Reusable DIY Sponge Water Bombs For Endless Fun

Do your kids love playing with water balloons? Never clean up water balloon messes again with addictively fun DIY sponge water bombs! They are super easy to make and will provide unlimited hours of play.

Three kitchen sponges, a hair elastic, and a pair of scissors are all you need to make a whole set of these. My kids have played with these for hours, whether it’s sunny, raining, or they just need to burn off some serious energy.

The best part? You make them once and reuse them all summer long. No more balloon filling, no more cleanup. Just pure, soaking-wet fun.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I often choose my summer activities with that goal in mind. I want those kiddos to fall into bed EARLY, happy, and exhausted!  

When my sister-in-law mentioned her children spent an entire afternoon playing with DIY sponge bombs, I couldn’t wait to make some for our house. I found a tutorial for making sponge bombs on Martha Stewart’s website and grabbed the supplies on my next shopping trip.

If you want a quick, cheap, and easy-to-make toy that is sure to wear your kids out, you have to try this sponge water bombs activity! Want another option? Bubble painting is another fun summer activity my kids cant get enough of.

Why You’ll Love These Sponge Water Bombs

• Only 3 supplies needed — grab everything at the dollar store
• Made in about 10 minutes for a whole set
• Completely reusable — just let them dry and store for next time
• Perfect for rainy days, field days, backyard parties, and bored kids
• Zero cleanup mess compared to regular water balloons
• Works for all ages — toddlers to tweens (and honestly, grown-ups too)

Supplies needed to make sponge water bombs

Here’s what you’ll need for this project. You probably already have some of this at home and would just need to pick up some extras to make more balls. Just grab everything you need from the dollar store.

• 3 kitchen sponges 
• 1 hair elastic (or rubber band)
• Pair of scissors

How to make sponge water bombs

You’re going to love how simple this project is! In just a few minutes, you will have several reusable sponge bombs. The kids will have just as much fun with these as they do with water balloons (without the mess or the hassle).

Step 1

Cut each sponge (the long way) into 3 roughly equal strips.

Step 2

Mix up the colors and stack the sponge strips 3 by 3.

Step 3

Tightly wrap the hair elastic around the center of the sponge strips.

Step 4

Fluff up the sponge bomb by pulling each strip gently away from the others.

And that’s it!  Super easy, right?

And they come together quickly, so in just 10 minutes or so, you can have several ready to take outside and use.

We live in the southeast, so our summer has been rain, rain, rain, and more rain. We’ve been waiting impatiently on pretty weather to play with these super fun toys. 

But, after catching my children leaping off furniture one too many times today, I decided it was time to go outside in spite of the pouring rain. 

They desperately needed to get some wiggles out, before something broke or I lost my temper with their pent-up energy.

It turns out that sponge bombs are perfect rainy-day toys!!! I can’t believe I waited so long to send the sponge bombs and the kids out into the rain.

Storage

After playtime, just set the sponge bombs out in the sun to dry completely. Once they’re fully dry, toss them in a basket or bin until next time. They’ll last all summer (and beyond!) as long as you let them dry out between uses so they don’t get musty.

Ways to Play with sponge water bombs

Once you’ve got your sponge bombs soaking in a bucket of water, the games basically invent themselves. Here are a few favorites:

• Sponge bomb tag — classic and chaotic (in the best way)
• Dodgeball — teams, buckets on each side, go!
• Hot potato — who wants to be holding it when the timer goes off?
• Monkey in the middle
• Puddle splashing — extra points for splashing a sibling 😄
• Free play — honestly, just hand them the bucket and step back

Sponge water bombs FAQs

I’ve been making these reusable sponge balls for years, and tend to get the same questions over and over about them, so answering them below in case you had the same question too!

How do you play with sponge bombs?

Once you finish making the sponge bombs, just fill a container with water. Then drop the sponge bombs into the bucket. They’ll soak up the water quickly! Once they’re filled with water, let the fun begin with some sponge bomb games!

What are ideas for sponge bomb games?

My kids had a blast playing tag. Of course, since it was so wet outside, we had to try sponge bomb puddle splashing. Other fun games could include sponge water bomb monkey in the middle, sponge bomb dodge ball, sponge toss, sponge bomb tennis, sponge bomb hot potato, and much more!

Let your kids get creative for endless hours of fun.

Can you reuse sponge water bombs?

Yes! Since they’re made from sponges, you can let your sponge bombs sit out and dry. Then store them somewhere out of the way until you want to pull them out and use them again. You can reuse them all summer long!

Think of this as an easier, better way to play with water balloons!

Rain or shine, fill buckets of water with sponge bombs for your kids. You’ll win super mom points, and get the best summer gift – happy and exhausted kids!

More Summer Fun

If you love this game idea, check out some of our other popular ideas.

• Brilliant Ideas And Road Trip Games For Kids
• Fun Indoor Activities For Boring Rainy Days
• Creative Outdoor Activities For Kids
• How To Make Homemade Bubbles
• How To Make Painted Pet Rocks