When the sun sets on a summer evening and the kids aren’t quite ready for bed yet, it’s time to crack some glow sticks! Whether you’re out camping in the woods or you’re with a group of friends, glow stick parties are just good fun!

Read on for games and activities (if you need them…sometimes kids have better ideas they take off with!).

Sharks and Minnows

To play this game, hand out glow stick necklaces to everyone, and select one or two people to be ‘Sharks’. The Sharks wear the necklaces around their neck, while the rest of the players, the ‘Minnows’, hold theirs in their hands. The Minnows move to one end of the playing field, while the Sharks move between them and the opposite side. When one of the Sharks yells, “Go!'“ the Minnows all attempt to run to the other side of the playing field without being tagged by the Sharks. If a Minnow is tagged, they place their necklace around their neck and become a Shark in the following round. Play until there is only one Minnow left, and declare them winner of the round. They get to start as the Shark next time.

**Three Flies Up**

This easy but fun game is perfect if you have a glowing ball or even a frisbee. Give the ball to one player, who backs up from the rest of the group. The other players cluster together, and the person with the ball throws it high into the air. The rest of the group tries to catch it, and play resumes until one person has caught it three times, in which case they take the place of thrower. This game is also fun with a baseball bat, in which you can hit fly balls instead of throwing them.

Glow Bottle Flip

Find a relatively flat surface, like a picnic table or sidewalk, and give everyone a disposable water bottle and a glow stick. Empty out about half of the water in the bottle, then stick in a glow stick and screw on the lid tightly (you wouldn’t want a surprise shower). Attempt to flip the bottle onto the flat surface and land it on its bottom without touching it or interfering in any other way. If you want more of a challenge, try to land it on its cap!

Tag

Choose one person to start as ‘It’. That player runs around and attempts to tag other players. if you are tagged, you are now ‘It’. Here are a couple different ways to play:

Freeze Tag

If you are tagged in this version, you must freeze in place until another player who is not ‘It’ comes and unfreezes you. The person who is ‘It’ wins if they freeze everyone.

Infection Tag

If you are ‘It’ and tag someone, that player is now ‘Infected’, and is ‘It’ along with you. Last player not ‘It’ wins.

Long Exposure Pictures

This one is probably my kids’ favorite thing to do with glow sticks and they’ll do this FOREVER! Seriously…I have so many pics…I digress…

Use your phone to take long exposure photos. Bonus if you have a tripod for sharper images. Try to have the kids hold their bodies as still as possible while moving just the lights.

Hoop Toss

Create several hoops out of connected glow sticks, and find something it can fit over for a target. (Such as a traffic cone or maybe even someone’s head or arm!) Line up a few feet away from the target, and take turns trying to throw the hoop of glow sticks onto it.

Capture the Flag

This game works best with larger groups of people. Find two bandanas or rags, and tie it to a long row of connected glow sticks, making two flags. (Preferably, have the glow stick flags match the team color.) Divide the group of players in two teams, and assign each group a color, giving each player a necklace or bracelet that corresponds with their team color. Give the teams time to find a base and position their flag before play begins. The space in between the two bases is neutral territory, where any player can tag anyone else. The goal is for one team to capture the other’s flag and bring it back to their base without being tagged. When you are tagged, run back to your base before taking another shot at getting the flag. If there is an enemy player in your base, only your team can tag them, and they can’t tag you out there. If you have the flag but are tagged, you must drop it immediately, and the opposing team cannot bring it back to their base, but must still protect it wherever it was dropped.

If you want to make it more advanced, you can play with jails, where the rules about being tagged are different. If you decide to play with jails, have each team designate an area of their base to be the jail before play begins. When you are tagged, you must go to the enemy team’s jail instead of returning to your base. You must wait there until a player from your team runs into the jail without being caught and tags all of the prisoners, who are free to return to their base before going for the flag again.

Charades

For this game, create a list of things to act out. Doing a quick search on your phone for “kid charade topics” will give you plenty of ideas! Choose one person to start, and they move in front of the group and choose an animal, person, or an action. They then act it out using glow sticks, necklaces, or whatever they have, trying to get the rest of the group to guess what their word choice. (No talking, animal noises, or any other sounds!) The player who guesses correctly gets to be the actor next.

**Baseball**

*There was only one night game a year*…sorry, nighttime baseball is giving me Sandlot vibes! But if you have a glowing ball and players are lit up with glow sticks, have a fun casual game of baseball!
Speaking of baseball, going to a game (from Little League to the Majors) is one of the things on our Summer Bucket List Freebie! Download it today for some great ideas, and blank sheets for your kids (and you) to fill out your own bucket list ideas!

Jewelry/Decoration

Its always fun to use glow stick necklaces and bracelets to create elaborate decorations on yourself (or the dog)! Think hooped “earrings,” decorated hair-dos, sashes, belts, anklets, and more! You can even turn it into a competition, with two teams decorating one person and the most creative team wins!

Last but definitely not least…DANCE PARTY!

Put on some music and crank it up! Video the kids dancing in slow motion with all their lit up glory and listen to the laughter than ensues!

Glow Stick Party Games