KIDSPACE The Party Place is a great place to play party games.  The gym and multi-purpose room are large and perfect for any game.  Items such as a parachute, carpet squares, CD player and bean bags are available for your use, free of charge, at KIDSPACE The Party Place. 

Party games bring life to a party and give it structure.  A good rule to follow when planning a party is to plan three party games, with the third game on the chopping block if time or attention spans run short. 

Here are a few traditional games that can be played as described or adapted to fit a theme.  The following games are easy to plan with very little preparation or special equipment needed.   Check out our other pages with more ideas for games and activities to make your child's party a very special occasion. 

  BUTTON, BUTTON WHO HAS THE BUTTON?     

Ages: threes and up                                                       

Needed:  one button

Pre-party preparation:  none                                                                     

The easiest version of this game is played with the children sitting in a circle.  The child who is the guesser leaves the circle and hides his/her eyes but is close enough to signal with voice or bell.   When the signal to start is given the children begin passing the button from hand to hand around the circle.  When the guesser gives the signal to stop, all hands are closed in fists held in plain view.   The guesser chants . . "Button, button who has the button."  If he/she has a guess they say . . ."Johnny has the button."  Johnny then must open his hands to reveal if he has the button or not.  In order to keep the game moving quickly limit the number of guesses to two or three.  Whether the guesser guesses the correct person or not, they trade places.  If the person holding the button has already had a turn to be the guesser he/she can choose someone who has not been the guesser to have a turn.

*For young party goers, have an adult put the button in the hands of the children.  It will keep the game moving along quickly.

*Adapt this party to your theme by exchanging the button for a small object that fits with the theme of your party.  If the object can't fit into one hand have the children put their hands together to hide the object.

 

FRUIT BASKET UPSET     

Ages:  older fours and up

Pre-party preparation:  none

Each child will be given one of three or four names, this game is based upon fruit so think of four fruit names to give each child.  Many children will have the same name so that roughly all the groups are the same size.

Place the carpet squares or chairs in a circle with each child on one.  The child who is the caller takes his/her chair or carpet square to the middle of the circle.  He/she names 1, 2 or 3 names (of fruit) and the children whose fruit was called must change places. Everyone else stays in their place. The caller in the middle tries to move to a carpet square or chair of one of the people who must move.  One person will be left without a place.  That person is the new caller.

To really mix it up the caller can say:  "Fruit basket upset which signals everyone to find a new place."

*Adapt the game to the theme of your party by changing the name of the fruit to names fitting your theme.  Then instead of saying fruit basket upset, use a similar phrase that fits your theme.

 

DUCK DUCK GOOSE

Ages:  three and up

Pre-party preparation:  none

Children sit in a circle and a child walks around the outside of the circle tapping each child gently on the head and says, " duck" or "goose."  The child whose head is tapped when the child says "goose" runs around the circle chasing the child who said "goose."  The child who is being chased tries to get back to the place of the child who he/she just said "goose" to before being tagged.  If he/she gets tagged before he/she sits down he/she must sit in the middle of the circle in the "goose pot."

The game can be played without the "goose pot" if young children are playing.

*Adapt this game by changing duck duck goose to words that fit the theme of your party.

 

SHARKS AND STRAWS

Ages:  Four and up

Needed:  tissue paper, a straw for each party guest

Pre-party preparation:  Cut out shark shapes from tissue paper - one for each child 

Line the children up at one end of the gym or multi-purpose room.  Give them each a straw and put a tissue paper shark in front of each child.  Show the children the finish line.  On "GO" each child uses the straw to suck the shark up and moves with the shark on the end of the straw to the finish line.  If the shark falls off, then the child must suck it up again before moving forward to the finish line. 

*Adapt this game to your theme by cutting out shapes from tissue paper that match your theme.

 

WHO AM I?

Ages:  Five and up

Pre-party preparation:  make a list of ideas of who/what the "it" can be

All the children sit in a circle and a child is chosen to be "it." The child chosen to be "it" leaves the area.  The children decide what "it" should be (such as a fireman, princess, or Lightening McQueen).  When "it" returns he/she asks each child what he/she should buy, If he/she guesses it with that's child clue then they trade places.  Examples of clues, if he/she was a fireman they'd suggest things to buy such as:  a fire hydrant, a water hose, a ladder, an ax, a firetruck . . . 

 

HOT POTATO

Ages: three and up

Needed:  potato or theme appropriate object, music CD

Pre-party preparation:  none

Children sit in a circle.  When the music begins children pass the "hot potato."  The child holding the "hot potato" when the music stops is out and the game continues until one person is left.

Or for more fun, the child left holding the "hot potato" when the music stops is given a small prize such as a piece of candy and the game continues until everyone gets a prize.

*This game is easily adapted to any party theme by playing theme appropriate music and passing a themed object. 

 

 MUSICAL CHAIRS

Ages:  three and up

Needed:  Music CD, prizes if desired

Pre-party preparation:  none

Using chairs or carpet squares (available from KIDSPACE The Party Place) place them randomly around the room or in a circle with the chairs facing outward.  There should be one less chair than party guest.

The guests move around the circle until the music stops.  Everyone scrambles to sit in a chair.  The one without a chair now becomes the music helper.  If you are giving prizes this is a good time to give a little gift such as a piece of candy, a small toy or a sticker.

The game continues until there is one person left with a chair.

This game is also fun to play co-operatively.  It's all about sharing a chair.  When the music stops the first time, 2 guests will have to share a chair.  The second time three guests will have to share a chair and so on until everyone is sharing one chair.   This version is sure to bring laughter and excitement to the party.

*Adapt this game to your theme by playing theme appropriate music

 

COTTON BALLS ON THE NOSE

Ages:  three and up

Needed:  large bowl filled with cotton balls, vaseline, baby wipes, hand held mirror

Pre-party preparation:  none

This is game is sure to bring lots of laughs.  All the guests sit in a circle.  Each person puts vaseline on their nose.  The bowl of cotton is passed around the circle with each child dipping their nose into the bowl.   This game can be played for the sure pleasure of sticking cotton balls to your nose or if you want to declare a winner it would be the person who has the most cotton balls stuck to their nose!

*Consider taking a picture of each child with the cotton stuck to their nose.  A group photo would also be lots of fun.  The photos make a fun remembrance of the party and can be mailed with the thank you cards.

 

POPCORN ON THE PARACHUTE

Ages:  three and up

Needed:  1 small lightweight ball for each child, prizes if desired

Pre-party preparation:  label the balls with the name of each party guest

Each child is given the ball with their name on it.  The children stand around the parachute and put their ball on the parachute.  The children then hold on to the parachute and move it up and down, bouncing the balls off.  The last ball on the parachute is the winner.  

This game is so much fun the children will want to play it again and again. 

*Use themed stickers to decorate the balls.

 

 BLINDFOLDED PIRATE

Ages:  four and up

Needed:  blindfold, keys

Pre-party preparation:  none

The children sit in a circle.  The person who is the pirate sits in the middle of the circle and is blindfolded.  His keys sit in front of him.

A child from the circle is selected to quietly creep up and try and steal the pirates keys without being heard.  If the pirate hears the person he points toward the direction he hears the noise.  If he is right then the keys are put back and another child is selected to sneak up on the pirate.

If a child is successful stealing the keys then he/she child becomes the pirate.  The game continues until every child has had a try at stealing the keys from the pirate.

*This game can easily be adapted to your theme by changing the name of the blindfolded person and using a theme appropriate object to steal.

 

WHAT TIME IS IT MR. WOLF?

Ages:  four and up

Pre-party preparation:  none

A wolf is chosen and stands at the opposite end of the room as the rest of the children.  The children ask the wolf.  "What time is it Mr. Wolf?"  He turns and replies a time such as 5:00.  The children take five steps toward the wolf.  The wolf turns away from them and the children repeat their question.  The wolf turns around again and says another time and the children take that many steps toward the wolf.  The game continues until finally when the children ask the wolf the time he/she yells, "DINNER TIME!"  The children then turn and run back toward their home and the wolf tries to tag someone.  If he/she does they become the new wolf.

*Adapt this game by changing Mr. Wolf into the villian of your theme.

 

WHERE'S THE BANANA?

Ages:  four and up

Needed:  a banana (or themed object to pass)

Pre-party preparation:  none

All the children sit in the circle with their knees up.  The person who is "it" sits in the middle of the circle.  The children begin passing the banana quickly through their legs.  The game works best if everyone is pretending to be passing the banana through their legs.  "It" says stop and must figure out where the banana is.  If he/she guesses correctly then they can join the circle and the person holding the banana becomes the new "it."

*This game is fun to adapt to your theme by passing a themed object. 

*You can also make this a prize game by passing a prize.  If the "it" guesses who has the prize then he/she get the prize and sits out and if "it" is fooled the person holding the prize gets it and sits out.  The circle continues to get smaller until the last person is given a prize.

 

 SNAKE IN THE GRASS

Ages:  three and up

Needed:  cones or tape to show safe zones at each side of the playing area

Pre-party preparation:  none

Depending on the number of children playing, choose 1 to 3 players to be the snakes.  The snakes lie on their bellies in the grass (area between the two safe end-zones) and when the adult says, "SNAKES IN THE GRASS!"  The children must traverse the "grass" to the safe zone on the other side of the grass without being "bit" (tagged) by one of the snakes.  If they are tagged they become a snake.  The game continues until there is no body left.

*Make this game fit your party by changing the snake to a villian that fits with your theme.

 

DRAGONS AND GIANTS

Ages:  four and up

Pre-party Preparation:  none

Choose two or three children to be the giants.  Everyone else are the dragons and stand at the opposite end of the room.  The giants turn their backs on the dragons and the dragons begin to sneak up on the giants.  When the adult yells, "The giants are coming!" The dragons turn and run back to their home before they get tagged by a giant.  Any dragons that are tagged by the giants become giants.  The game continues until there are just a few dragons left and they then become the giants and all the giants become dragons and the game begins again.

*This game is easily adapted to any theme by changing the names of the dragons and giants.

 

 

 

 

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