What kid (or adult, for that matter) doesn’t love playing with flashlights?? They help turn something scary–like the dark–into a fun, magical place. Take the fun to the next level by playing these flashlight games with your kids after dinner, on your next camping trip, or whenever you want to add a little activity to your night!
1. Flashlight Tag
This fun take on the classic game Tag will have all of your kids excited for the sun to go down! Instead of tagging the other players with your hand, you tag them with a beam of light!
Learn More: Anderson Party Of 5
2. Flashlight Limbo
Another twist on an old game is flashlight limbo. In this game, the limbo dancer tries not to touch the flashlight beam to see how low they can go!
Learn More: Ultimate Camp Resource
3. Shadow Charades
Who knew there were so many ways to use flashlights to put new life into classic games?? Use a flashlight and a white sheet to play a game of shadow charades! Make it a competitive game and play charades with teams!
Learn More: Mott Children
4. Shadow Puppets
Wow your kids with all of the different shadow puppets you know how to make, and then teach them how to make them, too! This simple flashlight game will keep kids entertained for hours.
Learn More: Scribble
5. Night Time Scavenger Hunt
Take your children on explorations with light and have them do scavenger hunts using their flashlights in the dark! The great thing about this fun game is it can be adapted for both older and younger children. Your kids will be asking for more flashlight fun!
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6. Shape Constellations
If you are looking for activities for children in the dark, then creating shape constellations might be just the activity you are looking for! Using the provided template and a strong flashlight, you can create constellations on your wall!
Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
7. Flashlight Dance Party
Get your entire family up and moving by having a flashlight dance party! Give each person a different colored light and let them get their boogie on! You can tape glow sticks to each person, and the one with the goofiest dance moves “wins”!
Learn More: Fantastic Fun and Learning
8. Flashlight Firefly Game
Like Marco Polo in the dark, this fun twist using a flashlight will have everyone running around trying to find the person with the flashlight who is designated as the “firefly.” This game will quickly become a family favorite! And when the time comes, your kids will be excited to capture real fireflies!
Learn More: Willy’s Wilderness
9. Ghost in the Graveyard
In this game, one player–the ghost–finds a hiding spot. Then the other players grab their flashlights and try to find the ghost. Whoever finds the ghost must yell “ghost in the graveyard” to warn fellow seekers so they can make it back to base before they are captured!
Learn More: Project Play Books
10. Silhouettes
Display each person’s silhouette on a piece of paper and create silhouettes. Use black paper and a white crayon to trace each silhouette. Crafty people can take this a step further and frame the pictures to make a cool family art display!
Learn More: Project Play Books
11. Shadow Puppet Show
Another activity for crafty people, this shadow puppet show is fun for the whole family! Have hours of fun creating your characters and putting on your shows! Use the same characters and make up different storylines! You can also make different themed puppets–like dinosaurs, pirates, nursery rhyme characters, etc!
Learn More: Kid Spot
12. Capture the Flag
Use flashlights or glowsticks to play capture the flag in the dark! Instead of using a flag, you can use a glow-in-the-dark soccer ball that the other team tries to capture. Make sure you have a big, open area to run around in for this game!
Learn More: Youth Group Collective
13. Morse Code with Flashlights
Use a regular flashlight and a dark wall to send each other Morse code messages in the dark! Your kids will be thrilled to discover another way to communicate and will feel like they are speaking a secret language! And hey, you might learn something, too.
Learn More: PPLDTV
14. Manhunt in the Dark
A variation of hide-and-seek, every person hides while one person is designated as the seeker. Arm each person with a flashlight, and as they are found, they search for the other people hiding in the dark. The last person left hiding wins!
Learn More: Instructables
15. Flashlight Pictionary
Whether you are camping or just want some late-night, backyard fun, flashlight Pictionary will keep the entire family entertained! You’ll need a camera with a long exposure time or an app on your phone to make your exposure time longer. You and your kids will have fun seeing what you drew and trying to figure out what each thing is when looking at the pictures.
Learn More: Traversing
16. Easter Egg Hunt in the Dark
There are multiple ways to do an Easter egg hunt in the dark. One way is to hide the eggs and grab the flashlights! Kids will have a ton of fun looking for their hidden treasures. Put glow-in-the-dark bracelets on your kids so you can see everyone in the dark!
Learn More: The Frugal Girls
17. Flashlight Fort
This school had an innovative idea on how to make reading time fun–flashlight forts! Have your children create forts and give each of them a flashlight so they can play or do quiet activities for a bit! You can use headlamps in place of flashlights, too, in their forts.
Learn More: Tippecanoe School Corporation
18. Flashlight Letter Hunt
A fun game using a flashlight for literacy learning is a flashlight letter hunt! You can follow the directions attached to recreate the letter hunt, or you could make up your own rules and set your letter hunters out with their flashlights. Either way, your children will be learning while having fun!
Learn More: Growing by Book by Book
19. Science Fun–Why the Sky Changes Colors
Have your children ever asked you why the sky changes colors? Well, answer this question by using water, milk, a glass jar, and a flashlight. Your kids will have fun with this flashlight experiment and won’t ask you why the sky changes again.
Learn More: STEAM-Powered Family
20. Flashlight Walks
Make a normal walk more exciting by exploring outside at night by giving your kids flashlights. There are multiple ways to make this fun and interactive–have them shout out what they find or if they are older, have them write down all of the things they find and compare lists at the end.
Learn More: Bambini Travel
21. Flashlight Sentence Building
Write words on index cards and have your kids make sentences by pointing their flashlights at words in the order they would like their sentences. You can play a game of who can make the silliest sentence! For younger kids, write word sounds and have them pair them together to form words.
Learn More: Mosswood Connections
22. Paper Cup Constellations
A twist on the flashlight constellations, this variation uses paper cups. You can have your kids create their own constellations on their cups, or you can draw actual constellations on the cups and have them poke out the holes. They will have tons of fun displaying their constellations on your dark ceiling.
Learn More: The Seasoned Mom
23. Flashlight Building
Kids have a fascination with flashlights. Teach them how flashlights are assembled by taking them apart and letting them put them back together! After, they can use the flashlight to play some of the other fun games listed.
Learn More: Living Montessori Now
24. Glowing Rock Star
Create fun flashlight microphones that illuminate whoever is singing, making them a glowing rock star. Your kids will feel like the center of attention! Follow the directions attached or create your very own design.
Learn More: I Heart Crafty Things
25. Flashlight Bat Signal
What kid doesn’t love Batman? Help them create their own Bat signal using a flashlight, contact paper, and scissors. Whenever they need help from the winged crusader, they will shine their light on their bedroom walls for all to see!
Learn More: Pink Stripey Socks
26. Fun with Shadows
Have fun with your younger children by having them explore all the things they can make their shadows do. Can they dance? Jump? Get bigger or smaller? Use a flashlight and a wall in your home for them to explore all of the things their shadows can do.
Learn More: Tinkergarten
27. I Spy
You don’t even need a flashlight for this game! This digital activity challenges your kiddos to a game of I-spy where they’ll use their computer mouse to shine the flashlight in order to find a target item. This is a super activity for your younger learners to help improve their memory and their digital skills!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
28. Flashlight Game
If you have a big open area, this game is guaranteed to provide your class with lasting memories. Hand your seeker a flashlight before prompting the rest of your class to run and hide in the darkness until the seeker has completed their countdown. Once finished, the seeker will then search the area and use their flashlight to reveal the hidden players.
Learn More: Real Creative Real Organized
29. Dinner by Flashlight
Is dinner crazy and hectic at your house? Make it a fancy, calm occasion every night by eating by flashlight. Yes, you can do this with candles as well, but this way you don’t have to worry about any open flames!
Learn More: Red and Honey
30. Lightning Bug
A twist on the firefly tag earlier in the list, the lightning bug tag has one person hide with a flashlight and flash the light every 30 to 60 seconds. After they flash the light, they move to a new location. The first person to find the lightning bug wins!
Learn More: Fatherly
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