10 Bubble Activities Kids will Love
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It’s no secret around here. We love bubbles. We love to blow them into the cool summer breeze. Pop them as they float by. Dance under them and even make art with them. Bubbles are marvelous.
Bubble activities definitely fall under some of our favorite simple summer activities with kids.
They also make an easy party activity at a summer birthday party. I never stop smiling when I hear the cries of glee as young guests spot bubble bottles ready for blowing.
There are lots of bubble activities that you can set up at your child’s next celebration. No matter the gathering or theme (we just used a couple of these for my little’s First Communion celebration), bubbles will always be a huge hit.
When choosing the perfect bubble activities, consider customize it for your party theme. You can rename a game so it fits the theme or play music that matches. For example, a princess themed party might have a Princess Bubble Pop to Disney princess music. Get creative. Your celebration will be even more memorable.
Check out these 10 bubble activities that are perfect for your child’s next party or any day they want to celebrate.
Blow, Blow, Blow
When the kids were little, blowing bubbles was one of their favorite things to do. Birthday party or not. As you think about the bubble activities to have at your party, you don’t have to look any further than the basic bubble bottle.
Setting out a tub of bubble bottles in the backyard is the perfect way to get the bubble fun started. You can purchase traditional bubbles at your local dollar store or even some cool bubble wands. (affiliates)
To personalize your bubbles, replace the labels with customized bubble labels to match your celebration.
Print your labels on water proof label paper (affiliate). The water proof label paper prevents the ink from smearing when the bubble solution drips over the bottle.
And, one more thing. Don’t forget to remove the foil seal on the tops of the bubble bottles before the party. These can be frustrating to younger kids to open themselves and discourage them from jumping right in.
Dance Under the Bubble Machine
One of the things we used to do on summer evenings in our city apartment was run the bubble machine (affiliate). The kids would dance on the balcony and the bubbles would spill out to the street. It was always a party in our home.
This tradition continues at our celebrations today. Just the dance floor is bigger (our backyard). I fill up the bubble machine, put on some music and away we go.
There’s something about dancing under bubbles that brings out the best of a party. Choose a bubble machine (affiliate) that you like and fill up with bubble solution.
As I’ve learned, you will need quite a bit of bubble solution to make the dance party last a little longer. The dollar store sells larger bottles to help keep your machine filled. And since the bubbles will only be floating out of the machine and not used for blowing, the quality of the bubble solution doesn’t really matter.
Aim High, Aim Low
This bubble activity is all about one’s ability to direct a bubble where you want it to go. Hang a hula hoop from a tree branch or set up a bucket across the lawn as a target.
Then, have the child blow the bubble and try to float it into the target. See how many tries it takes to get a bubble in the target or how many bubbles can reach the target in a certain amount of time.
You can also set up targets at different heights or distances. It’s fun to see how the bubbles blow and watch the kids trying to encourage their bubble to float “just a little farther”.
Make Bubble Art
Bubble art is so much fun and a creative bubble activity for your party. To make bubble art, you dye bubble solution different colors and blow the bubbles onto watercolor paper. The bubbles pop and make different color splotches.
You can make lots of different kinds of bubble art such as under the sea bubble art or butterflies.
For a party, it’s sometimes best to keep things simple and stick with the traditional bubble art. Set up palettes of bubble paint and paper. Then, let the kids get creating. It’s amazing the colorful works of art they can make.
Also, schedule this activity early in the party to let the art fully dry. It’s not always welcome to take wet art home and you wouldn’t want it ruined during travel.
Musical Bubbles
Remember musical chairs? This classic birthday party game was one of my favorites growing up. It was always fun pushing the other person off the last chair when the music stopped. Just kidding.
I’m not sure if musical chairs are still played today (I haven’t seen them at any of my littles parties recently), but you can transform this game into a bubble bonanza called musical bubbles.
To play, you will need music and a bubble machine. The goal is to have popped the most bubbles when the music stops.
Play the music and run the bubble machine. The players pop the bubbles and keep count how many they are popping. When the music stops, the person with the most popped bubbles wins.
If having a bunch of kids jumping around and popping bubbles seems too chaotic to keep track of, you could play one person at a time. The viewers can then count the number of popped bubbles for the player. You can tally everyone’s scores on a chalkboard.
From Inside a Bubble
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stand inside a bubble? You can experiment with this phenomenon using a few simple ingredients you have at home.
Make this special bubble mixture (turns out corn syrup is the trick) and pour it in a wading pool. Have a child stand in the middle of the pool and use a hula hoop to raise the bubble over their head. Amazing, they’re standing in a bubble.
Aren’t sure about doing this bubble trick on your own? Check out this mega bubble making kit (affiliate) with all of the things you need to make this fun standing in a bubble activity work.
Bubble Wand Fun
When you think about a classic bubble wand, a plastic stick with a round hole on the end usually comes to mind.
But, why not get creative with your bubble wands? You can make your own out of pipe cleaners and beads. Set up this colorful bubble wand making station and let the kids experiment with different shaped bubble wands. Using cookie cutters, your bubble wand can be any shape from a classic heart to a budding tulip.
Encourage kids to see which bubble wand shape blows the best bubbles. And if you make a dinosaur shaped bubble wand, do you get a dinosaur bubble? You can find more tips to setting up your own bubble wand station here.
Race to the Top
In this fun bubble game, players will blow the biggest bubble towers they can in thirty seconds. Fill a plastic cup with water and a few drops of liquid dish soap. Give each player a drinking straw for blowing.
Before starting, remind players to always blow OUT and not in. Sucking up bubble solution is not the goal in this game.
Start the clock and shout go. Players blow into the bubble solution and try to build the biggest bubble tower in the time allowed. The person with the biggest bubble tower when the time ends wins.
Whisking Bubbles
This is a great bubble activity for younger kids, although I am sure older ones will enjoy it too.
Fill a tub with water and dish soap (baby shampoo works too). Add some drops of food coloring. Then, start whisking up the bubbles.
Once you’ve mixed the bubbles, it’s time to play. You can add glitter for some sparkle. Or you fill silicone cupcake liners (affiliate) to make your own bubble bakery. We added glitter and other fun decorations on top.
If using this bubble activity at a party, you could set up mini containers so each guest can whisk up their own colorful bubbles. It’s also fun to try mixing together different colors and see what you create.
Make Giant Bubbles
Whoever said that bubbles needed to be kept to the end of a little bubble blower? Instead, why not try making giant bubbles. You can create your own giant bubble wands or use some pre-made ones (affiliate).
Then, fill up containers with bubble solution. Dip in the wands and use them to make bubbles. Nothing could be simpler.
How to Organize Bubble Activities for your Party
If you’re planning a summer birthday, bubble activities are some of the easiest to set up for guests. The supplies are minimal, bubbles aren’t that expensive (or you can easily make homemade bubble solution yourself) and kids love them.
Before guests arrive, be sure to have all of the bubble making supplies ready. Always buy or make a little extra bubble solution too. On occasion, little hands can spill bubble mixture by mistake. Having extra will make this a non-issue for guests (and you).
Also, choose a bubble activity that is appropriate for the age of your guests. Little ones love to run and play in the bubbles. Older kids enjoy blowing, racing and doing art with them.
Want to customize your bottles of bubbles for your celebration? Check out these printable bubble labels in our shop here.
Love these ideas and want to pin them for later? Pin the image below.
And if you are planning a summer party, you can find even more ideas on our blog here. Use our Free Printable Summer Bucket List to plan lots of summer activities to do this summer.
From Free Printable Citrus Straw Toppers to Sweet and Salty Sand Pudding Cups, there are lots of ideas to enjoy celebrating this summer.
Happy Celebrating,
Natalie
