Summer fun starts when the sun goes down. Here are 10 games kids can play when it gets dark outside. #PoweringSummer
With school out and being in the thick of summer, I want to ensure my 13-year-old son and six-year-old daughter don’t just veg on the couch watching TV or playing video games all summer long.
It’s important to keep reading, learning, and being active throughout the summer so they don’t lose those skills that they worked on during the school year. If you need a list of ideas to help prevent summer brain drain, I’ve got you covered!
This post is all about being active and having fun during summer vacation while staying safe after dark. I would like to thank Energizer
Our backyard is the size of a large field where the kids gather to play. They always have a great time playing outside, but there is something special about night games. When it’s dark outside, that’s when the really fun games begin. Here is a list of games kids can play when it gets dark outside.
1. Stargazing
We live out in the county which is usually very dark. The kids can go out in the backyard on most nights to star gaze. This is especially fun during a meteor shower. You could have the kids try to find constellations or make pictures out of the stars. Get out your blankets and lay out on the grass.
2. Use Sky Map
Sky Map is a hand-held planetarium for your Android device. Use it to identify stars, planets, nebulae and more. Originally developed as Google Sky Map, it has now been donated and open sourced.
3. Camping
Put away the video games and pitch a tent in your backyard for a night of under the stars. By sticking close to home, your kids can feel safe and secure, be within walking distance of a bathroom, and still enjoy a wonderful family bonding experience.
4. S’mores
This traditional nighttime campfire treat consists of a fire-roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker. Adult supervision required.
5. Bonfire
The adults can set up and supervise a large controlled outdoor fire. Kids can roast hot dogs and smores. Adults can get rid of brush or old paperwork. Win-win!
6. Catch fireflies (AKA lightning bugs)
In the South, we call them lightning bugs! 🙂 When you get close enough, catch your fireflies using a net. Place the fireflies you catch into a clear jar with a lid that’s been pierced to let in air. You should also place a moistened paper towel inside to keep the air in the jar humid.
7. Flashlight wars
One person is “it.” They have a flashlight. Everyone runs away from “it” while “it” counts to 10. Then “it” runs around and tries to find everyone. Once you are caught in the light of the flashlight, you are caught. The last person to be “tagged” by the light wins and the person that was tagged first is “it” next.
8. Explore the backyard
Use headlamps to walk around or play games like hide-and-seek, capture the flag, or freeze tag.
9. Glow in the Dark games
You could create a ring toss from glow in the dark bracelets, make glow in the dark bubbles, or play glow in the dark bowling.
10. Make shadow puppets
If you have a white sheet or light colored wall, the kids can use flashlights, headlamps, or lanterns to create animals in the shadows. You can cast ballots for most creative or best illustration.
Energizer sent us a box of products and challenged us to come up with ideas to keep kids active during summer vacation with activities.
At the end of the post, there’s a great giveaway that’s sure to ramp up your night-time summer fun!
About Energizer’s New Line
- Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ batteries are the world’s first AA and AAA battery made with four percent recycled batteries.
- Energizer headlights are lightweight, versatile and water resistant with pivoting functionality to direct light where you need it.
- Energizer area lanterns are the safe, reliable way to provide bright 360° light long into the night, at the camp fire, or while weathering a storm.
We live in a very rural area, so there are no street lights. When it’s dark, it’s DARK! The kids had a great time playing outside with the headlights and lantern.
The Energizer® Fusion LED Folding Lantern has 330 lumen output and light fusion technology panel that folds up for 360 degree delivering vibrant uniform area lighting. The sturdy stand on on the back of lantern allows for hands-free use (i.e. sitting it on the ground or on a table or other flat surface). It also has two modes: high and low plus smart dimming technology for customizable light output.
The Energizer® Vision HD+ Focus LED Headlight is highest performing of the Energizer vision headlights. It has 250 lumen output and a beam distance of 80 meters. My daughter had a little too much fun changing the light from white to red.
The digital focus feature allows users to customize the light to the desired width. So, she was able to adjust it herself, while wearing it. It’s also water and impact resistant up to 1 meter.
She thought it was really fun to chase big brother. No way he could hide now!
They ended the night with a quick game of shadow puppets on our carport.
The littlest hands actually make the best ones. This was my six-year-old making a snake. 🙂
Energizer lights and batteries are the perfect accessories for all your summertime family activities. Their lanterns are versatile, powerful, and portable. Whether you’re camping under the stars or playing in the backyard, Energizer’s high-performance headlights are just what you need for summertime adventures that require two hands. And, as you’re preparing for your summertime fun, don’t forget the batteries!
For more information, visit the Energizer, Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ batteries, and Energizer lighting products.
What’s your favorite game to play at night? What do you do to keep your kids active during the summer?
How to Win an Energizer Prize Pack
PRIZE PACK INCLUDES (approximate retail value $90):
- One Energizer® Fusion LED Folding Lantern
- One Energizer® Vision HD + Focus LED Headlight
- Two packs of Energizer® EcoAdvanced® AA and AAA Batteries
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway ends August 18, 2016 at 11:59pm EST and is limited to US residents, 18 years or older. The winner will be chosen randomly. Winner must respond to email within 24 hours or prize may be forfeited. Promotional content and prize for this promotion is provided by and shipped by sponsor. The prize may be sent via FedEx or UPS. No P.O. Boxes please.
These are such fun ideas! Makes me wish I was a kid again 🙂 Thanks for linking up our Merry Monday party.
Flashlight tag, was always a huge success with the kids.
TO keep the kids active we do regular visits to the parks!
We actually have been playing Pokemon go at night lately.
Chasing fireflies is always a favorite night time activity.
My nieces and nephew have lots of outdoor play equipment to keep them busy.
To keep active we go to the pool ALL the time!
Our favorite game to play at night is Pictionary. Kids stay active playing basketball with our driveway hoop.
We go on family bike rides to keep my daughter active in the summer
We like to play kick the can at dusk/night
The kids love to play flashlight tag
We play a lot of outside games, go swimming, hiking & ride bikes
Swimming in the pool at night is always a lot of fun!!
thanks!
Bike riding, hikes, and swimming keep kids pretty active…and hungry. 🙂
thanks!
During the summer we love to head outside biking, hiking, camping and days at the springs or beach.
The kids love to play hide ‘n seek outside at night with their flashlights. It is a lot of fun…even for my husband and I!
I like playing monopoly
we did summer camp and swim lessons
Night ball with the kids. Or catching lighting bugs.
I keep the kids active by involving them in sports, outdoor trips with walks, zoo, and parks.
We spend a lot of time swimming either in the pool or time at the beach!
I like playing Rummiecube.
I don’t have young children.
Marco Polo in a pool!
We love to explore nature and just enjoy being outside in the summer. Fresh air and fun
Hide and go seek is my favorite to play at night
Hide and seek is fun at night!
To keeps my kids active during the summer I make them play outside for atleast 30 minutes.
We go for daily walks and trips to the park!
Capture the Flag using glow sticks at night.
Keeping the kids active in the summer by enrolling them in organized summer sports.
We like to play Scrabble!
I have no kids living at home now.
I like having a bonfire with smores!
My kids go to the local water park to stay active!
We enjoy playing flashlight tag at night.
I keep the kids active by taking them swimming.
My kids love backyard camping, catching fireflies, and stargazing at night. 🙂
My kids stay really active in the Summer by all of the outside activities that they enjoy like swimming, riding bikes, playing sports, etc.
I love flashlight tag! I keep my kids busy and active during the summer by helping my husband and I on the farm!
Favorite game to play at night is night tag!
A fun way to keep kids active is swimming or going to a water park to let them run around and play in the water.
we love to place spongebob connect four in the evenings!! my kids cant get enough of that game!
i keep my kids active by changing up the activities each day! we ride bikes outside, play in the yard on the swingset and sandbox. we play cornhole, we also garden so we are laways moving!
monopoly
we go the beach
Loved hide and go seek and Marco polo in the pool at night.
We try to stay busy and enjoy the outdoors but its been so hot this summer
We play hide and go seek or tag in the evenings
We spend a lot of time at the park and out riding bikes. We go camping and fishing as often as possible.
My daughter loves to swim and her soccer starts in the summer.
I would have to say hide and seek is so much fun in the dark.
We love to play hide and seek 🙂
Our favorite is hide & seek or even sitting around the bonfire telling ghost stories.
We go on walks & ride bike.
Capture the flag!
We get outside every day.
Lately it has been Pokemon Go I don’t let my daughter play alone see we do it as a family. It gets us outside and enjoying nature.
we keep the kids active for one so they won’t stay up all night during Mom time. And 2 two keep the brain active.
I love to play scrabble.
During the summer we love to go to amusement parks and ride our bikes.
I love playing life at night
We have a play set and also a kiddie pool with lots of toys. We also have been playing pokemoney go.
We love to play hide n seek in the dark!
We go on walks everyday as a family!
It is fun to play miniature golf in the dark with glow-in-the-dark golf balls.
I keep my granddaughter busy by going to the water park, river, movies, local parks, library and museum.
Everyone loves to play Hide and seek at night!
We hangout at the pool or the beach all summer long keeps the kids busy.
ours was always catching lighten bugs
we spent a lot of the summer camping
We like to play hide and seek at night. Sometimes spooky, but mostly fun!
To keep my kids active during the summer, we love to swim!
My favorite game to play is Bejeweled.
The kids like playing nighttime tag.
During the summer our kids ride their bikes, go swimming, go to the park and play basketball in the backyard.
Flashlight tag is a fun game to play in the summer when it is dark.
We go for walks in the neighborhood, go play in different parks, play in our yard, and walk as much as we can during daily errands.
We like to play flashlight tag.
My kids have 4 paws, truly I like to take that time to remember they can’t tell me what hurts or where, so
I just call them and kick them out of bed or chase them, sometimes just to be sure they still like to play and look and feel healthy. Also, it is too hot to do that during the day, I’ve no air.
Getting a Cat to drink enough water in the heat is a major game…anything I can from sardine water to a hose.
You can find me online taking a go at BINGO and Poker.
We like playing tag when outside
We go the pool so that they can swim and to the park early in the morning or late afternoon/early evening
We didn’t do it this year, but my kids love glow stick tag!
We walk early in the morning at a local park before it gets too hot and miserable, and the girls play outside in the water a lot to stay active.
We love to play hide and seek with flashlights!
To keep the kids active during the summer, we love to go on bike rides and explore all the local parks!
I liek flashlight tag at night
My kids love hide and seek at night.
My daughter plays soccer pretty much year round plus runs when she has some down time. So she stays pretty active year round.
We love to play Monopoly!!
We play basketball to stay active.
We love to make fires in the fire pit and roast marshmallows and hot dogs at night.
We play sorry all the time
we try to schedule fun things to do the week before
I love to play Clue or Battleship with my sons!
It’s no chore at all keeping my kids active during the summer. My daughter is a swimmer & my son takes karate. And in their free time, they are constantly in our pool or biking around the neighborhood!
we love to play hide and seek and we also love to play corn hole!
We stay active by going to the lake and to the park!
At night we arr stargazers. Hopscotch is a fun night game.
We have kept busy this summer by swimming and 4 wheeling.
We showed our older grandkids how to play flashlight tag this summer. They had a blast.
This summer we did alot of Ppkemon Go playing to stay active! At night, we love to catch lightning bugs and stargaze!
It’s been hard to stay active this last month because it was so hot. I try to take the kids on nature walks, bike riding and swimming.
We like to catch lightning bugs and take walks!
We stay active by going to local parks and riding bikes in the neighborhood and playing in the backyard.
During the summer we go to the park, play soccer but if it is too hot we play xbox sports inside.
at night we like running around in the back yard playing tag your it
My favorite game to play at night is nighttime scavenger hunt
hiking, fishing, swimming, and gardening keep my kids active during the summer
We go to the park, swim and play in the back yard!
The little one like to hide under their blanks and play with a flashlight
We have lists of things to keep them busy
Never a what are we going to do today!
We like to play hide and seek
We take them swimming
We do a lot of hiking and take day trips to towns near us to discover new things together.It keeps us all active during the Summer and makes for some fun memories.
We love to play hide and seek at night! It’s super fun! PokemonGO is also a really fun thing to do at night,since it is a little cooler outside.Great after dinner activity.
We have a pool, so we swim a lot.
When I was a kid we used to love to play Ghost In The Graveyard at night.
I set up their kiddie swimming pool and craft projects.
When my kids were little it was Hide and seek.
At night we play video games as a family.
To stay busy in summer, we play a lot of tennis – helps to keep us fit and is fun.
At night, my favorite game to play is tag.
During the summertime, I keep my nephew busy with art projects and playing sports with him.
We like playing hide and seek at night!
We do a lot more geocaching in the summer time! It’s a great way to keep the kids moving and these lights would come in handy when we do night caching!
When I was a kid we loved Hide and Seek at night. At night we called it Ghost in the Graveyard though.
I keep the kids active with lots of things. They especially love swimming and riding scooters.
We love to play flash light hide n seek at night time. We usually make a few teams consisting of my son and my nieces and nephews. We live in a rural area and have lots of great hiding places around our house.
To keep my son and neighbors kids active during the summer we often visit our state park in the evening. They have volley ball nets and walking trails and even a running track. It gets really hot during the day here, but in the evening the temperatures are mild enough to get outside and enjoy the summer.
We like to play Clue!
We get outside!
We like playing Clue and Risk.
We try to do more things outside.
We like to play hide-and-go-seek at night and flashlight tag.
To stay active we like to bird watch with hikes and journals.
We absolutely love to play flashlight tag at night. We get a bunch of the kids on our block together and often play parents versus kids.
To keep my kids active in the summer, we do as many outside activities as possible..the park, walks, playdates, slip n slides, the pool, games outdoors at nights on days it is too hot to be out.
Uno is always fun to play (even at night!)!
During the summer, it’s fun to spend time at the pool and beach! My nieces also enjoy going to the park!
At night, we like to catch lightning bugs. But we let them go…
I keep my kids busy in the summer with art projects. We love crafts in my house.
We like playing any number of card games
The kids play outside on their own and we take them to the pool
At night we like to play either Candyland or Scrabble.
To keep them busy during the summer we go swimming, bike riding and take long hikes.
We made a bucket list of fun activities and worked our way through them!
We love to play Candyland!
We like to play cards at night.
To keep busy we love to go swimming.
We like to play poker.
We keep busy by going to the pool, shopping, or doing art and crafts.
I take my nieces to the marina. My daughter is grown. Thank you for the chance 🙂
When my nieces come visit we play yahtzee and watch movies.