Welcome to our listing of party games!
Hope you can find some ideas to spice up your party!!
Windows and Doors (Outdoors)
Have one child start off as the runner. The other children form a circle holding
hands. The kids need to spread out enough so that their arms are straight out
forming large spaces between the children. These spaces are the windows and
doors. The runner starts running and weaving in and out between children. As he
does this, have the kids in the circle randomly drop their arms down attempting
to touch or trap the runner. Once the runner is caught or touched by the arms of
someone, he is out. Then, another child takes a turn as the runner and the games
starts over again.
Honey Do You Love Me?
(Indoors or Outdoors)
Have the children form a circle with one child in the middle ("it"). The middle
child must ask each of the children in the circle, "Honey, do you love me?" The
child being questioned must answer, "Honey, I love you but I just can't smile."
If she does smile or laugh, she becomes "it" and the previous "it" child joins
the circle. The person who is "it" is not allowed to touch other players but may
make as many funny faces as she wishes.
Doggy Where's Your Bone?
(Indoors or Outdoors)
Have one child play the part of the dog. Have the dog sit in a chair with his
back to the other children. Pick some object to be the dog's "bone". You can use
an object such as a small book, a chalkboard eraser, a small ball, or even a
real dog bone. Put the "bone" under the "dog's" chair. While the dog is turned
around with his eyes closed, one of the children sneaks up, steals the bone and
hides it somewhere on his person. Then everyone sings, "Doggy, Doggy, where's
your bone? Somebody's stole it from your home. Guess who. It might be you." Then
the dog has three chances to guess who took it. The children can also choose to
leave the bone under the dog's chair. If the dog makes a correct guess, he gets
to be the "dog" again. If he guesses wrong, then the person who had the bone
gets a turn as the dog. You can also choose to change "dogs" after each turn
whether the child playing dog guesses correctly or not. This way, each child is
guaranteed a turn at being dog.
Shoe Shuffle (Indoors or
Outdoors)
Each child puts on a blindfold and takes off her shoes. The children then throw
the shoes into a pile in the middle of the floor. The adult present mixes the
shoes up and shouts, " GO"! The first person to find her shoes by touch and
smell alone and put them on is the winner.
Bouncy Ball and Spoon Relay
Race (Indoors or Outdoors)
To start, mark off a starting point and finishing point on the ground about 10
feet apart. If playing inside, lines of masking tape work well. Divide the
children into 2 teams and have the 2 lines of kids line up behind the starting
point. Give each child a spoon, and give the first child in line a bouncy ball
to put on his spoon. Have this child walk to the finish line and back while
holding the spoon/bouncy ball in one hand. When that child gets back to the
line, he must transfer the bouncy ball to the next player's spoon without
picking up the ball (just slide it off onto the spoon if he can). The next
person repeats to process and so on. The first team to make it back to the start
after all the players have taken a turn is the winner. You can then hand out
bouncy balls to all the kids as prizes!
Balloon Drop (Indoors)
Have the children stand in a circle on the floor and assign each a number. Put
the child with the lowest number in the center of the circle to be "'it". The
"it" child holds a balloon and suddenly drops it as she calls out a number. The
child with the called out number then tries to catch the balloon before it
touches the floor. If she succeeds, the 'it' child calls another number. If the
balloon touches the floor then she is "it'.
You can also play elimination style. The children who don't catch the balloon
are out and play continues until only two players are left. Then the adult
present can drop the balloon for the last two children to determine the winner.
Clothes Pins and Cups
(Indoors or Outdoors)
First, mark off a start line and finish line about 10 feet apart. Divide the
children into 2 teams. Have each team form a line at the starting point. Place a
large mouth cup or container at the finish line for each team. Hand out a
clothes pin to each child. Have the first child in each line place a clothes pin
between his knees. The child must then walk, waddle, or run to the the finish
line while keeping the clothes pin between his knees. At the finish line, he
must drop the clothes pin into the cup without using his hands. He then runs
back to the back of the line. Have the next child do the same. Have the teams
race against each other. The first team to make if back to the start after all
the players have taken a turn is the winner!
Simon Says (Indoors or
Outdoors)
One child is chosen to be "Simon", and the others stand in a strait line in
front of Simon. Simon then calls out a direction for the children to follow in
this way, " Simon Says touch your nose, Simon Says stand on one foot", etc. When
giving a direction, Simon can simply state her command without saying "Simon
Says". For example, she might say, "Touch your nose". Any child who follows the
command without Simon saying "Simon Says" is out. The game continues in this way
until there is only one child left standing. That child is the winner of the
round and can then be Simon for the next round.
Crayon Treasure Hunt
(Indoors)
Buy a couple of the large boxes of crayons and hide the crayons through out the
kid's play area. Give all the children bags to collect the crayons, and then
send them off searching for the new crayons. The player with the most crayons is
the winner and gets the box the crayons came in. All kids can receive coloring
books as party treats!
Red Light/Green Light
(Indoors or Outdoors)
In this game, one child plays the "stop light" and the rest of the children try
to touch her. Have all the children form a line about 15 - 20 feet away from the
stop light. The stop light should stand with her back to the line of children
and say "green light". At this point, the kids are allowed to move forward,
towards the stoplight. At any point, the stop light can say "red light!" and
turn around. The children must freeze. If any of the children are caught moving,
they are out. Play resumes when the stop light turns back around and says "green
light". The stop light wins if all the kids are out before anyone is able to
touch her. Otherwise, the first player to touch the stop light wins the game and
gets to be "stop light" for the next round.
Who Are You? ( Good icebreaker or "Get
To Know Each Other" game)
This game is great to use at the beginning of a
party to help the kids get to know each other. Have the kids go around the
room searching for other kids to fit into the appropriate categories on the "Who
Are You?" game sheet. When they find a match, they can have the child
initial the game sheet. (printable
game sheet)
