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Birthday
Party Games
Over 70 low cost games - listed alphabetically (click here for more frugal living tips and articles)
Arrange the
children into teams of 2. All
of the teams each stand back to back while an adult places a balloon
between each of their backs. On
“go” the teams try to break their balloons without dropping it.
The first team to pop their balloon is the winner.
Fill
deflated balloons with slips of paper.
On each paper should be written the name of a prize. Blow up all
the balloons and hang them around the party room. The children are told
to pick a balloon and pop it. What
ever prize is written on their slip of paper is the prize they win.
This is a good game to do last – just before children go home.
Divide the
children into 2 teams and stand each team in a line. Across the room
place a laundry basket filled with balloons (enough for each team member
to have one). The first
child in each line must run across the room, take a balloon out of the
basket and sit or stomp on the balloon to pop it. Once the balloon
pops the child must run back and tag the second team member in line that
in turn runs over and pops his balloon.
Continue until one team has popped all of their balloons.
Make water
balloons by filling balloons up with water.
Give each child a balloon. On
the count of 3 the children must try to break the other children’s
balloons without getting theirs broken.
The one left with an un-popped balloon wins.
This
game is a variation of the game tic-tac-toe.
Make a large tic-tac-toe board on the floor using masking tape.
Divide the children into 2 teams. Each team is given beanbags that are marked with x’s for
one team and o’s for the second team.
The teams take turns tossing the beanbags into the squares. The first team to get three in a row wins.
Prepare
different size boxes ahead of time by decorating them.
Have children stand behind a line and toss beanbags into the
decorated boxes. Children
can be awarded points for tossing the beanbag into the box based on
difficulty. For example a
small box that is farther away may be worth 5 points while a close box
that is large may only be worth 2 points.
Line the
kids up sitting on the floor. One
by one have the children smile as big as they can.
Measure the length of each child’s smile with a ruler.
The child with the biggest smile is the winner.
Arrange
children in a circle. The
first child begins the game by saying, “At my birthday party I wish to
get _____________. “ The child fills in the sentence with a gift idea.
The second child then says, “At my birthday party I wish to get
(the child then repeats what the first child says then adds her own
wish.) This continues all
around the circle in the same order adding a new wish each time.
If a child makes a mistake they are out. The last one to say the entire gift wishes in the right order
wins.
Children
need a lot of open clear space to play this game.
One child is chosen to be it.
“It” is blindfolded and must count to 15. As “it” counts the other children find a place to hide in
the room. When “it”
gets to 15 he then yells “stop”.
The other children must freeze where they are.
“It” then says, “BLIND MAN’S” and the other children
must each say, “BLUFF”. The
frozen children may not move and “it” must try to find each of the
other players blindfolded using only their voices as direction to them.
Fill a
large tub with water and float apples on the water.
Children take turns putting their face to the water trying to
pick up an apple using just their teeth.
Have lots of dry towels handy – the kids get really wet!
Arrange all
of the children in a circle on the floor kneeling.
They must clasp their hands behind their backs.
Place in front of each child a paper plate with a piece of
birthday cake on it. Call
“go” and the children must eat the piece of cake as fast as
possible. The first one to
finish their cake is the winner!
Divide the
children into 2 teams. Decide
on a start line and a finish line.
The two teams line up at the start line.
When the adult says, “go”, the children must wiggle their way
to the finish line and back on their bellies.
The first team to have all members cross the finish line wins!
Arrange the
children sitting in a circle on the floor.
One child begins the game by doing a motion such as touching her
nose. The person sitting to
her right must then copy her motion and add a new motion. The game
continues with each child copying the previous motions and adding one of
their own.
Select
an area to be the stage. Arrange
the children sitting in front of the stage.
One at a time a child will come up and pick a slip of paper from
a basket. These papers are
made up ahead of time and contain the name of a popular movie, book,
animal, character, etc. The
child acts out whatever is written on the card while the other children
try to guess what it is.
Use a large mouth jar and a clothespin to play this game. Set the jar on the ground. Each child stands in front of the jar and sees how many clothespins they can drop into the jar without bending over. Whoever gets the most clothespins in, wins.
The
children will need lots of running space for this game.
Children are given a clothespin to pin on the back of their
shirt. On “go” the
children must try to steal each other’s clothespins without losing
their own. The player to
get the most clothespins in a given amount of time is the winner.
Arrange all
of the children sitting in a circle.
Choose one person to be the doggy first.
The doggy must go in the other room or sit where he cannot see
the circle of children. The
adult gives a “bone” to one of the children sitting in the circle.
The child hides the bone in her lap.
Then all of the children say together, “Doggy, doggy where’s
your bone? Somebody stole
it from your home.” At
this cue, the doggy comes over to the circle and must choose who he
thinks is hiding his bone. He
gets 3 guesses. The child who was hiding the bone then gets to be the doggy.
Continue the game until all children have had a turn being the
doggy.
This game
is best played outside since it requires space for the children to run.
Arrange children sitting in a circle. One person is it.
He will go around the circle tapping each child gently on the
head. As he taps he calls
the child duck. Then on one
child’s tap he will say “goose”. The child who is the goose must get up and chase the child
who is it around the circle a full turn.
The person who is it tries to run around the circle and sit back
down in the goose’s spot without being tagged.
If the goose tags the child then that child is out. If the goose does not tag the child then the goose then
becomes “it” and the game begins again.
You may vary this game to use a word or phrase that goes with the
theme of the party.
Three people are taken out of the room. One is returned and must act out one of the following: changing the diapers of twins, or bathing an elephant (or think up your own ideas)
Divide
the children into 2 teams. Arrange
a start and finish line 30 feet apart.
The first player on each team must carry an egg on a spoon from
the start line to the finish line and back again.
They must then pass the egg to the second player on their team
without dropping the egg. The
first team to successfully relay the egg through all players wins. Variation:
Instead of using eggs try small potatoes or even ping pong balls.
Children
love to play this game. This game must be played in a room that has 4
corners in which the children can stand. An adult must tell the children
the number of each corner from 1-4. One child is chosen to be “it”. She sits in a chair in the middle of the room and is
blindfolded. She then
counts out loud to 20. The
other children must run to one of the 4 corners.
When “it” gets to 20, she then calls out a number from 1-4.
All the children that are standing in the number corner that is
called, are out. Once there
are 4 or less children left, the children are not allowed to go to the
same corner – they must all choose different corners. The game
continues until one child wins.
Divide the children into 2 teams and arrange them in a line, shoulder to shoulder. Give the first child in each line a piece of fruit. (You may choose any type of fruit- apple, orange, grapefruit for a real challenge). Have the first person in line hold an apple between his chin and neck. The child then passes the apple to the person standing next to him. The children may not use their hands but may only pass the fruit as they hold it under their chin. The team who successfully passes the apple all the way down the line without dropping it wins!
Arrange
children in a circle on the floor. Spread out within the circle pieces
of candy. Give each child 2 toothpicks and a bag.
On “go” the children must fill their bags with candy as fast
as they can using only the toothpicks.
The children get to keep their bags of candy as a treat.
Fill a jar
with candy, marbles, peanuts, jellybeans, pennies or any other type of
object. Give each child a turn as guessing the correct number of items
in the jar. The child who guesses the right number of items, or comes
closest, wins.
Begin by
dividing the children into 2 teams.
This game can be played with just hats and shoes or a variety of
clothes. Put an equal
number of clothes, shoes & hats into 2 bags.
Each team is then given a bag.
Children must, on “go”, put on all the items in the bag, run
to the finish line, run back and take off the items.
The next player in line repeats the same procedure.
The team that gets all members dressed, across the finish line
and back first wins.
This
is a classic game for kids of all ages.
One person is “it” and must hide their eyes and count to 30.
As the child is counting the other children go and hide.
When the person who is it is finished counting, he must go and
seek all the children who are hiding.
Once the children are discovered, they are out.
The last child to be found wins.
Have 2
adults each hold a side of a rope.
Beginning a ground level allow the children to jump over the
rope. After each child has
taken a turn raise the rope higher a little bit.
The one who can jump the highest wins.
Arrange
the children sitting in a circle. One person is the leader and must sit
outside of the circle with his back to the children.
Begin by passing a potato (or any other small object) around the
circle. As the potato is
passed each child must take it and pass it but not hold it longer than a
second or two. When the
leaders calls “Hot Potato” whoever is holding the potato at that
time is out. Continue to
play until there is one winner! Variation:
Instead of having a leader, an adult can stand with her back to
the circle and turn the music on and off.
When the music stops whoever is holding the potato is out.
Divide the
children into 2 teams and arrange them in a row.
The first player on each team is given an ice cube.
The child must rub the ice cubes in his hands for as long as he
can trying to melt the cube. He then passes it to the next child on his team. This
continues until one team melts their ice cube and they are the winner.
Arrange
2 jump ropes parallel to each other on the grass a couple of inches
apart. The children each
take a turn jumping over the stream.
Once all children have jumped, move the jump ropes apart a little
more. Each child again jumps over the steam. If a child misses and lands in the water, they are out.
Have 2
adults each hold a side of a rope.
Beginning at children’s shoulder level, allow the children to
one at a time pass under the rope by bending backward.
After each child has taken a turn lower the rope.
The one who can limbo the lowest wins!
Place a
variety of 15 - 20 objects on a tray.
Cover the tray with a cloth.
Have the children all sit in a circle.
Place the tray in the middle of the circle for all children to
see. Remove the cover. The
children have 60 seconds to look at all objects on the tray.
Cover the tray and remove from circle.
The children must write down as many objects as they can remember
that were on the tray. The
winner is the one who remembered the most items.
Line all
children up on a start line and put one child on the finish line who is
“Mother”. Mother will
then tell each child, one at a time, to “take one giant step
forward” or “do 3 spins forward” or “take 2 baby steps
forward”. That player
must then say “Mother May I?” Mother
then gives permission to take the steps.
If a child forgets to say, “mother may I?” then that child
must return to the start line. The first child to cross the finish line
wins and gets to be the Mother next.
Divide the
children into teams of 3 players. Give
each a roll of toilet paper and a roll of Scotch tape. Two of the children must wrap their third teammate, the
mummy, with the roll of toilet paper as fast as they can. The winning team is the one who has the best-wrapped mummy.
Remind the children to just wrap the mummies bodies and not their
faces.
Arrange
chairs in a line with every chair facing a different direction than the
one next to it. There
should be one less chair than children.
As the music starts, the children march around the chairs in a
circle. When the music
stops, each child should quickly find a seat.
Who ever is left without a seat is out.
For the next round another chair is removed.
This continues with each round having one less chair than child.
The child who is left sitting at the end wins! Variation:
Tape an inflated balloon to the seat of each chair.
As the children sit, they must pop the balloon!
To prepare
for the game, cut out of construction paper large shapes and place
around the floor. This game
is played just like musical chairs but instead of sitting on chairs the
children must find a spot on a shape.
To play
this game children are each given the name of an animal.
For younger children you can whisper the name of the animal and
for older children you can give a slip of paper with the animal’s name
written down. Let the
children know that another child has the same animal as they do.
They must ask each other questions to determine who their
matching animal friend is.
This game
is best played outside. Set
up an obstacle course in your yard.
You can get very creative with the things you have on hand to
design a course. Time the
children running through the course and give a prize to the child with
the fastest time.
Designate
2 lines about 30 feet apart. Choose
one child to be the octopus. She
stands in the middle of the 2 lines while the other children, the little
fish, stand on one of the lines. To
begin the Octopus yells, “Swim” and all the little fish must run
across the ocean to the other line.
The Octopus tries to tag the little fish as they swim across the
ocean. Any fish that are
tagged become a tentacle of the Octopus by holding hands.
The game continues until the last little fish to be caught is the
winner.
This game
is played with 4 children at a time while the others watch. Three of the children playing are given a piece of paper on
which is written a description of a person or a character from a book or
movie. A fourth person is
the host of the party. As
the guests “enter” the party they must act like the person described
on the paper. The host child must try to guess what each guest represents.
Some ideas might be: Peter
Pan, a stunt man, a person who has just parachuted in…
Wrap a gift
(such as a chocolate bar) in a layer of newspaper.
Continue wrapping the gift over and over until you have about 15
layers. (or more if you have a lot of children) To finish it off
wrap the final layer in pretty gift paper.
Children
are each given a bucket of various coins (or children may take turns
with one bucket). Then each
child must put on a pair of mittens.
The child then has 30 seconds to reach into the bucket and take
out as many coins, one at a time, as they are able.
Whoever picks out the most money wins.
Before the
party, buy a piņata and stuff it with candy or other goodies.
The children take turns hitting the piņata with a stick or bat
until the piņata breaks. Variations
for older children: Blindfold
the children so they aren’t able to see the piņata they are trying to
hit. You can also tie the
piņata so that it can be raised or lowered as the children attempt to
hit it
A
large picture of a donkey (who is missing a tail) is attached to a wall.
Give each child a tail with tape on one side.
Blindfold the children, spin and let them try to pin the tail on
the donkey. Who ever pins the tail closest to the correct place wins. You
may vary this traditional and well-loved game to fit the theme of your
party. For example you may
want to pin the spots on the Dalmatian, or pin the nose on the clown.
All
children all lined up on a starting line.
One child who is chosen to be “it” stands on the finish line. “It” shuts his eyes and calls out “green light”.
At this signal, the other children begin to run towards the
finish line. Then “it”
calls “red light” and opens his eyes.
The other players, when they hear “red light” must freeze.
The first child to reach the finish line wins and gets to be
“it” next time.
Divide the
children into 2 teams. Each
teams makes a line by holding hands and stretching the line out.
The two teams are arranged facing each other about 20 feet apart.
One team begins by saying, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send
(child’s name on other team) over.” The child whose name was called runs from his line and tries
to break through the hands of the children on the
other team. If he
successfully breaks through he then chooses one opponent to take back to
his team with him. If he does not break through he must stay on the
opposing team. The team to
get the most players wins.
Younger
children: Prepare by
decorating 2 big boxes. Divide children into 2 teams and line them up a
short distance from the boxes. Using
a hula hoop the children toss the hoop around the box.
Allow each child three
tries to toss the hoop around the box. The team that gets the most hoops
around the boxes wins! Older
children: Make a rings by
cutting the center our of paper plates.
Fill 2 liter soda bottles with water.
Divide the children into 2 teams and have each child take turns
ringing the bottles. The
team that gets the most rings wins!
For this
race, use kitchen trash bags.
Line up the children with each standing in a trash bag.
Make a finish line about 20-25 feet away. When the kids are
ready, yell go and have the children jump in their bags towards the
finish line. The first
child to cross the finish line wins.
Divide the
kids into teams. You can
vary the amount of teams and players on a team according to how many
kids you have. Make a list
of 25 – 30 items. The
teams must go and collect all the items on the list and report back in
one hour. The winning team
is the one that returns with everything on the list.
Prior to
the party you must prepare your scoops by cutting the bottom out of
gallon milk containers. To
play the game, pair the children up and each pair stands facing each
other about a foot apart. Using
the scoop, the child tosses the bean bag to his partner.
The partner must catch it with her scoop.
All teams that successfully catch the beanbag must then take a
step backward to separate themselves farther apart.
The game continues until you have one team that hasn’t missed!
This is a
great game for toddlers and preschoolers. The children each remove one
of their shoes and put them in a big pile. The children are then taken
to another room and told to sit quietly.
An adult then hides each of the shoes around the room.
The children then come in the room and find their own shoe.
This
is a classic game that children love.
One person is chosen to be Simon.
Simon stands in front of the children and gives directions.
When Simon says, “Simon says (jump up and down)”, the
children must do what Simon says. But
when Simon just says, “Jump up and down” (without saying “Simon
Says”) the children should not do it.
Whoever makes a mistake is out.
The winner is the last one left.
Arrange the children on the floor sitting in a circle. Choose one child to be the bear. The bear sits in the middle of the circle. A small cup is placed in front of the bear and the bear is blindfolded. One child is selected to sneak up and steal the bear’s honey pot. The child must then hide the cup in her lap. The bear gets 3 guesses to figure out which child stole her honey. The children then change places and the honey stealer becomes the bear. Repeat until all children have a turn to be the bear.
Arrange
children sitting in chairs in a circle.
Give each child a card with a station name on it.
One child, the conductor, stands in the middle of the circle with
a list of all the stations. The
conductor then calls off two station names from the list. The
children who are the called out stations have to change places quickly,
before the conductor can get to one of their chairs. Who ever is
left without a chair is the conductor for the next game.
Begin by having the children dance to music. When the music stops the children must freeze like statues. Anyone who moves is out. The last statue left is the winner
Divide the
children into 2 teams. Team
1 stands in front of team 2 for 1 minute so that team 2 can carefully
look at how team 1 is dressed. Team
1 then goes into a different room and each person on the team switches
various articles of clothing or accessories with each other.
Team 1 then returns to team 2 and team 2 must guess all of the
switches, which have been made. The
game is repeated with team 2. The
team that guessed the most switches is the winner.
Sit the
children down in a circle. To begin, whisper a long phrase to one
person. They, in turn, whisper what they heard to the next person,
and so on. The last person announces what they heard.
Variation: The first player draws an object on a piece of paper. The second player is allowed to view it for 10 seconds, and then draws the similar object on his sheet of paper, shows it to the third etc. The players then compare the first drawing with the last.
Divide the children into teams. Arrange each team side by side on the starting line and designate a finishing line 25 feet or so away. As the teams stand side by side holding hands, their adjacent ankles are tied together. When the whistle blows, the teams make their way to the finish line. The first to cross wins!
Children
love to collect things making this game a favorite at parties.
Give children their own bag or basket.
A scavenger hunt works much like an Easter egg hunt.
The children go in search of the hidden treasures.
Some ideas are: coins,
candy, or prizes.
One child
is it. They must try to tag
the other children. If a
child is tagged, they must freeze, standing up, with their feet apart.
The only way that they can become free is if someone crawls through
their legs. The game is over when all of the children have been tagged
and there is no one left to tunnel through.
The first person tagged is then it.
This is a
classic game. Divide the
children into 2 evenly matched teams.
Using a rope the children grab hold and must as a team try to
pull the other team across a designated line.
One child
is chosen to be “it”. “It”
must think of an animal, vegetable, mineral, etc.
and write it down on a piece of paper.
The children then one at a time can ask 20 questions to find out
what “it” wrote down. The
children are only allowed to ask yes or no questions.
Whoever correctly guesses the answer gets to be “it”.
Give
each child a pair of mittens and a piece of individually wrapped Bazooka
bubble gum. At “go” the
children must unwrap their piece of gum while wearing the mittens and
chew it quickly. The first
child to blow a bubble wins.
Have water
balloons prepared ahead of time. Pair the children up.
If you have an uneven number of children then an adult will have
to stand in. To begin, the children stand facing their partner with one
of them holding a balloon. They
all toss their balloons to their partner.
If they catch the balloon then they each must take one step
backwards making the distance between them greater.
If the balloon pops the team is out.
The game continues until there is a winning team.
The object
of this game is to fill a glass of water. Line up children in two even
rows (four players on each side). The first child in line dips a cup in
the bucket of water and then carefully runs to an empty bucket 10 feet
away. He then runs back and gives the empty cup to the next child in
line. This child then dips the cup in the bucket of water and then
carefully runs to the bucket. The first team who finishes with the most
water in the bucket wins! Variation
for older children: Instead
of using a cup, use a spoon.
Divide the
children into 2 teams and arrange them in a line.
Place a bucket of water in front of the first child in line on
each team and a bucket in front of the last child on each team. Give each child in line a small cup. The object is to transfer the water from the first bucket to
the last bucket by passing from cup to cup.
The first player in line dips his cup into the water bucket then
pours the water from his cup into the next child in line’s cup.
The last child in line then dumps his water into the last bucket.
The first team to finish emptying the first bucket into the last
bucket with the most water wins! Variation
for older children: Instead
of giving each child a cup to transfer water, give each child a spoon.
One child
is chosen to leave the room while all other children sit on the floor in
a circle. While the one
child is away the other children must decide what she should be when she
returns. Then when the child returns she will ask of the group, “what
do I have to buy for myself” For
example, if they decide that she should be a ballerina the first person
may answer, “ballet shoes” or a “tutu”.
This continues all the way around the circle with each child
naming something different the “ballerina” should buy.
When all children have had a turn, she must then try to guess who
she is.
Arrange the
children in a circle. Put
several small items into a brown paper sack. Pass the sack around the
circle and let each child take turns feeling the objects.
Once all children have felt the objects they must either write
down or whisper to the leader what the objects were.
Whoever gets the most objects right, wins.
Fill paper bags with various smelly items. Some ideas are coffee beans, oranges, cheese, etc. Pass the bags around the circle and let the kids smell without looking inside the bag. Whoever gets the most smells right, wins.
Pair up the children and line the pairs up at the starting line. The goal is to race the wheelbarrow to the finish line which is designated 30 feet or so away. To make a wheelbarrow, one child gets down on all fours while her partner stands in back of her and carefully lifts up her legs while the first child supports herself with her hands.
Give each
child 3 saltine crackers. When
you say go, the children must eat the crackers as fast as they can. The first one who is able to whistle wins!
This is a good game to play as children arrive to a party. A piece of paper is pinned to the back of each child. On the paper is the name of a character or famous person. The child will then go around to other guests and ask them questions to find out the name of their character or person. The questions must only be questions that can be answered with a yes or no answer. At the end of the allotted time, the children must each guess who they are. Variation with younger children: Instead of using the name of a character or person, tape the picture of a farm animal or object.
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