Your kids love bubbles — and face it, you probably do too — but even the most devoted bubble enthusiast sometimes get bored with aimlessly blowing bubbles with a wand or chasing the bubbles you blow. These nine DIY bubble games are safe for kids, are easy to make at home and bring your mommy game to a new level of fun!
For many of these games, you’ll need to use tape or string to mark start and finish lines 10 to 20 feet apart and usually also someone to keep track of the number of bubbles blown, caught or popped.
- Bubble Hands
Use regular hand soap and water. Carefully blow bubbles as on Housing a Forest. The player who blows the biggest bubble with their hands wins.
- Hula Hoop Bubble Blow
Devany LeDrew at Still Playing School suggests this game using bubble solution, hula hoops and hands. One player from each team of two stands at the finish line, dips her hands in bubble solution and then blows bubbles through her hands from the finish line, while her teammate runs from the start line using a hula hoop to catch the bubbles. The team catching the most bubbles wins.
- Bubble Tool Pop
LeDrew also recommends this game, which uses household tools such as tongs, clothespins or chopsticks. One player from each team stands a few feet from her teammate and blows bubbles, while her teammate pops them with the tool. The team popping the most bubbles wins. You can adjust the difficulty level of this game by having the first player blow bubbles through different household items — from a wire hanger (easiest) to a flyswatter (very difficult!).
- Bubble Can Run
Parenting author and early childhood expert Patricia Dischler recommends this game, played with bubble solution and cans with both ends removed and the cut part covered in duct tape to cover sharp edges. Children line up beside a pan filled with bubble solution. Each child dips one end of the can in the solution, then runs to the finish line while holding the can horizontally. The first child across the finish line with a bubble intact wins.
- Bubble Pop Count
Dischler also suggests using bubbles and a dry concrete surface to play this simple game. Each child blows bubbles toward the ground, counting them as they pop. The first bubble blower to 25 pops wins. Parents can help kids learn about counting by asking kids if each batch of bubbles popped is more or less than the previous batch.
- Handmade Bubble-Blower Relay
Megan Calhoun at Social Moms suggests, “Let the children make their own bubble wands out of craft materials and decorate them.” Pull out the craft box and let the kids get creative, making their own bubble-blowing tools by shaping pipe cleaners. Decorate them with feathers, beads, glitter and other materials.For the relay, fill kiddie pools with bubble solution at the start and finish lines. Kids form two lines, one beside each pool. The kids at the start line dip their creations into the pool and race toward the finish line while blowing bubbles, then tag their teammates at the second pool, who race back to the first pool while blowing bubbles. First team to finish the relay wins. Let kids vote and award prizes for most creative crafter and best decorator.
- Bubble Art Pictionary
Carrie Lewis, director of Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Day School, says, “Mix some bubble solution into washable paint and let children use it for painting pictures.” Then, form teams with equal numbers of players. One player from each team shows his painting to his teammates, who have 30 seconds to guess what it is. Continue on both teams until time runs out. The team that guesses the most pictures correctly wins.
- Bubble Hide-and-Seek
Play hide-and-seek using straws in buckets of bubble solution. The player chosen to be “it” counts to 25 while the other players hide. The seeker uses a straw to blow bubbles to tag the hiders. Once tagged, the hiders join the seeker finding the others, blowing bubbles with their own straws. Last person to be tagged wins.
- Bubble Catch
Play in teams of two with a pan of bubble solution and differently sized slotted spoons. One teammate blows bubbles through a slotted spoon, while the other catches them. The team that catches the most bubbles wins.
Bubble games let kids enjoy bubbles while learning valuable social skills and working as a team. Ready, set, play!
Sandy Wallace enjoys family life and sharing tips to help parents find joy in daily life and make memories with their family. Sandy’s enjoyed a lot of memory-making bubble blowing times with her kids.
