| Ring Toss Game can be made easier, or more difficult for different age groups. |
Use:
Embroidery hoops
- or -
Large plastic lids - cut out the center, leaving just the outside ring
Directions - Find a starting point for the children to
stand. Items can either be scattered or in a straight line. Give each child
2-3 rings to toss. Toss around anything - find something that
matches the party theme:
Stuffed or plastic dinosaurs (dinosaur theme), Small toy trucks, Beanie Babies, Lego
towers
You could even use small wrapped or unwrapped prizes (box of crayons, small Lego kit,
candy or treats) |
| Musical Chairs For ages 4 to 8
In addition to "chairs", a tape player or
radio will be needed. |
Use: select one of the following
chairs
cushions -
hand towels
small pillows
flat - folded paper bags - these can be cut into a shape and decorated to match the party
theme - lily pad, island or treasure map (pirate party), dinosaur eggs...Directions - Put out enough chairs for all the players
less one. The children dance and move about as the music plays, and when it stops they
scramble for a chair. After each round, the player that did not find a chair must sit
out. A chair is removed until finally there is just one left. |
| Egg and Spoon Race For ages 6 and up. |
Use:
dessert spoons
hard boiled eggs
- or -
plastic Easter Eggs - fill with a treat for after the game - this will also help to weigh
them downDirections - The goal here is to run
from a starting point to a finishing line with an egg on a spoon. If the egg is dropped,
the child has to start again. You can work this as either a competition between teams, an
individual timed race on an obstacle course, or just see who can make it the farthest
without dropping their egg. |
| Dress - Up Relay Race For ages 6 and up.
|
Use:
any old clothes (2 sets) - men's button shirt, pants & belt, hard hat, tool belt,
t-shirt, gown or dress, hat, heelsDirections
- Divide the group into two teams. Have a child from each team run from one point to
another, and put on a set of clothes. When dressed they run back and take it all off
so the next child can put it on. The team to finish first, wins. |
| Bucket Toss For ages 6 and up.
Buckets can become smaller and the prize more valuable as they get farther away.
|
Use: select one of the
following
baskets
buckets
bowls
pans
A small sox, partially filled with dry beans and tied with a rubber band can be used for
the bean bag. Use a white sox, and decorate it with magic markers.Directions - Set up 5 buckets in a straight line, one behind the
other. Put different candies or other small treats in each of the buckets.
Start the line about two feet in front of the first bucket and have a player toss a
beanbag into the first bucket. If he/she misses they go to the end of the
line. If they make the bucket, they select a prize from the bucket and try for the
next one and so on. |
| |
|
| Pin the ____ on the
___. For ages 4 and up. |
Be creative with this one. Using your
party theme, select two objects to work with.
Spring - pin the bumble bee on the flower. Dinosaur - pin the dino egg to the nest.
Tea Party - Pin the cup to the saucer. Winter - pin the nose on the snowman.
General - Pin the candles on the cake, pin the bow (use real
bows) on the present (drawn on paper). |
| Guessing Games |
Using the party theme, select items to put in
a jar, and let the children guess how many. The closest guess wins.
Pirate - Guess the gold coins in the chest. Princess - Guess the pearls in the jewel
box. Dinosaur - Guess the eggs (jelly beans) in the jar. Sports - Guess the
baseball cards in the box. |
| Memory For ages 8 and up.
|
Have the children test their memory skills on
this game. Give each child a piece of paper and a pencil. Bring out a large
covered (use a towel) tray with 15-20 items on it. Remove the cover, and let
the children view the items on the tray for 1 minute, then take the tray out of the room.
Give everyone 5 minutes to write as much as they can remember from the tray. Ideas to use: candle, bow, ribbon, dice, spoon, invitation, pencil, ruler,
Band-Aid, pen, balloon, marker, paper clip, rubber band, stapler, TV remote, calculator,
monopoly piece, paper airplane, any small toys ...
Use items from the theme of the party: Summer - sunglasses, lotion,
goggles. Beanie Baby Party - different beanie baby toys. Sports - different
sports cards with well known players. |
| Memory For ages 4 to 6 |
For younger children, use 5-10 items of
different shapes and colors, where they can draw the shape they remember and color it .
Use either actual items, such as a red ball, or cut a circle out of red
construction paper. Each child should be given a piece of paper and crayons at the
beginning of the game. Ball, egg, TV remote,
Circle, oval, rectangle, star, square, triangle, oval... |
| Who Am I? Difficulty depends on the type of topic selected. |
Have an index card made up for each guest with
the name of a personality to be guessed. Select one child to start by standing in
front of the group while the other children take turns asking questions that can be
answered with a yes or no. The one who guesses correctly gets to be the next
celebrity. In this version of the game, the players will need to be familiar with
the personalities on the cards. In another version of the
game, the index card can contain one line statements about the person on the card.
The selected child will read the information, one line at a time. The first
person to guess the name on the card is the winner.
Beanie Baby Party - different beanies. Sports - famous player
statistics. Dinosaur - dino facts. General - popular actors/actress and
singers, cartoon characters, comic characters, TV shows (the Brady Bunch - Rugrats).
You can even use the names of the guests at the party. See how well everyone knows
each other. |
| Who Am I? A different version of the game. |
As the guests arrive, tape a piece of paper
with a name on it to their back. The object of the game is to figure out who you
are. Everyone goes around and asks the other players questions. The players
can only answer yes or no. This game works well with a themes listed above. |
Red Light,
Green LightAll ages |
Have players stand in a straight line about 50
feet from the finish line. One child or an adult stands at the finish line, turns
his back and says "green light", counts to ten, and says "red light"
and then turns around. Meanwhile, while the light is green, the players need to
advance as far as possible from the starting line towards the finish line. Whomever
is seen still moving after the "red light" must return to the starting line.
The first person to pass the finish line wins. For a
change of pace - Use roller blades in a long driveway, or try this in the pool at a
swimming party (only for those who can swim well). |
| Duck Duck Goose All ages |
The children form a small circle and all sit
down. One person is it and he walks around the outside of the circle, touching the
other children's heads saying "duck", "duck", "duck", until
he comes to the person whom he wants to chase him, he calls "goose". The
goose chases the player around the circle and the one who reaches the space first sits
down, and the other one is it. |
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