Summer is the perfect time to get outdoors and get moving. During your Solstice celebration, consider playing some of the following games. Just google outdoor games and children to find tons of sites with many more games than the ones listed.
Capture the Flag
There are two teams.
Team 1 has the front yard and Team 2 has the back yard, or a field was split between the two teams. The teams are given a time period, like 5 minutes, to hide their flag in their part of the yard.
[optional] During this period spies were sent out to see were the flag was hidden as well as look-outs to catch the spies.
When the flag is hidden you call out that you are finished. Then you simply try to get the other teams flag. If you get caught and tagged by the opponent on their territory you had to go to jail and could only be freed by a teammate who grabs you when your opponent isn't looking.
The first team to capture the flag wins. In most versions you had to both get the flag, and bring it back to your side.
Wolf's Dinner Time
One player becomes the wolf and he/she will stand with his/her back turned to the others about 15 feet from the others. The others call out, "Whats the time Mr. Wolf" and the wolf turns to face the others and shouts out a time. Eg: 9 o'clock. The others would then take 9 steps toward the wolf. The group will take the same amount of steps toward the wolf as the amount of hours in the wolfs time. eg, 4 o'clock = 4 steps, 6 o'clock = 6 steps etc. etc. The wolf will then turn his back to the group again for them to yell "whats the time...." (He looks at the group only when he shouts the time at the group").
When the group comes close to the wolf the next time the group yells "whats the time Mr. Wolf" the wolf will say 'Its DINNER TIME" and run after the group who are running back to the start line, and hopefully catch one of the group who will then be the wolf. It sounds noisy, but is an interesting game.
Doors & Windows
Here, kids form a circle holding their hands. Then they would spread out enough that everyone's arms were straight out, to form large spaces between kids. These were the windows and doors. Then one child would start running, and weaving in and out between children. As they did this the kids in the circle would randomly drop their arms down trying to touch or trap the person weaving their way in and out. Once the person was caught or touched by the arms of someone, they were out. They would then choose which person would be next to weave in and out of the windows and doors
Hen and Chicks
Have two safe points such as trees some distance apart.
One person is in the middle as the Hen trying to round up her chicks.
When she calls for her chicks all the little chicks run from one point to the other while the mother hen tries to catch them.
If they are caught they have to stay in the middle and help mother hen. The last chick caught gets to be the hen for the next round.
Human Chain
Two people start the game. They hold hands and chase people, the person they catch joins the chain by linking hands. When another person is caught they can stay together or spilt 2 and 2 they must split in even numbers and can link together at will. This game is played till all are caught.
Broom Tag
All you need is a broom and 4 or more people. The person who is IT tries to tag people with the end of the broom. If they are tagged, then they are on IT'S team. They have to grab someone and yell "Broom Chaser!" Then the person who's IT comes and tags the person that's being held. Everyone one that's tagged is on IT's team. When everyone is tagged except one person, then the game is over and the person that is left is IT. The person who is IT is called the BROOM CHASER.
Flashlight Tag
Played at night, this game mixes the popular games, hide and seek with tag. The person who is "it" waits at the "jail" counting to a high number while everyone else hides. Then, armed with a flashlight, this person searches for the others who may be switching hiding spots. The flashlight must remain on at all times and may not be covered. When "it " spots someone, s/he must use the flashlight to get a close enough look at the person to identify him/er and call out his/er name.
What happens when a person gets caught, gives rise to variations of this exciting game. One variation is to pass the flashlight to the caught person, so s/he becomes "it." Another version is to send each caught person to "jail" to wait until everyone is caught. The first person caught then becomes "it." Another variation is to have more than one person (or a team) be "it." With this configuration, people who are not "it" can tag other people (or team members) free from "jail." One of the "its" may stay near to guard the "jail."
Players will find new and interesting ways to improve their play. One such strategy is to watch where "it(s)" have already searched, and then switch to that hiding spot. One might also find success by following "it(s)." For added challenge, players may camouflage themselves with dark clothing and face paint. This game is excellent for developing great strategies of guerrilla warfare in young minds. This game will also encourage paranoia in parents and entire neighborhoods.
This is an exciting combination of hide and seek and tag. One person closes their eyes and counts to some high number, while everyone else hides. Then, the person who counted (who has incidentally been guarding "the can") has to run around the neighborhood and find everybody. The tricky part is that once a person is found, they have a race, where the person who has just been found has to try to kick the can over before the counter tags them. When that game gets boring, there seems to always be those kids who will hide in a dumb, easy to discover place, with the intent of sprinting for the can if they're caught... it's a good game for building paranoia into your character. :)
Swing the Statue
One player is chosen to be "it." He or she takes each of the other players in turn and, holding them by a wrist or hand, swings them in a circle and then lets them go. The swung player must freeze as soon as possible and hold that position as long as possible. The first player to break the freeze becomes "it." Since the first player swung must hold the position longest, begin with the oldest child first. The entertainment value comes from seeing the strange positions that players end up in and watching them try to hold those positions.
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