What better way to have fun at home then to make your own carnival. Here is how we did a DIY day full of easy ideas.

It’s the start of August… which in Brisbane means, the winds are usually picking up (although they were early this year), winter is almost over, and it’s EKKA time. EKKA is the very QLD way of saying its Royal Exhibition. We are a big EKKA house. Rides – good, animals – good, show bags – good, games – good, strawberry icecream – the best. With lockdowns happening more and more frequently around the country and events such as this continuing to get cancelled I have decided to create a carnival at home. Here are 5 easy ways you can create a mini carnival to bring a lot of joy to your home in this crazy time.

Side show games to make your own carnival:

Lego slide:

This works well at the kitchen bench, on the dining table or any other smooth surface. I created areas using Washi Tape to give score zones. The boys then took turns sliding Lego into the zones to score points. I’m going to try to remember this game as it is so easy to set up and kept them entertained. Would also be good on rainy days or late afternoons to do something active while inside.

Can toss:

I made this a two part activity to keep the boys extra busy. The first part was optional but it allowed me to drink a coffee and feed Ruby in relative peace (I turned a blind eye to paint on bodies). The first part I did the day before, when I had the boys painting cans (you could also just leave them blank or paint paper and wrap the cans). Once we had our cans decorated we set them up in a stack as shown on a stool. The boys had a small toy each (as I don’t have any bean bags) which they used to lob at the can pile.

Target golf:

Set up a mini golf activity using a club, ball and a cardboard box. I found using rolled up towels as a good barrier to minimise lost golf balls was a huge help. This easy little activity kept the boys busy for at least 20mins. Plus now that Freddy is learning numbers at school we were able to incorporate scoring as well.

Duck Fishing:

Full confession I didn’t end up giving this one a go but there were some fun examples on pinterest. Unfortunately, I recently threw out the bath toys as they had gone moldy. But if you have plenty of those little bath toys, you can set this up in a matter of minutes. In the bath, a large bucket or sink put your floaty bath toys in and give the kids kitchen utensils to scoop or grab the toys. I’d probably add a timer to see how many the kids can get in a given time then get them to change hands but that’s because my two are so competitive at the moment.

Make your own Show Bags:

Theme it. Have a look at your children’s play space and find a toy they haven’t used in a while. Grab a shopping bag and place it in. Then start finding similar themed objects. For us we did a dinosaur themed bag and a construction themed bag. I included books, old t-shirts, water bottles, more diggers and dinosaurs, bags of rocks and sticks and play dough. All of a sudden what was old was fun again.

Carnival Food ideas:

Strawberry Ice-cream:

What you need: ice cream cone, strawberry ice cream (Sara Lee is the best), fresh cream, strawberries. Start by finely chopping enough strawberries to fill the base of your cone. Once chopped strawberries are in the cone, first add a scoop of strawberry ice cream, followed by a dollop of cream, complete with a whole strawberry on top. I don’t know about other states but in Brisbane they are selling DIY strawberry ice cream kits as a fundraiser which makes this extra easy.

Hotdogs:

Who can beat a sausage on bread with a bit of sauce. Lunch done. And it totally counts as carnival food :)