Kid's Party Game Ideas
Party Games
Welcome to our listing of party games! We hope you can find some ideas to spice up your party!!
Players form a circle. A medium size, round object such as a bean bag, potato or small ball is passed from player to player while music is played. When the music stops, the player who has the small object is out and sits outside the circle. The last player out is the winner. The music should be stopped frequently so the game moves quickly, especially for younger children
All of the children sit in a circle facing each other. They are now the "ducks". Pick one child to be "it". The child who is "it" walks around the outside of the circle, gently tapping the other players heads while saying "duck" each time he/she taps. After a few times around the circle, the child selects a "goose" by tapping a player's head and calling "goose!". The goose quickly jumps up and chases the child who is "it" around the circle, trying to tag him before he can get to the spot where the goose was just sitting. If the child who is "it" succeeds in taking the goose's place, he is now safe and the goose is "it". If however the child who is "it" is tagged while running from the goose, he has to sit in the center of the circle. Then the goose becomes it for the next round. The person in the middle can't leave until another person is tagged and they are replaced.
Have the children sit in a circle. One player is "it" and leaves the group while the other players choose an object in the room. The child who is "it" returns and tries to guess the object. She can ask a maximum of 10 questions of the group members, all of which must be answered by yes or no. Have the "it" child go around the circle and ask one question of each person until she has asked 10 questions. Depending on your group size, the "it" child may ask more than one question of some members. If your group is comprised of more than 10 children, you may increase the number of yes/no questions so each child has a chance to answer a question. The "it" child may take a guess at any point, but after 10 questions, the "it" child must take a guess. Whether she is right or wrong, another child takes a turn at guessing. Go around the circle until all the children have had a turn.
The children sit in a circle. The player designated as "it" leaves the room. While he is away, the others decide what he should be when he returns. If they decide on an Astronaut, for example, they call him back, and he has to ask each child in the circle what he has to buy for himself to be the character the group has decided on. One child may say a rocket ship, another a helmet, another some oxygen and so on. If the "it" child goes all the way around the circle without guessing what he is, then the group tells him and another child takes a turn. If you only have a few children playing, then you can do many rounds. Another option is to have the "it" child continue to be "it" until he finally makes a correct guess. This can lengthen the game quite a bit if you have lots of children playing.
Players are divided into two teams. Line up facing each other, about 30 to 50 feet apart (or less depending on your space). Each side takes turns calling "Red Rover, Red Rover, send (name) come over." At that signal, the player called runs from her line and tries to break through the line of opponents, who have joined hands. If she breaks through, she can take one opponent back with her to her team. If she does not break through, she must join the other team. The team to add the other players on its side first, or which has the most players at the end of a designated time period, wins.
Players are paired up, 2 to a team. The pairs of children stand across from each other, about 1 foot apart. You will have 2 lines of children facing each other. Give all the children in one line an egg or water balloon. Have the child with the egg/balloon toss it to his partner. Have the partner then toss it back. At this point, both lines of children take one step back (about a foot back). The line of children then tosses the egg/balloon again to their partners. The partners toss it back. They both take another step back. The game goes on this way. The winning team is the last one left with their egg or unbroken egg or water balloon.
Fill a jar or see through container 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, is the winner. The candy in the jar is then divided among the children.
You can tailor your charades game any way you want. You may have the children act out names of animals, popular cartoon characters, TV shows, etc. Have one child come up to the front of the group and whisper their charades idea to the adult present. They then act out their idea while the rest of the kids try to guess. Have the kids each take a turn at acting out in front of the group.
Place some chairs in a line in the center of the room. Put out one less chair than the number of children. For example, if there are 7 children, put out six chairs. The adult present needs to be in charge of the music. You can use the radio or a CD for a music source. When the music turns on, the children need to walk around the chairs. When the music stops, the everyone needs to try and sit in a chair as quickly as they can. The person who doesn't have a chair to sit in is out of the game. A chair is taken away, and then the music starts again. This keeps happening until there is only one person left - they are the winner!
Begin by playing music. Everyone moves or dances while the music is playing. When the music stops, the children must "freeze" in whatever position they happen to be in. Any child who is still moving when the music stops is out. Turn the music on and do the same thing. Keep turning the music on and off until there is only one child left standing. That child is the winner!
Players sit in a circle. The first player starts by saying, "At dinner I like to eat ....(name a food such as hamburgers)". The next player must repeat "At dinner I like to eat hamburger and ..." (add another food). This continues all the way around the circle with each player reciting the foods in the exact order they have been given and then adding a new one. If a player makes a mistake they slide out of the circle and the game continues. The person left who can perfectly recite the dinner menu wins.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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)