Outdoor games – head into the forest with the kids!

Forest, does it make you as happy as it makes us? Walking through the branches, the scent of pine, and the rustling of the treetops; the forest clears your mind and is beautiful in every season! But heading out for a long walk when you're with kids... With our outdoor games, you’ll enjoy the forest in a whole new way! The forests in Northeastern Friesland are – like everything here – different from elsewhere. With the influences of the mudflats and the remnants of the Ice Age, they often feature diverse landscapes. Want to know where to find lovely forests and areas to roam in Land in Friesland? Let the wouden inspire you!

Real obstacle tag. To make it more exciting, you can also play virus tag: anyone who gets tagged automatically becomes the tagger. Who wins?

It’s still such a fun game! With a group of up to 6 participants, we always play it like this:

You find a group of trees, with one less tree than the number of participants. The “lummels” (players) must conquer a tree. To do so, they need to tag a player who is traveling between two trees.

Here’s how it works:

• All players take a tree and stand against it.
• The tagger gives a whistle (or another agreed-upon signal), and everyone must run from their tree to another one. If they are tagged along the way, the new tagger is decided.
• The tagger must stand at least 3 meters away from the trees.

Still one of the most popular outdoor games. With young children, it’s a good idea to play hide-and-seek together.

You can also play reverse hide-and-seek:

• One person hides
• The rest go searching
• The person who finds the hider quietly stands next to them
• The last person left searching loses, but now gets to hide for the new round!

While everyone is enjoying a snack and a drink at the starting point, you quickly set up a treasure hunt. The simplest one: find the treasure!

Using ropes, ribbons, or arrows on the ground, you mark the path. And at the end, you place a fun treasure. As a variation, you can also hang letters along the way that the hunters have to form into a word (or pictures and a riddle, whatever you like). This word forms the code to unlock the treasure. They need to tell the word to the treasure keeper (that’s probably you) before they can open the treasure chest.

What’s in the treasure chest? You get to decide that!

Twigs, acorns, pinecones, leaves, moss, and other treasures; there’s so much to find in the forest that you can turn into something beautiful. Give each child a bag to collect the treasures. And what can you make with them? We have some inspiration for that:

• A gnome house

Make a lovely little house with a garden and other things. Look for wide, short twigs to make stools, place a moss roof, and create a real gnome survival setup with pinecones and acorns. You can also use paint and glue, super fun!

• A Christmas centerpiece

Well, we think it’s fine to make this all winter and autumn long; create a beautiful piece for your home or garden table. Just be careful with candles! You can also put a battery-powered string of lights in it, which always looks beautiful! Floral foam and a pot are very helpful here.

• A sculpture

Make a robot, a fantasy animal, or just something else. Let the kids craft with the treasures, glue, nails, and paint.

• A wreath

Buy a straw wreath and stick all the treasures into it beautifully!

What do you see when you search the ground with binoculars? There are great books, as well as brochures and find maps to take with you. Some visitor centers also have nice information and routes for outdoor games.

It Fryske Gea and Staatsbosbeheer are, of course, masters at creating outdoor games! They have routes with games along the way.

This is one of the favorite outdoor games for adults (yes, even for us too)!

You probably have an old digital camera lying around. This way, you can go on a hunt together for the best photo.

This lets you see nature in a whole new way. Especially if you apply one of these tips:

• Try photographing from the ground
• Or from the tree (make sure to hold on tight)
• From very close up
• Or focus on a detail, such as tree bark, or a single leaf with a drop of water on it
• What do you find special? Capture it in a photo!
• Wait for the moment. Sometimes you just need to sit still and watch, and something will naturally happen that really deserves to be photographed!

For a child, walking is often not just boring, but also a bit long. Bring their bike for the forest!

Jeux de boules au bois!

• Search for acorns. And mark them with a pen or by scratching a mark in them.
• Place a small stone somewhere, or decide on something else as 'the target.'
• Now, one by one, throw an acorn (you can decide how many acorns per person).
• Who has thrown the closest to the target?

Which team needs the fewest throws to get the ball to the target?

This is an easy way to add a game to a walk. A real 'kloot' is a lead-weighted ball, but you can easily find something in the forest to throw, or bring tennis balls or something similar from home.

Divide the group into at least 2 teams and start from the same point. Alternately, everyone throws the ball as far as possible along the route. Record each throw, and the person with the fewest points at the finish wins!

Bring a pen and a notepad or record the throws in your phone.

Check our map to find out which restaurant you can relax in for a bit. Or just come and enjoy a nice sleep in Land in Friesland!