Summer 2020 is upon us and we already know it’s going to be a bummer. *Cue Penn Charles singing Bummertime and Lola’s eyeroll in Bummer Camp.* But here at The Holderness Family, we are all about making the best of things. We’ve made anxiety and stress-induced recipes. We even sang about masks and murder hornets. And because the Olympics have been postponed, we have competed against REAL Olympians in what we like to call the Fauxlympics! (Now we’re bringing our silly family challenges to you.)
We took on a Fruit by the Foot challenge with canoer Casey Eichfeld. We even tried a penny race with track stars Sandi Morris and Tyrone Smith. Your little Olympians at home might even enjoy playing these fast, easy and silly family challenges. Actually, the adults might like them even more!
The Speed Games
Penny Run – Set up some tape on the floor, 10 feet apart. See how fast you can get a penny from one end to the other with only blowing through a straw. For smaller kids, set up a shorter start and finish line on the table and see how many pom-poms they can get across in one minute.
Stack Attack – With only 36 plastic cups, see how fast you can stack all of the cups into a pyramid and then unstack them, making a single column again.
Suck It Up – You’ll need straws, goldfish, and two plates. Players have one minute to see how many fish they can transfer from one plate to another with the suction from the straw and no hands.
Roll-On, Buddy – Try to roll a potato, sweet potato or onion across the floor from one side of the room to the other…using only your nose.
The Balance Games
Chandelier – You’ll need 15 empty soda cans and four paper plates. Players have one minute to stack cans with paper plates in between to see how high they can go.
Scoop It Up – Move six ping pong balls from one bowl to another, using only a spoon – in your mouth. And like always, no hands!
Iron Man – Use a chopstick to stack 10 iron nuts on top of each other.
Cookie Face – Place an Oreo or any type of cookie on your forehead and see how quickly you can get it to your mouth without using your hands!
The Focus Games
Nose Dive – The secret weapon in this game? Petroleum jelly dabbed on the nose. Using their noses (no hands allowed), players must move five cotton balls from one bowl to another, before the minute is up.
Noodling Around – Start with one strand of uncooked spaghetti. The player puts the end of the dry noodle in their mouth. They then have 60 seconds to pick up six uncooked pieces of penne pasta—with the spaghetti. Oh, and no hands!
Watermelon Darts – Slice a watermelon in half, securing it on a table or other flat surface. Give participants cards to throw and whoever gets the most cards into the melon in one minute wins.
Ping Pong Bounce – In this game, players have to bounce ping pong balls into six cups.
One-handed Bracelet – Everyone has one minute to thread Cheerios or Fruit Loops onto a pipe cleaner using only one hand. Next, can they fasten it around their wrist?
Which one do you think will be a hit at your house? Do you have other easy games that you love? Share your ideas for silly family challenges in the comments!
