Photo courtesy Allison Shaw

We may largely be stuck at home due to COVID-19 quarantines, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little festive fun! Easter is just around the corner on Sunday, April 12, and I am sure many of you have children who have been home from school for too long and are getting antsy for something to do. Well, with a little creativity, you can turn some basic items into something fun for the family to do for a weekend afternoon. This DIY, which I am calling “Character Cornhole,” is a simple arts and crafts project that then becomes a game to keep the little ones entertained.

Materials

• Poster board (or other cardboard materials you either have around the house or could buy cheaply from a general store)

• Plastic eggs

• Scissors (or a boxcutter handled by an adult)

• Markers, colored pencils, crayons, paint and/or whatever other color-imbuing

utensils you may have at your disposal

• Basket (optional)

Directions

1. Take your poster board (or cardboard) and use the markers or other coloring utensils to draw and color a character of your choosing. Coloring and painting together can be a nice family-bonding activity. When designing your character, trace your sketch first and keep in mind that you will need to cut out large spaces for the game aspect of this activity later. Pro tip: Breaking down and cutting up a box can yield some improvised poster boards (as shown).

2. Cut out the holes you planned for in Step 1 that you will use when collecting points in the game. So that the holes make sense, you may want to consider places such as the character’s mouth or stomach or something of that nature.

3. Mark the holes with a point value system of your choosing. Perhaps 10 points for an easy hole and 15 or 20 for harder holes?

4. Prop the board against a wall—or if you’re feeling especially innovative, you can create or improvise a stand of some sort. If you buy or make your own poster boards with flaps, your artwork may be able to stand on its own. Plus, you can fold the board up and store for later. Place the basket (optional) behind your character for the eggs to land in for easy pickup.

5. Gather the kids around and play the game. Now, this game does not work like traditional cornhole. You can’t knock anyone’s egg off the board (unless you’re being creative, in which case, extra points for you). To play the game, give each participant a set amount of eggs to toss through the holes from a set distance. Take turns tossing your plastic eggs through the holes and tally each player’s scores. Play any amount of rounds (I think five rounds worked just fine when I gave this a test-run), and enjoy your holiday.