Maslenitsa fun and festivities are a fun time. Maslenitsa games are some of the brightest and most fun children's fun. I tried to collect the most interesting outdoor games that you can play with children on Maslenitsa. To make the holiday fun and bright, try to diversify it with colorful outfits, funny songs and, of course, a Maslenitsa treat - pancakes.
Game - Maslenitsa burners
No matter how angry winter is, no matter how cold the frost bites your cheeks and nose, it cannot overcome the waking sun. And your children will not freeze at the holiday if you invite them to play with fun Maslenitsa burners.
The fun can start with a trickle. First, the adult places the children in pairs, one after another. Children in a couple hold hands. Hands raised up - a gate is formed. The last pair runs under the goal from their hands and becomes the first. So the stream flows until every pair of children runs under the gate. After the stream is finished, the children begin to sing the song “Burn, Burn Clear.” At this time, the driving child stands 6 steps ahead of the stream.
Song “Burn, Burn Clear”:
Burn, burn clearly, so as not to go out! Look at the sky, Birds are flying, Bells are ringing: - Ding-dong, ding-dong, Run out quickly!
As soon as the song is finished, the first pair runs away - one child from the pair runs along his side of the gate (children standing in pairs behind each other), the other child runs along his side, respectively. The driver must catch one of the couple before they manage to hold hands again. The game is even more interesting if there are a lot of children. Then the driver has time to grab one of the fleeing people.
As soon as the driver has caught the fugitive, he takes his hand and the couple becomes the last in the “stream”. The one left without a partner drives.
Maslenitsa games for children of all ages
Fun is fun, but we must not forget about the age of the participants. So, many entertainments will be beyond the capabilities of children. Therefore, when developing the Maslenitsa scenario, you need to take this point into account: if children of different ages will be present at the holiday, you need to come up with separate entertainment for each age group.
Entertainment for kids
For kids, you can arrange a whole quest entertainment based on “pancakes”. Its scenario is described in the table.
| Presenter's speech | Actions of participants |
| Offers to bake pancakes, and to do this, light the stove and make a fire in it | Stand in a circle, clap their hands, stomp their feet |
| Now let's knead the dough | Bend over and reach down with your arms, making rhythmic bends |
| We need a frying pan | Children pretend to be a frying pan by holding hands and forming a round dance. They begin to dance to the fiery music |
| Next, the host says that it is better to eat pancakes with jam and asks which jam is better. Then he offers raspberry jam, playing a tune about a raspberry | The kids begin to dance in circles |
| You can still eat pancakes with caviar, placing it in a heap | The guys, led by the leader, form a spiral and, while dancing in a circle, twist into a ball |
| Oh, what golden brown pancakes we got! | To the music, kids walk first in one direction, then in the other, pretending to be pancakes. |
The following activities are also suitable for kids:
- Skomoroshki
Put buffoon hats with bells on the children and give them various tasks. Let them dance, depict how bears, cockerels, bunnies, foxes walk, how a goat butts, how the sun rolls across the sky, etc.
- Snowdrops
You need to prepare snowdrop flowers from paper in advance and scatter them on the snow. Let the kids collect flowers to the sound of cheerful music; whoever collects the most wins.
- sweet tree
You need to find a short tree or bush and hang various sweets on its branches. Task: jump up and take the gift. You can stretch a rope and hang a gingerbread, an apple or other goodies on it, inviting the children without hands or with their eyes closed to bite off the gift.
Games for preschool children
For preschoolers, the above entertainment can be diluted with the following fun:
- Jump rope
Two adults take the rope and pull it like a skipping rope, the children must jump over it. You can jump one at a time, counting the number of jumps, or do it all together, playing for elimination.
- Kings of the hill
For fun, you will need a large mountain, which one participant climbs, calling himself the king of the mountain. The rest must climb the mountain, try to overthrow the king and take the throne themselves. The task of adults is to make sure that the guys do not push too roughly.
- A cap
Fun for boys who, on command, must knock each other's hats off their heads. They play in pairs.
Interesting fun for schoolchildren
To prevent older brothers and sisters from getting bored, you can involve them in the fun too. Boys can especially distinguish themselves and show their prowess and strength if they can be offered:
- Fist fights
You can fight as a couple or as a team – wall to wall. You can push, hit with pillows or balloons. You cannot grab clothes, tear them, or fight with your fists. The fun will be more interesting if the players stand on some hill.
- We cut firewood
You can ask high school students to cut a thick log with a regular saw.
- Climb the pole
A well-known fun for Maslenitsa, for which you need a long pole driven into the ground. The boys' task is to climb the pole as high as possible and get the prize. To complicate the task, the pole can be doused with water.
- Russian beauty
While the boys show off their strength, the girls can boast of their beauty and figure. To do this, they are given a folk costume, in which they need to walk around, showing their grace. Afterwards, the participants are given rockers with water. The challenge is to walk with a heavy load without losing grace.
- Stilts
All students can test their ability to maintain balance. To do this, they are asked to stand on stilts and walk a few meters. The task should be gradually made more difficult by asking participants to step on drawn circles with stilts.
- Cockerels
An interesting task - cockerels.
A circle is drawn on a flat area, into which two players are invited. The couple enters the circle and, jumping on one leg and holding the other with their hand, tries to push the opponent out of it. You can only push with your shoulders. The participant who is pushed out is eliminated. The winner competes with the winner from the next pair.
Team fun for kids of all ages
Competitions among schoolchildren can smoothly flow into team competitions in which children of all ages can participate. Fun starts can consist of the following tasks:
- Pancake relay
For the competition you will need pancakes and frying pans. Task: run with a frying pan with a pancake, tossing it at least three times.
- Tug of War
A well-known Russian game in which each team tries to win the other over to its side.
- Snow labyrinth
You need to prepare a snow labyrinth with a confusing route in advance. It is necessary to go through the maze for a while for the whole team in turn. The group that completes the task faster wins.
- Peacock tail
A rope or broom is tied around the waist of the first team member so that its end hangs to the ground. A snake is formed from skittles or plastic bottles. Task: go the distance without hitting a single object with your tail. The passage is repeated by the rest of the team members. It is better to make two snakes at once so that the teams can cover the distance at the same time.
- Fire victims
Two circles are drawn for each team. The first one contains various household items, clothes, etc. The task of the team members, blindfolded, is to move all the things to the second circle. They act according to the prompts of their team “hot”, “cold”, and the task is complicated by the preliminary promotion of the “fire victims”.
- Fun trip
For the competition you will need ice cubes or cheesecakes. One driver is also selected, who must take turns using this vehicle to transport the entire team to the other side.
- Tripod
Team members are divided into pairs. In a pair, the right leg of one participant and the left leg of the other are tied. Thus, you need to run a distance with obstacles and pass the baton to another pair.
- Bags
A whole bunch of snowballs are piled up in front of each team at the start. The group's task is to move the snowballs to the other side. The difficulty is that you need to grab snowballs not with your hands, but with two sticks.
- panicles
The teams stand in a row. The first participant is given a broom. Task: while playing music, pass the broom to your neighbor and run to the end of the line. The group whose first person becomes first again while holding the broom wins.
- Slide downhill
If there is a slide nearby, you can arrange a competition on it. To do this, each team member is given a glass of water. Task: ride down a slide without spilling a drop of water. You can also set a goal to drive as far as possible, throw a snowball at the target at the finish line, shout a patter on the descent, or guess a riddle. There can be many options for exciting fun.
Game Zarya Zarnitsa
This fun, active game can be played with a large group of children. To play you will need a bright satin ribbon.
Children stand in a wide circle, each with their hands behind their backs. The leader - "Zarya" - walks with a ribbon in his hands around the round dance and sings:
Dawn - lightning, Red maiden, Walked across the field, Dropped the keys, Golden keys, Blue ribbons, entwined rings, went for water! As soon as the last words of the song are sung, the driver puts a ribbon on the shoulder of one of the children in the round dance and runs away. The child must take the ribbon and run with it in the other direction. Each of them strives to take the vacant place in the circle. The one who managed to take his place remains in the circle, and the remaining one becomes “Zarya”.
This game can be complicated if the children’s round dance itself also moves. Which direction the movement will go needs to be determined in advance.
Maslenitsa competitions:
Maslenitsa competitions on the street: for children
- Fishing rod. The driver spins the rope in a circle, and the players jump so that the rope does not hit their legs.
- Sash. The opponents' hands are tied with a belt and a rope is extended, connecting them to each other. The task of the participants is to pull the opponent over the line marked in the snow.
- Throwing felt boots. It is better to replace the felt boot with another object and throw it at a distance.
- Find yours. Teams of cats and piglets are formed. The children are blindfolded and mixed. At a signal, some begin to grunt, others begin to meow. So they must unite into teams, identifying their own by sound.
- Swing. The basket is tied like a swing. Participants must hit the swinging “swing” with a ball.
- Snow fortress. Children build a fortress out of snow. Next, the rivals begin to throw snowballs at each other until the fortress of one of the rivals collapses.
- Potato. The bucket contains “potatoes” - small balls. The teams are given spoons. At the signal, participants must take the ball with a spoon and place it in their basket.
- Who can resist?
- Running with obstacles.
- Shoot down the target. A snowman is being built. Then the children must slide down on the sled, knocking down the target.
Maslenitsa competitions: children at school
- Where they hid, it’s hot. Players of one team hide in the room, others look for them according to the teacher’s prompts “cold” (far) or “hot” (close).
- Bear. The “bear” sits on a chair, pretending to be asleep. One player wakes him up, and the “Bear” begins to catch the children. Those whom he catches are eliminated from the game.
- Korchaga.
- Seeing off. Children pass a ball of snow made from cotton wool in a circle. Whoever the music stops on must remember what good things happened to him during the winter and thank the winter. The most eloquent student wins.
- Quiz. Questions on knowledge of the traditions and rituals of the holiday.
- Maslenitsa scarecrow. You need to make a stuffed animal out of straw, cloth and ribbons. The competition is more suitable for girls, but boys can also enjoy it.
- Good hostess.
- Move the com. Snowballs made of cotton wool lie in a bucket. Each team member needs to carry one lump in a spoon to the finish line.
- Lots of legs. Players stand in pairs, the pair's legs are tied (the left of one player to the right of the other). There is a speed competition.
- Ditty competitions. It would be nice if the children composed them themselves, but you can just find the most interesting ones and sing them.
Maslenitsa competitions: adults on the street
- Mother-in-law's pancakes. You need to eat as many pancakes as possible within a certain time.
- How many bagels? There is a certain number of bagels hanging on a rope. You need to quickly show a bunch of bagels and ask those present to guess how many there are. Everyone says one option and so on until there is a guesser.
- Guess the filling. You need to guess what filling is in the pancakes by smell.
- Fast. Competition for quickly putting on felt boots and a shirt.
- Name dances. Those whose names are announced by the presenter compete in the dances.
- Rider and horse. One person jumps on another. The knight must try to knock down either the horse or the rider.
- Maslenitsa relay race.
- Bathhouse. It is necessary to deprive a bath broom of leaves faster than an opponent by steaming a mannequin with it.
- On my knees.
- Hold the broom. You need to hold the broom on your forehead longer than your opponent.
Tug of War
Tug of war is one of the oldest Maslenitsa games. You can also play tug of war with your children. To make it more interesting, you can use a smooth rubber hose instead of a rope.
Before the game, children are divided into teams. It’s more fun if the teams don’t consist of just girls or boys, but are mixed. You can determine who will be on which team with counting rhymes or other games. Once the teams are determined, draw a line. You can draw a line on the snow with red paints or water with red paint. The children can be arranged in an unusual way, for example, the children stand with their backs to each other.
The referee blows the whistle and the tug of war begins. As soon as the enemy steps beyond the drawn line, the game ends.
Wall to wall
Traditional Maslenitsa fun. It consists of a competition between two teams of young people. This is not a fight, but rather bullying and advances. For an hour, fighters from different teams shout battle cries, taunt their opponents and emphasize their advantages. After which the fighters stand opposite each other, and the fight begins. In the old days, after such fights, guys left with torn shirts, not to mention the presence of bruises and abrasions. The point of the fight was not to inflict serious injuries on each other, but to show their superiority over their opponents and throw out energy. Unmarried girls traditionally watched the fun in order to choose the bravest and strongest man for themselves.
Snow fortress
If the snow is sticky during Maslenitsa celebrations, children can play in a snow fort. To do this, first each team builds its own fortifications, and then prepares snow charges. After the signal, the teams begin throwing snowballs. Whose fortress will be destroyed faster, that team will lose. This game requires accuracy and precision.
Before the start of the game, an adult must warn children that throwing snowballs in the faces of other players is prohibited. The offender immediately leaves the team.
What should you tell children about Maslenitsa?
In order for children to be interested and understand the idea of the holiday in which the family is going to participate, it is necessary to tell in an accessible form about its content. You can read books to preschoolers, look at pictures on the Internet. And yet, an emotional, accessible story from an adult will help the child better feel the upcoming event. In this case, what can parents tell their children about Maslenitsa?
Maslenitsa is a holiday symbolizing farewell to a boring winter and a welcome to the long-awaited spring. The tradition of Maslenitsa days has always been wild fun and manifestation of generosity, as our ancestors considered this to be the key to rich harvests and abundance in the coming year. The holiday lasted for seven days, each day was named and celebrated in a special way. The main treat all week is pancakes, symbolizing the spring sun. A cheerful decoration for the event was the construction of a straw doll or stuffed animal, named after the Maslenitsa holiday. The scarecrow was placed on the main square where the festivities took place (you can give a preschooler a small straw doll). Calling on the sun, they tried to please Maslenitsa, shouting out calls:
Maslenitsa, Maslenitsa, Come visit us in the wide courtyard. Ride in the mountains, roll around in pancakes, amuse your hearts!
Traditional for the holiday was participation in folk entertainment, competitions, and round dances. People sang, joked, and made fun of Maslenitsa. On the last Maslenitsa day, a straw doll was burned, rejoicing in the upcoming spring days. Simple but exciting entertainment: sledding, taking snow forts - attracted both children and adults.
Jump ropes
Another fun Maslenitsa game is jumping ropes. If you have a rope or a thick enough rope, you can play jump rope with your children.
Two adults twirl the rope, and children must run up and jump over the rope. Everyone else counts how many times the player has jumped. Adults can speed up the pace, but do not lift the rope high enough for the child to jump over. It's fun when fast music plays during the game.
Folk fun and entertainment
In addition to games, there are various fun and traditions. Thus, ancient customs involved young people jumping over a dying fire (an effigy of Winter was previously ceremonially burned on it).
Traditionally, they built a special slide, filled it a day or two before the holiday, even made fences to avoid injuries, it was intended for children, youth, even adults could ride on sleds, bags, boards, but they still preferred to watch the fun from the sidelines. Naturally, such entertainment is only available in frosty weather.
Even ancient Russian traditions involved the creation of ice sculptures, this entertainment is still available today, the main thing is that the temperature is below zero. Figures can be cut out from pieces of ice or specially frozen in molds or inflatable balls. By the way, it’s a good idea to create multi-colored toys for a street Christmas tree; for them, water should be tinted and poured into the balls, frozen, after which the spheres can be attached to the branches of the tree.
There are also a variety of children's round dances and counting rhymes. Well, the simplest entertainment for kids is a snowball fight, building an ice fortress, and snowmen. The main thing is that the children have fun, and after such an active day the appetite will definitely be excellent!
As you can see, entertainment for Maslenitsa is unusually varied, one thing is offensive - people used to party for two weeks, then one, but we have to be content with only the last Sunday. So let's have a full rest! See you soon, subscribe to site updates, come back often!
Wheel
On Maslenitsa it was customary to roll a burning wheel from the mountains. Whose wheel rolls the farthest will have a lot of happiness. However, you should not play such a burning wheel with children, but you can slightly modify this fun.
To play you will need two wheels. It would be good if the wheels were made of wood. On the playground, the presenters place pins (or any other poles). Children are divided into two teams and stand in a row one after another. Each player on the team, at the signal, must roll the wheel between the pins and return with it. The team that completes the relay faster wins.
If there is no wheel, you can take a broom instead of a wheel. Players “ride” on a broom, trying not to knock over the pins.
Ancient rituals for Maslenitsa week
During the oil week in the old days, many rituals were held for the family, to commemorate ancestors, for agriculture, for wealth and many others. Here are some of them.
Rituals for a happy family life
These rituals were one of the most important, because family happiness has always been valued. “Viewing parties” were organized for future newlyweds. The guy and the girl were put in front of everyone and asked to kiss many times.
On Friday, the sons-in-law had to go to their mother-in-law's for pancakes. And she tried to feed her son-in-law and butter him up so that he would always treat his wife well and love her deeply.
It was customary to “punish” single guys: a log was hung around their neck, which symbolized the future wife sitting on their neck. The guys had to walk around the village with logs all day, listening to ridicule from people.
The purpose of Forgiveness Sunday was to make peace with all relatives and live a whole year with goodness and without quarrels. All food prepared on this day must be eaten or distributed to the poor.
Commemoration of ancestors
It was impossible to work in the evenings, especially spinning and weaving. The evenings were considered holy, since it was possible to disturb the souls of the dead, because they were supposed to rest when they came to the homes of the living.
The Maslenitsa bonfire symbolized the invitation of the dead to a hearty, rich dinner. In general, the main purpose of celebrating Maslenitsa in ancient times was to appease the spirits.
Rituals for fertile land
Pancakes were always baked in all houses, and the first one was taken outside and placed on the snow as a gift to spring. He had to warm the earth so that spring would come sooner.
In the old days, everyone had to go down ice slides. There was even a belief: the further you roll, the richer the flax harvest will be.
Maslenitsa was considered a holiday of food. The more satisfying the week goes, the richer and more fertile the whole next year will be.
Game Snowdrops
For the game you need to prepare a lot of artificial flowers. Children are divided into two teams and sing the spring chant:
Spring, Red Spring, Come, Spring, with joy, With great mercy: With tall flax, With deep roots, With strong rains, With abundant flowers.
During the singing, the driver scatters flowers around the area. As soon as the song ends, the children begin to pick flowers. Whichever team has the most flowers wins.
Those who couldn't do it vertically will try horizontally
Vertically means climbing a pole; those who still don’t dare climb the pole and get their prize can try themselves in this competition. For each participant, 10 bottles, for example, with sand, are placed at the same distance. Each participant also receives 10 identical stones (washers). At the command “start”, all participants begin to launch their pucks, trying to knock down the bottles. Prizes are distributed between participants in accordance with the number of bottles knocked down, that is, whoever knocked down the most gets the main prize, second place gets a simpler prize, and so on.
Ice slide
Snow or ice slides are the most fun of Maslenitsa fun. But for children in the garden or for schoolchildren, you need to prepare the slide in advance. If your terrain is uneven, then finding a suitable hill and filling it will not be difficult. Otherwise, you can build a small ice slide for kids.
To do this, the snow is rolled into clumps and piled up. The gaps are compacted with snow, the slide itself is leveled and gradually filled with water. If the slide has sides, that’s very good. Kids can slide down this slide on ice skates.
Snow labyrinth
If the weather is snowy and frosty, you can hold Maslenitsa competitions outside for children and adults using snow. For example, you can build a labyrinth out of snow. To do this, you will need a fairly large and snowy area, in which, according to the scheme, you can trample paths with the help of shovels and brooms. The labyrinth can have either a rectangular or round shape, and must necessarily have a separate entrance and exit. Snow from the paths must be applied to those areas that will be the walls of the labyrinth. The height of the walls must be at least one meter. The higher the height of the walls, the more interesting it is to travel through the labyrinth. After building the labyrinth, you can come up with various competitions, for example, for the fastest passage.
