Party Games

It is important to remember that when playing any kind of childrens games, the winner is issued with a reward. This is important for two main reasons, the child will be excited and pleased with their achievement and sometimes without realising it, their confidence will begin to accelerate in areas that may have been lacking. This will also help when trying to convince some children into taking part. Be aware of the children that try to "fade into background" due to being shy or face with a totally new environment that may scare them. To help these children a good idea is to look at the games you have lined up and pick out the ones that have a reduced number of children participating. This will increase their chance of winning and help their confidence with the other games. Alway have a list of games that exceeds the time available. That way if a game cannot be played for what ever reason or finishes quicker than expected, you won't run out of ideas.

Try to ensure each child has had the chance to win a prize by the end of the party. Think up some silly reasons for awarding the medal e.g. jazziest shirt, fastest eater, most helpful child, cheekiest smile, best dancer etc. Depending on the kind of game being played will depend on if you issue a prize straight away or issue the winner with a prize winning coupon so that at the end of the day you can organise a prize presentation. If you do this, you have the opportunity to issue 1st, 2nd & 3rd prize and everyone else a runners-up prize, that way......everybody wins!!

Don't forget that some children simply won't want to play so it is sensible to plan a quiet area, with some crayons and paper, where they can sit without feeling left out. This could lead to another competition for the best picture if there are enough children doing the same. So.....What kind of games could you play?

Hunny Bee Guess.

Before the party, fill a jar with jellybeans. Count the jellybeans before you put them into the jar. Put a "Honey" label on the front. As your guests arrive, have each one guess how many beans they think are in the jar. Write down each person's guess. At the end of the party, the person who guesses the closest number is the winner and gets to take home the "Honey Jar of Jelly Beans!"

Balloon Relay Race.

Have the children stand in two single-file lines, facing the same direction. Place a balloon between the knees of the first child in each line. When the race starts the child turns to face the next person in line, the second child must grasp the balloon with his or her knees and turn to pass it on to the third person, and so on. If the balloon falls to the ground the team must start over. The first team to successfully pass the balloon down the line wins!

Building Muscles.

This game will take some preparation but it's worth it. You'll need 50 to 100 small balloons. Recruit some help. Divide the children into two teams. Select one child on each team to be the "weakling," the remaining children will be "personal trainers." Have the teams gather on opposite sides of the room and divide the balloons between them. Have each weakling put a large sweatshirt and leggings on over their clothes. When you say, "GO," the teams of personal trainers must make the weaklings grow instant muscles by stuffing as many balloons as possible into their clothes. Give the teams' one minute to do this. When time is up, let everyone admire the weaklings' new muscles (have a camera handy). Then remove and count the balloons, the team that used the most balloons, wins! Try again with a new weaklings this time.

There's A Bug On My Back.

Pair up your party guests (threes okay too) and put a sticker or a picture of a bug on each childs back. Have the guests try to guess what the bug is by asking questions that can be answered only yes or no. For example " Do i have legs?" "Can i fly?" and "Am i green"

Musical Animal Acts.

Everyone gets into the act with this fun variation of musical chairs. Set one fewer chairs than the number of guests at your party. Start the music and have the children walk in a circle around the chairs, until you stop the music. When the music stops, the children try to sit on one of the chairs. The player left standing must pull the name of an animal out of an hat and act it out while the other guests try to guess what the animal is. Start the music again and repeat the game until all the animals in the hat have been acted out.

Birthday Treasure Hunt.

Children love to hunt for surprises! You will need of at least a few family members, neighbours, or friends. Before the party find some pictures to cut out from old magazines or catalogues. Use easily recognisable images which when put together will spell out the location of the treasure from the first letter of each picture. For example, if the treasure is hidden in the kitchen you might have pictures of a kite, ice-cream, a Tree, a Cat, a House, an Egg and a Needle. When all the pictures have been found the children must work out where the treasure is hidden and then go and retrieve it. Depending on the age of the children you can alter the difficulty of the location or how well the clues are hidden. A variation of this game is just to hide lots of pictures which link with your party theme, e.g. if it's a teddy bears picnic hide lot of pictures of food and teddies. The child who finds the most pictures is the winner.

Frog or Fly.

This Classic children's game is perfect for any party. have the children sit in a circle and have the birthday child begin as the " Fly" He/she walks around the circle tapping each child on the head, saying "Fly" with each tap. When thay are ready to choose the next person to be the Fly, he/she says "FROG" when tapping that person on the head. That child (The Frog) gets up and chases the "Fly" around the circle. If the new "Frog" does not tag the birthday child before he/she makes it all the way around the circle and sits in the open spot, then the Frog becomes the new "Fly". If the Frog tags the Fly, then the birthday child remains the "Fly" for the next round and the game continues. In the summer a variation of this game can be played outdoors by adding water and calling the game 'Drip, drip, Drop'. The child who is "it" is given a plastic bottle of water and go's round the circle giving each person a drip on the head with the water but then selects someone for a bigger drop of water-then the chasing ensues!

Jungle Knots.

This game will make your party guests tumble with laughter. Have the Guests stand in a circle facing inward. Everyone extends their right hand into the ring and take a hold of someone else's hand. They then do the same with their left hand. See if thay can untangle the "knot" by stepping over, ducking under people, or turning around. Whatever happens, they can't let go of hands!

Floating Balloons.

Pass out a large balloon to each child. The object of this game is to hit the balloon up into the air and keep them afloat for the longest period of time. This is a fun and easy way to start or end any party!

Magic Penny.

Pick five pennies with different dates on them. Place the pennies in your top hat and ask one of the guests to pick a penny from the hat and look at the date, but not tell what it is. Have all the guests pass the penny around to look at the date. Quickly have them put the penny back into the hat and shake up the pennies. Have the penny magician reach into the hat and pull out the chosen penny. The secret? The penny magician knows which penny was chosen because copper absorbs heat, so the penny everyone has handled will be warm. Once everyone knows how the magic is done, let all the guests take a turn being the penny magician.

Story Time.

This is not so much a game but an end of party event. Have everyone sit in a circle to hear a wonderful story. While the children listen, you can also have them colour a picture related to your party's theme. This activity will not only keep the children entertained, but it will also help calm them down as the party comes to an end. Parents picking up their loved ones will thank you for doing this one!

Many of the games suggested can be modified to suit the theme of your party. If you know of any other great party game and you would like to suggest them to us so we can include them on our site...

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To assist with these ideas see Party Planning