Birthday party games add to the fun
Add to the excitement with birthday party games
Whatever theme you select for your child's party, with a little
creativity you can adapt any of the games listed below. If your
theme is based on a T.V. show or movie, be sure to read through
the story for ideas. Blue loves to find clues. The traditional
Scavenger Hunt becomes Blue's Treasure Hunt. You might also want
to play theme music at the party and read a short version of the
original story. All are great birthday party games that will
make the day memorable. These suggestions are from kids domain.
Most of these games are good for almost any party with kids -
and they're not just for birthdays!
1. Pin the _Something_ on _Something_
Traditionally pin the tail on the donkey, this game can be
changed to fit any theme. In this game, blindfolded guests try
to stick a paper 'tail' onto a poster of a donkey. You can take
a piece of poster board and draw anything with something missing
- a nose on a clown or animal, the TY heart on a beanie baby, a
spaceship in an outer space scene, and one year we gave Yoda
(Star Wars) his staff. Just be sure to include an outline of
where the object needs to land.
2. Bean Bag Toss
You can make an easy Bean Bag Toss using a double layer of
poster board glued together and a large box. Use the large box
as a base, and attach the poster board to one side of it. Before
attaching the poster board, paint a design on it, allowing for
one or more holes. Kids always have a lot of fun throwing bean
bags. They're easy to make from fabric scraps if you sew. This
should be included in your file of inexpensive and creative
birthday party games.
3. Pinata
This is a game that requires room and good supervision. The
children are blindfolded (or not, if they are young and don't
want to be) and they take a stick and try to break a hanging
container that has candies and other small goodies in it.
(Colorful Band-Aids are popular among preschoolers). To make
one, you can do something as simple as decorating a paper
grocery bag with paints or crepe paper and then gluing and
taping the top shut once the treats are inside. Run a string
along the top edge before shutting the bag. You can also make a
fancier one using a balloon and paper mache. The fun thing is
that these can be decorated to match any theme. This is just one
of the many birthday party games that can be adapted to the ages
of the attendees.
4. Make a Bracelet/Necklace
This activity can be an activity the children can go to between
other activities, or the main focus. A big bag of pony beads,
some elastic cord, scissors and an adult to help when needed,
and they can make their own jewelry. Be sure to supervise this
one, so that necklaces and bracelets are not made too tight.
5. Go on a Treasure Hunt
These are some treasure hunt ideas: You can scatter coins in the
lawn and let the kids hunt for them, much like an Easter egg
hunt. You can hide each child's goodie bag and then give that
child a piece of paper with a hint for finding it - it could be
a simple map drawing for a young child, a word or two, or a
riddle for older children. You can also let the children do a
paper clue based hunt as a group - with the goodie bag for the
youngest being the first found, along with the clue to the next
goodie bag, and so on.
6. Guess How Many
This is an old favorite on the birthday party games list. Fill a
jar with candy. Have children write their name on a small piece
of paper and their guess as to how many candies are in the jar.
The child who guesses the right number, or comes closest, gets a
sucker. The candy in the jar is then divided among the children.
A variation would be that the winner takes the jar of candy home
to share with their family.
7. Make Place Cards or Placemats
This activity could be as complex or simple as you want -
children can decorate 3x5 cards or construction paper with a
variety of stickers, cut outs (use an old beanie baby magazine
for a source of a hundred or more beanie pictures, a pokemon
magazine for pokemon), crayons, and colored pencils. If you have
enough help to cover the placemats after they're done with clear
contact paper, they will last a long time.
8. Who Am I?
When the children come through the door tape a farm animal or
item/object to their backs. Through the course of the party they
may ask each other yes and no questions about what they are.
Explain that the first question they may want to ask is "Am I an
animal or an object?" At the end of the party each child takes a
turn saying what they think they are. Suggestions: cow, pig,
sheep...pitchfork, saddle, horseshoe, hay, milk, barn, tractor,
etc. This is another one of very popular birthday party games.
9. Button, Button, Who's got the Button
A child is chosen to be "it" and hides her eyes as a button is
given to a child to hide in his lap or behind his back. "It"
then has three chances to guess which child has the item. (All
children hide their hands in their laps/behind their backs like
they have it.) For animal themes, select an item that goes with
the animal. If you're doing a character theme like Cinderella it
would be "Slipper, Slipper, Who's got the Slipper".