Family fun planner

Make the most of the warmer autumn days at one of New Zealand’s beautiful beaches by taking your family on a day of adventure. Here’s eight fun, easy outdoor games we’ve chosen for you.

1 BOWLED OVER

Dig three holes in the sand and have the kids roll their ball towards the hole, the first person to get the ball in wins. Make the holes various widths or distances away for an added challenge!

2 MAKE A FORT

Find sticks on the beach and use rope or string to create a roof with a sheet or Turkish towel, then decorate with seaweed or shells. A fort will also keep your family sun safe!

3 BEACH JOURNAL

Each kid gets a notebook to record their day at the beach. Draw a landscape picture of the beach, describe what they see in the rock pools or they can take photos of any wildlife and write about them.

4 SHELL BE RIGHT

Using shells, seaweed, sticks and stones, have your kids create beach art. They can make seahorses or fish shapes, or create a 2D version of their dream beach castle.

5 STACK‘ EM UP

Create your own version of the classic kids’ game Jenga, only using items you find at the beach, like driftwood and stones. How high can you go?

6 SAND ‘N’ SPOON RACE

Scoop up a spoonful of dry sand onto a dessert spoon and place a shell on top of it, then have the kids race from one line to another without knocking the shell off.

7 EASY AS ABC

Someone picks a letter and the first person to spot the letter (in a sign, on a numberplate, etc), wins! Start with the easy letters if you’ve got young kids, then make them trickier.

8 LET’ S CHAT

Get the family talking with conversation starters: What is your happiest memory? What would you invent if you could? What makes you feel brave? What is your favourite movie or song?