Alright! I have just a tad over a week to pull this Fourth of July Amazing Race together! I’m formulating a plan, and heading to the Dollar Tree, this morning! It’s on! Here are some ideas I’ve found on Pinterest for some outdoor challenging games!:

Our Big Fourth of July Amazing Race Idea

• Maybe I can find an old sheet to use for this, and paint it like an American Flag. You know…in my spare time. From Family Fun. Family Fun was a Disney site that is no longer available.

• Find my twist on this idea to make it fit into my Patriotic theme below:

• Here’s what we did to make this work for our race!… Click Here!

The Shishkaball Ball Drop from This Old House

• I’m not so sure about this one. I would have to build multiples of this – one for each team. It looks like a lot of fun though…hmm?!
• Here’s how this game would go. It’s a lot like Jenga, in that you don’t want to be the player that knocks everything down! Each player (when it’s their turn) would strategically pull the bamboo sticks out, one at a time, and hope and pray that the balls don’t drop!
• For the Amazing Race, I’m thinking each team would have to pull out 3 or 4 sticks. If they do it successfully then, they can move on. If the balls drop, then they will have to set it all up again with the sticks and balls and start over.

• Just in case I get really ambitious, I found the plans to build it! Here’s the link to the DIY! It’s from This Old House!

• Definitely Doing This! This is from ABC Party Ideas for Girls!

• Here’s my twist on this idea to make it fit into my patriotic theme:

•  I used a tent to hold balloons that were blown up and on the ground. Before blowing the balloons up, I made little slips of paper with the words – Declaration…of… and Independence. The teams had to pop the balloons by sitting on them and figure out what phrase they had to make with the words. Once they had the phrase, they could present it to the judge for the next clue.

• Water Balloon Pinatas. I like this…if the weather cooperates! But, how do I turn this patriotic? Red, White, and Blue balloons? I have to think about this for a minute! This is from Milk Allergy Mom

• We ended up going with all the blue balloons! This was awesome!

• Once teams have successfully made it through the targets a certain number of times, they will be given letters that complete the date and the numbers in Roman Numeral – July 4, 1776 (The day our country was born!).
• They will have to put the Roman Numerals together to complete that date and present it to the judge. Hopeful they paid close attention in math class.

• I’ll bring back the find the flags task. That’s a classic. This is a picture from last year’s race. I put flags in the hay bales, and gave teams an excerpt from “The Star-Spangled Banner”. I told them to use the song as their guide…Find out what the song is referring to, and find as many of “that symbol” as they can be hidden in the field. (The song refers to the American Flag). They had to report to the judge with the right number of flags.

• *I forgot to tell teams NOT to take flags. Remember to tell them this! My nephew, Coty, took them as he counted them. CHEATING?!!! 😉 That screwed things up a little. Here’s the link!

• There will be some sort of craft! Last year they all had to make Uncle Sam Hats. This is an idea from U Create With Kids

• The Statue of Liberty will be somewhere??? They will have to memorize an excerpt from the famous saying: “Give us your poor, your tired,” etc… This picture is from All Posters

Road Blocks! 

• Each team will be given cards that say Road Block – one for each of the other teams. If they see another team has a huge lead, they can go hand them a Road Block card, and the team will have to complete one of the tasks below:

• This image is from The Reluctant Planner! She has a cool idea for the dates on pennies! Click here to see here idea for a conversation starter.
• Here’s how this plays into my race! I’m going to make teams find a birth date for one team member. Of course in roadblocks, only one member is allowed to play this challenge

• Last one! I have to make sure Uncle George will build this for me! I will beg if I have to 🙁
• This is from The Happy Housewife!

• Trophies will still be Foil Hats, Balloon Torches, and Leis! Why try to top that honor?! Let’s see if these two can hold on to their title!

Here’s a link to last year’s Amazing Race! 

Stay In The Know!

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Thanks for stopping by and checking out My Annual Fourth of July Amazing Race – Kid Friendly Things To Do .com 🙂 I’ll see you soon!

~ Melissa – KidFriendlyThingsToDo.com