Playing games with straws is a fun and easy way to keep kids entertained. But there’s more to it than just that. Playing games with straws can also help kids learn important skills like counting, sorting, and hand-eye coordination. It’s also a great way for kids to practice their fine motor skills. This is especially important because those are the same skills that will help them as they get older.
Straws are usually available at any party and are cheap (especially when buying in bulk here)! Almost all households have their stock of plastic straws or paper straws, so this is a nice go-to material to use for your games.
With our busy schedules, workloads, and other responsibilities, it may be hard for some to think of fun activities that are easy to prepare. Good thing, we’ve put together a list of fun games with straws for your next birthday party game, summer camp event, classroom, or family gathering.
Table of Contents
5 Fun Games with Straws
Connect the Straw (team building straw activity)
Get everyone to work as a team with this fun game with straws. What you need to prepare are these straws and chairs for every team who will play the game. There should be 5 players in one team, where each player will receive 1 straw. Assemble the area by placing the chair at least 10 feet away from the starting line where the players are standing. Line up the teams, and on your mark, they will have to connect all the straws together without any adhesive, just connect the ends together.
Each member will hold on to their straws and will march towards the chair, walk around it then back to the starting line without breaking the connection of the straws. Any team that has one straw disconnected from the straw chain will have to go back to the starting line and reconnect. The first team to march around the chair marker and make it back to the starting area wins the game.
Straw Flipping Challenge
Ready a pack of plastic straws, 10 drinking cups or mugs, and 2 tables. Place 5 cups on each table, and a pack of plastic straws on the end of the table. Now have the players form 2 groups with 5 players. Each team will stand at the end of the table, where players will stand in front of the cups.
Once ready, the first player will grab the plastic straws, lay down one straw at the tip of the table, and with one hand, they have to flip the straw to make it shoot to the cup. To make sure that it will work, have a trial round before the game starts to make sure that the distance of the straw from the cup is enough to flip itself to the cup. Once the first player was able to shoot the straw to the cup, then it’s the next player’s turn to play until every member of the team is done.
Straw Blow Pipe Battle
Get your game face ready with this easy yet very exciting game with colored straws, cotton swabs (Q-tips), and safe colored paint. Before the event, ask each attendee to bring an extra white shirt that can be painted on. On the day of the event, prepare plenty of straws, 2 cups with different food-grade paints, and a few packs of cotton buds.
Divide the players into 2 teams, then give each player 1 cotton swab and 1 straw. Ask them to change into their white shirts and line up facing the other team, 3 to 5 feet apart. You can go further apart to increase the difficulty.
The player on the end of the line will receive the cup with the paints and on your mark, they will dip the cotton swab onto the paint, put it inside the straw with the painted side out. The player will blow the straw targeting the shirt of the opponent in front of them. Once done, they will pass the paint to the next player, until all the players have had a turn.
By the end of the round, someone will tally the successful paint marks on each team’s shirt to know which team was able to aim and shoot the swabs correctly!
Suck It Up!
Since candies and sweets are perfect for any occasion, this fun game with straws is always a good choice for your upcoming gathering. It is one of the most difficult challenges with straws on the list and requires concentration and good motor skills.
Prepare the following materials: 2 rectangle floral foam, 20 straws, 2 bowls, and a big pack of M&Ms. Place 5 straws on each floral foam, making sure that they’re balanced and sturdy. Form 2 groups with 5 members each, give each player 1 straw, and then divide an equal amount of M&Ms into the bowls.
Set up the playing area by placing the floral foams on top of the table, then at both ends of the table, place the bowl. Each team will stand at the ends of the table and on your mark, the first player will suck on the straw to catch 1 M&M and will transfer in on top of the straw that’s standing on the floral foam. If that player drops the M&M then the next player will play. Continue until all the 5 straws on the floral foam are topped with M&M! The winning group can take home all the remaining M&Ms! Sweet treat right!
Mustache Straw Drop (aka the pouty straw game)
For this game, divide players into teams of five. You will need a straw for each player and a few extras. A bulk box of straws is usually best to have on hand. Place a plastic 16ox bottle or something similar on a table about 15 feet away from the line of players.
When the game begins, a player will place their straw over their top lip (like a straw mustache) then spin 5 times. After spinning, they will walk to the bottle and place the straw into the bottle without using their hands. To make things more difficult, add another obstacle into the path to the bottle once 5 straws have been placed in the bottle. The first team to achieve 10 straws into their bottle wins.
Summary
In conclusion, playing games with straws is a fun and easy way to keep kids entertained while also teaching them important skills. So next time you’re looking for a way to keep the little ones occupied, grab some straws and try one of these games!