The joy of children’s parties reaches fever pitch at around age 5, but most party games can be adapted to suit toddlers and older children. Throw in a little imagination and even the most traditional party games may be changed to fit your child’s party theme, number of children attending, and ages. Here are 7 Party Games for Kids.
- Pin the Tail on the Donkey – or whatever other themed creature happens to be unlucky that day. Print a picture of the figure without a main feature (donkey/tail, pirate/sword, princess/crown, etc.). The children then take turns blindfolded, pinning the feature onto the hung image as near to where it needs to be as possible. The one who comes the closest to getting it right wins.
- Wack a Pinata – Purchase or make a piñata and fill it with food and gifts. The kids can then take turns bashing it with a stick until a large enough hole appears and all the treasure falls out.
- Sack Race – For a sack race, each player will require a hessian/burlap bag or a large pillowcase (you can also play in relay teams to minimise the number of sacks you need). Guests must stand inside the sack with their feet inside and race to the finish line (or to a teammate if you’re playing relay style). The winner is the first player to cross the finish line or the first team to have all of its members leap.
- Treasure Hunt – Treasure hunts (also known as scavenger hunts) can be as basic or as complicated as you choose. To keep things simple, conceal wrapped sweets/lollies throughout the play area for guests to uncover, and each guest gets anything they find. Hide a number of tokens around the play space for guests to find for a more complicated treasure hunt — the youngster who finds the most wins a gift. Small coloured gemstones, painted pebbles, and so on can all be utilized as tokens.
- Doughnut Challenge – Make sure you have a pack of wipes on hand to clean up any sticky cheeks! Ring doughnuts should be hung from a string that is spread out across another string. Children must eat as much of the doughnut as they can without it falling over – the catch is that they are not permitted to use their hands! They’ve got to be hiding behind their backs! Make sure you have extra doughnuts on available for disappointed kids who haven’t yet grasped the concept of gravity!
- Sand Treasure Hunt – There are a number of variables in this game, allowing you to adapt it to suit your party goers. It is a terrific ice breaker and time filler for the first 10 minutes of a party while you wait for all of the guests to arrive. It is obviously perfect for pirate parties, but it can be enjoyed at any party. The version we enjoy best involves burying a sand tray full of ‘treasure’ such as wrapped sweets and small toys. The children are then given a flag to place where they believe the treasure is hidden. It’s time to check which prize is closest to which flag once everyone has had a turn.
Under Over Divide your partygoers into groups of 4-8 people each. Each team forms a line, with the child in front clutching a ball or balloon. On ‘go,’ the kids must alternate passing the ball backwards over their heads and between their legs until it reaches the last person in line. This child then sprints around to the front to begin the process all over again. This continues until the original front child returns to the beginning, at which point the entire team takes a seat. The winning team will be the first to take a seat.
