Fun Things to Do With Your Cousins

Cousins can be a lot like brothers and sisters who your children don't get to see often. If they live near your home, they might visit frequently, but if they are farther away, visiting is more of an occasion. The age of the cousins is a consideration in choice of activities, and so is gender and personal taste in activities. When cousins visit, it is an opportunity to pursue activities that are special or extra.

Board and Card Games

Board games and card games such as Monopoly, Old Maid or Uno are more fun to play when at least three people can play them. Most table-top games are set up for two to six people. Visiting cousins can make familiar games more fun to play by increasing the competition and imaginative input into familiar games. Jacks, tiddly winks and Twister can supplement quieter games with some motor activity that can still be played inside.

Yard or Field Games

Some kinds of games need to be played outside, including croquet, baseball, badminton, Frisbee and soccer. Games that are played with bats, balls, rackets or similar equipment make good entertainment at family reunions, picnics or just a regular day at the park. Supervised by an adult, they can head off a lot of personality clashes by engaging all the cousins in a structured game that has specific rules. Use Nerf or whiffle balls for younger children.

More Outdoor Games

Cousins who are younger than 8 years of age might like to play running games or circle games. These include hide and seek, Duck, Duck, Goose and tag. Traditional games such as London Bridge or Drop the Handkerchief involve singing a refrain to go with the game. Jumping or skipping rope can be a competition or a cooperative game. Individually, the cousins can compete to see how many times they can jump. Cooperatively, they can turn a long rope and chant various rhymes to go with jumping.

Swimming, Fishing, Camping

Summer is a fine time for cousins to get together. Combining families make summer staple activities such as swimming, fishing and camping even more fun than when a family goes alone. More is definitely merrier when cousins get together to go to the zoo, visit an amusement park or go hiking. Family bike trips are another type of event that could include cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents for multi-generational fun.

Across the Miles

Sometimes it is hard for cousins to get together because they live in different locations. Cousins can write letters to each other or exchange emails. Chat, texting and other Internet communication programs make it easier for cousins to communicate. Multiplayer electronic games can provide a platform for cousins who are separated by too many miles to still play together.