10+ Flashlight Activities to Play in the Dark

We love flashlights! They serve more than one purpose at our house. We are constantly adding to our list of favorite games to play in the dark. Many of these flashlight activities are perfect before bed to help the kids wind down and get ready to sleep.

Hand shadow puppets- You’ve got your basic duck and butterfly, but what about a kangaroo or a rabbit. Checkout these easy diagrams to blow your kids away with your shadow puppet skills.
Stick shadow puppets- This idea came from a busy bag exchange I participated in. Just popsicle sticks with character shapes glued to them. Easy shadow puppets the kids can do on their own.
Guess that shadow- My oldest son came up with this one. Everyone goes and grabs a few objects from around the house; keeping them secret. Turnout the lights, and with everyone’s eyes trained on the ceiling have each person take turns holding their objects and shining the flashlight on them. Everyone gets a chance to guess and man the flashlight.
Flashlight hide and seek- Just like classic hide and seek, but with flashlights. Take turns being the hider and the seeker. Don’t forget to turn off your flashlight after you’ve found your hiding place.
Read a book- Make bedtime a little exciting and read by flashlight. We love these special flashlight books and bedtime shadow books.
Flashlight campfire- Stack flashlights in the middle of the floor and cover with orange and red tissue paper. Take your campfire up a notch with campfire stories and yummy s’mores.
Glow in the dark shapes– Okay this one doesn’t necessarily involve a flashlight, but it does provide light. Use classic glow stars and create constellations on the ceiling or try cutting out fun shapes from removable vinyl. I used my Cricut to make Mickey, Batman, and snowflakes.
Flashlight freeze– Put on your favorite tunes and dance those wiggles away. When the flashlight hits it’s time to freeze.
Flashlight dance– Think cat with a laser pointer. One person controls the flashlight while the other person hops, jumps, and rolls to the bouncing light beam.
Light mixing- Take a ballon and cut the end off, stretch the rounded end over a flashlight. Shine the light onto the wall. Do the same with additional colored balloons more flashlights. Mix the colored light on the wall to see what happens.
I spy- One person provides a clue, like: “I spy something blue”. The remainder of the group shines there flashlights until they spot something that matches the clue.