Children game ideas for a party

Then the game starts over. Sit all the toddlers in a circle on the floor. There are two ways of running this game. Firstly, you can use an actual baking potato raw not cooked!! Or, you can buy an actual Hot Potato game that has a potato with a face.

Squeeze the potato to start the music and when the music stops, the person holding the potato wins a small prize and leaves the game. This is a great game to use to calm over-excited or tired children down before they have their party food or sing happy birthday and watch the birthday cake being cut. Ask all the toddlers to lie on the floor as still as they can possibly be.

You can either give a small prize to every child who stays super still or a child is out if they move, at which point they can have a small prize for trying hard!!!

All this said, three, four and five year olds are capable of increasing amounts of cooperative play, so they are capable of enjoying a wider range of games than toddlers. All these games work equally well for indoor parties at home, parties at a venue or summer outdoor parties. Get all the kids to sit in a circle. If not, then the original child goes again. Check out this video to see a game of Duck Duck Goose in action. The kids dance to fun music. When the music stops everyone has to sit down as quickly as possible.

The last child to sit down each time is given a small prize stickers or a single sweet work well and then the game continues, until there is either one winner left, or a handful of winners, depending on how many kids are playing remember, attention spans are short!!

The winner or winners each receive a small gift and a round of applause. Any kids that get it wrong get given a sticker or small prize and are asked to watch from the sidelines. Continue until you have either a single winner or a handful of winners. Kids aged three to five are just about at an age where the classic party game of Pass The Parcel works.

The key to a successful game with preschoolers is to adapt the game to the number of children playing and to have a small prize within each layer. This is a great game for getting a couple of parents involved in the activities. Play some fun music and shout encouragement. Pop some little sweets into balloons before blowing them up and tying them. Free the balloons and challenge the kids to pop them all to find the hidden treasure inside.

I did a version of this game for a pirate themed party using black balloons and filling them with gold chocolate coins as treasure. Watch this video for a run-through of how to play Mother May I? Set up a line of chairs back to back with enough chairs for every child.

Play some music as the children dance and move around the chairs. When the music stops each child must sit down on a chair.

From the second round either one or two chairs, so that either one or two children are out each time. Give the kids who are out a small prize. The last child left is the overall winner. Line all the children up with the birthday child as the leader. The kids have to follow the leader around the room. You can create an obstacle course for them to go round or you can have different things that the leader has to do at certain points — like blow a raspberry or wiggle their bottom — that everyone following must also do.

Change the leader at various points during the game. Once kids get to six years old they can start to really enjoy team games and more competitive games. They also have more of an attention span for taking part in fun party games with different elements to them. Kids age six, seven, eight and ten are also capable of waiting for their turn during a game and enjoying watching the child who is having their turn.

You can either play just for the fun of it, or keep track of who is winning and then give out prizes. Here is a selection of Minute To Win It games that six, seven and eight year olds will love. You will of course need to use your phone or a stop-watch to time the minutes!! Challenge the kids to keep a balloon in the air for a minute. Add interesting rules to the challenge, like keeping one hand behind the back or using no hands or only feet.

Partner the kids up into twos. Give one child a paper cup and the other child a cup filled with regular sized marshmallows. The pair with the most marshmallows thrown into the paper cup wins.

Play this game two at a time. Fill two empty tissue boxes with ping-pong balls, the same amount in each box. Tie the boxes around the waist of each player. The kids must shake out the ping pong balls without using their hands. The first to empty their box wins or the child with the fewest balls left in their box after a minute wins. One of the most fun things about party planning is deciding which games and activities to include.

This is especially true when your guest list includes lots of little ones. Make your youngest guests feel right at home and take your event to the next level with these fun party games for kids. Expect classic games but with a new twist, and plenty of ideas on how to style these games around your party.

Set your clues, hide the prize, and watch as youngsters guess their way towards its location. First, decide on a theme. Plus, you can start the game early by hiding your first clue within your digital invitations. Duck duck goose is one of the most-loved birthday party games for kids. The process then repeats until the fun stops. Break from tradition and transform the traditional donkey into a unicorn and ask guests to pin the horn. Or, you can pin the tail on the lion for a safari-themed birthday bash.

We bet this is one of those party games you remember from childhood. The last person left is the winner. Musical chairs is a fun way to get your guests moving and expend some energy. Add a disco ball, gold fringe curtains, and plenty of showstopping tunes for the perfect musical game.

Before the party starts, find a small gift and wrap it in layers of paper, with pieces of candy hidden in the layers between. Gather your party guests and ask them to sit in one big circle. Starting with one person, pass the parcel around the circle until the music stops.

Whoever is holding the parcel at that moment gets to unwrap a layer and keep the candy. Keep passing the parcel until there are no more layers left, and the winner ends up with a prize to keep. For a more eco-friendly take on this classic game, swap the paper layers with reusable fabric instead. Guests can then enjoy the sweet treat and take home the fabric that they can use as a cape for a small toy figurine or a flag for a castle.

Simon Says is the ultimate copycat party game for kids. Set it to self-timer mode—10 seconds is best—and use regular photo mode, not selfie mode. Pass the phone around, with each person holding the phone up for a moment, posing for the camera.

Pass until the photo is taken, then repeat. At the end, take a look at the probably undignified photos. This is a trickier take on I'm Hosting a Party. Sit in a circle and designate yourself the host. Just don't tell everyone the name of the game. Say you are hosting a party, but only people bringing the right items will be invited. Go around the circle and have everyone suggest contributions; the host will say who is invited and who isn't.

Instead of basing the invite on what they're bringing, though, base it on their posture: Whoever has their legs crossed can come, and whoever doesn't can't, for example. Continue until everyone figures it out. Say you're describing your perfect world: "In my perfect world, there are doors but no windows. Your perfect world has only double letter items: Schools but not universities, for example, or apples but not bananas. If someone gets it right, say, "Yes, that would be in my perfect world.

Continue around the circle until everyone figures it out. This tried-and-true party game can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. Have everyone write down concepts, movies, people, shows, and more to act out and divide into teams. One person will act out something drawn from the assortment while their team members guess what it is.

When time is up, switch teams and repeat. Add time limits, scoring systems, silence rules, and more as desired. Pick one person to go first. That person will think of an item, animal, movie, public figure, etc. Everyone else will ask yes or no questions about what or who they are; they have 20 chances to guess, or the other person wins. Whoever guesses correctly can win a prize, or be the next to answer questions.

Have everyone sit or stand in a circle. Each person should select a hand motion or leg motion, if you're standing. Go around the circle and have everyone present their motion: Memorize these. Have everyone begin clapping or stomping a steady rhythm and pick one person to start: They will do their motion, and then the motion of someone else in the circle.

This next person will do their own motion, then the motion of a third person, who will do the same. There are no passbacks and no hesitations. Whoever messes up first is out; continue indefinitely. Find a pad of paper and writing tools. Have everyone write an outrageous phrase on a slip of paper, and collect everything in a hat. If it's a mixed group, set propriety guidelines ahead of time; if it's adults only, go wild.

Give one person the hat: They must draw a piece of paper and read the statement aloud to the group. The goal is to keep a straight face: Whoever laughs or smiles loses. Pass the hat around until everything has been read. Have everyone sit around a table. Everyone will put their heads down; count down from three, and have everyone sit up and look at someone else in the circle. If you make eye contact with someone else, you're out.

If the person you're looking at is looking at someone else, you're safe. Repeat until everyone is out. Pick one person to be Mr. Have everyone playing the game move around the party as usual.

When Mr. Freeze freezes, though, everyone else must freeze, too. Whoever freezes last is out. Repeat for the duration of the party. For adults, if you want things to get a little wild, just add alcohol. For most games, instead of someone being "out" after losing, have them take a sip of their drink or a shot, if you're feeling particularly rowdy. In games involving rule-making Kings, Cheers to the Governor, etc. If you are introducing drinking games to your gathering, drink responsibly, and stay safe!

Tear or cut sheets of paper into pieces, or give each person playing a notepad, and pass around pens or pencils. Each person should have as many pieces of paper or pages as people playing: If it's a group of 10, each person should have 10 pieces of paper, for example. Without letting anyone else see, write a word or phrase on the first piece of paper. Everyone should pass their stack of papers or notepad clockwise. The next person will look at the word or phrase, move it to the bottom of the stack, and then draw their interpretation of that word or phrase.

Once everyone is finished, pass clockwise again. This person will look at the picture and interpret it into a word or phrase, moving the drawing to the bottom of the stack. Continue passing, alternating between drawings and words, until the stacks have gone full-circle. Flip through the results, and prepare to roar with laughter. This game is also known as Assassin, Werewolf, or Village.