

paint rocks

treasure hunt for leaves/rocks/things in the vicinity... and make something with it.

Make a list of things (that the adults would have) and have the kids go look for it. Each list having say 7 things on it. And "race" to see which kid or pair of kids... can find it first.

Give each kid a basket from a dollar store, to put their findings in... for each game.

Get disposable cameras, and have the kids take photos. It'd be a nice souvenir of the event for them and their family. You could make a list of "things" to take photos of...

Have games where the kids "imitate" their parents. Its pretty funny. Kids like to do that. If done in humor.

along with the other great responses could be tug of war, musical chairs, face painting, water balloons

we have a relataive that brings a load of sawdust and hides wrapped candy and coins (silver dollars too) in it and lets the little ones dig and dig. mine are 7 and 9 and still love it. he gives them a ziploc for thier loot too.

You can buy a badminton set at Kmart for about $20 with four rackets and a net. My dd loves to play this and so do other kids.

We are in charge of kids games at our family reuinion. OUrs is a 3ish hour picnic/potluck, just to give you a frame of reference.

We have done "Bozo's Grandprize Game," water balloon toss, kickball, volleball, pinatas. This year we purchases some inflatable games from Oriental Trading - bowling, 6 tires that the kids step through (like football practice), a game with two discs (one for each kid to stand on) with a giant q-tip and they have to try to knock the other off their disc. Not sure how any of the inflatable games will work, but we'll have fun trying.

I know we've done others, so I'll let you know when I think of them. Have fun!

A couple for the older kids:

Washers

Ladder golf

Bocce

Drip, Drip, Drop. A favorite for all ages, especially on a hot day! It's played like duck, duck, goose. All you need is a big bucket of water and a cup. Fill the cup with water. Instead of saying "Duck" you say "Drip" and sprinkle a few drops of water over the person. Then, instead of "Goose" you say "Drop" and dump the cup of water over the person's head. RUN!!! So much fun and a great way to cool off in the summer heat!

I was put in charge of games for our family reunion a few years ago. I was lucky enough to find 30 marshmallow guns at a garage sale. They were a big hit with kids and adults alike.t because it is dumb. We didn't have that problem The teens even liked this activity. I don't know about in yur family but lots of times they are left of the games or don't want to take par.t because it is dumb. We didn't have that problem with this activity. I recommend, though, that you have rules if some fuddy duddies don't want to play. Some of my inlaws didn't think it was fun to get pelted with marshmallows. The kids and many of the adults REALLY had fun. We had a bag of marshmallows for each participant. When they would run out, they had to pick up more ammo off the ground. By that time only the hardcore players really cared. All participants had a BALL! A lot of observers enjoyed this activity as much as the "kids". You can make the guns or buy them. I believe they sell them ready made. We were lucky to find so many at a yard sale.
We have gone to larger reunions and the kids were of such variable ages that games really didn't work. It seemed to work best to just have a prize for all. Handing them out as they arrive or leave worked well.
Good luck with planning the games. It can be a lot of work.

How old are the kids and how many kids will there be?

Simon Says
Red Light Green Light
Red Rover
Freeze Tag
Water Balloon Toss
Potato Sack Races (can be done with old pillowcases)
Three Legged Races
Egg on a spoon race
Jump rope contest
Hula Hoop contest

Have them create a dance, lip sync, play or puppet show to perform for the adults.

If you have enough kids for team sports, things like kickball, softball, soccer, football, and Capture the Flag would be a lot of fun. Even if there are only 10 or so, you can play 5 on 5 for soccer, football, and capture the flag.

If you have lots of legos, build a big ramp to use as a racetrack and have all the kids build lego cars. They can take turns racing them down the ramp until a winner is crowned.

Have some arts and crafts available. Michaels often sells good group craft kits.

Buy a Make A Plate kit and have each kid create a plate to remember the reunion.

Try to find some old Family Fun magazines or look at their web site. They always have lots of great ideas for outdoor games and activities. They are usually really inexpensive and easy to set up.