inside: find more than 10 fun things to do with plastic cups this summer. Take them to the beach, splashpad or make a fun craft with this easy summer accessory.

I noticed the other day how many of our photos had red plastic cups in them. I also realized how many other ideas I had that could use these cups for summer fun, so I decided to make a list of all the fun things we have done this summer with cups as well as the others I’ve thought of. This easy summer take along has brought my kids hours and hours of fun and creative play and I hope it will inspire you as well.

Summer fun activities with plastic cups –

Here’s my list of plastic cup summer fun games and activities…

Use them for a lemonade stand… yes I know depending on where you live this may or may not actually be possible, but my kids had SO much fun this summer. We had some friends staying with us and the kids worked together to make a sign, bake cookies and prep for the stand. It wasn’t even about selling lemonade it was about the whole process!
Another great way to use them is when you have friends over or family reunion time… Give everyone a cup with their name on it and then don’t worry about if for the week. Our cups lasted for a whole week {with some washing} and just simplified the whole process of having a houseful of people.
Another great idea is to take the cups to the beach {or sand box} my kids love having more things to carry sand, dig with and use for sand play. Plus we just tossed them when we were done for easy clean up.
Along the same lines as the beach, my kids love taking plastic cups to the splash pad/park. They use them to fill up with water, dump it on their heads {or chase after dad with cups of cold water.} For my older boys this makes a simple afternoon at the park much more fun.
I haven’t done this one, but have heard about using cups for nerf gun targets {kids into nerf guns? Make these simple ammo holders here} Set them on a shelf, or hang from strings for a fun target game.
We also always take some cups with us in the car for road trips. I use them to pass snacks back to the kids from the front and it helps to keep the spills to a minimum and is a simple car hack for us.
There are so many water games that are fun to play with cups. We love water duck, duck goose {haha} and also water relays with holes poked in the bottom of the cups to make it harder.
This is a game my boys play ALL the time. Backyard golf! You can make an actual course with multiple cups or my boys just use one cup and when they get there, then someone throws the cup and that’s the next hole. They also play that just hitting the cup is enough and you don’t have to get the ball in the cup. If you have limited space like we do use wiffle golf balls {they don’t hit very far}

These additional games/activities are detailed below…

9. Minute to win it games

10. Boats and other crafts

11. Science activities

12. Indoor games and fun

fun things to do with plastic cups this summer

Other great ideas for using plastic cups in your summer activities and play. Cheap and easy plastic cups can go anywhere to give you even more fun this summer.