Party Game Ideas for Kids - Fun Games for Every Occasion

Party games for kids are really fun but sometimes all those kids can get a bit rowdy and hosting a kids party can be stressful especially when they are not organized properly. Some kids may end up crying because they felt the game is unfair. To avoid this scenario, games should be organized and played accordingly by age.

If you are holding a kid’s party soon and you need some game ideas, here are some party games for kids listed according to their age groups.

Party Games for Ages 3 and Up

Simon Says

Things needed: None

How to play:

The children will gather around an adult who will give instructions to them.
The adult will start by saying “Simon says” followed by the instruction. Example, “Simon says dance around the room.” The children should follow it.
If the adult said the instruction without the phrase “Simon says” and the children followed it, those children will be out of the game. Example, “Touch your head”.

Notes:

This game is very simple, but you cannot expect the kids to be amused by this game for too long.

You can change the phrase “Simon says” to match the season. Example: during Christmas, you can use “Santa says” or in Valentine’s Day, “Cupid says.” Two to three kids can be announced as winners instead of only one. Prizes should be given every round of the game.

Musical Bumps

Things needed:

Children’s favorite music or any dancing music appropriate for kids.

How to play:

Let the children dance along the music.
When the music stop, the children must sit down on the floor immediately.
The last one to sit down will be eliminated to the game.

Note: You may ask the children to dance in a certain part of the room, the kids who did not dance on the said area will be out. It would be better if the winner will be the last two or three kids instead of choosing one. Prizes should be given every round of the game.

Musical Statues

Things needed:

Children’s favorite music or any dancing music appropriate for kids.

How to play:

Let the children dance along the music.
When the music stops, the children must keep still like statues.
Any kid seen moving after the music stops will be out of the game.

Note: You may ask the children to dance in a certain part of the room, the kids who did not dance on the said area will be out.

It would be better if the winner will be the last two or three kids instead of choosing one.

Musical Numbers

Things needed:

A large circle of paper, an old sheet or old plastic tablecloth with large bright numbers drawn on it – one each child
Children’s favorite music or any dancing music appropriate for kids
Prizes wrapped with marked numbers depending on how many rounds do you have. Example, if you plan to have five rounds and you have 20 children playing, choose five numbers within the range. Such as 2, 5, 9, 15, 17. These numbers will be marked on the wrapped prizes.

How to play:

Scatter the large numbered papers around the room.
Let the children dance along the music.
When the music stops, the children must sit on the numbered paper.
With a fanfare, announce the “winning number” and give the numbered prize according to the winning number.

Party Games for ages 4 and Up

Feather

Things needed:

Feather
tablecloth or sheet for each child
Children’s favorite music or any dancing music appropriate for kids
Big lettered papers as penalty letters

How to play

Let the children sit on the floor.
Ask them to hold onto the edge of the sheet or tablecloth stretching it until it is tight.
Put the feather at the center of the cloth.
Start the music.
Tell the children to start to tip the cloth while remain seated and begin blowing the feather to keep it away from them.
Stop the music.
Whoever gets the feather nearest to them will get a penalty letter according to your chosen word. Example, you chose the word “duck,” you will give the kid the letter “d.”
The game will end if one child completes the word.

Notes: You may alter the rule. You can also give a penalty letter to those who get the feather touch them even while the music is on.

This game has no winner or loser yet remains popular with kids. Children tend to laugh hard when they see that their friend gets another penalty letter. A great way to teach them the important thing about the game – not the prize but to have fun.

Balloon Relay

Things needed:

Two large baskets or dustbin liners
A bunch of over-inflated balloons to pop it a lot easier

How to play:

Divide the children into two groups.
Ask them to line up.
Put the large two baskets filled with balloons for about 25 yards away.
Start the signal.
The first participant in each team will run to their respective baskets.
They will grab a balloon and pop it.
When it popped, they will run back to their team and tag the player next to them.
The first team to pop all the balloons in their baskets wins.

Notes: Be careful since some kids are scared of the balloon popping.

Pin the Tail on the Donkey

Things needed:

Pinboard
A large piece of cardboard or paper or poster with a donkey-drawn on it. Draw as large as possible
“Tail” made of wool or a cut out “tail” drawn from the card
Drawing pins or sticky tapes
Blindfold

How to play:

Hang or prop it up at the pin board at a child-height.
Blindfold a child and turn them around three times.
Lead them to stand in front of the pinboard and ask them to put the “tail” with the drawing pin already attached.
The child will pin the tail to where they think is the right position.
Remove the blindfold and write a circle to the position of the drawing pin.
Write the child’s initial nearby the circle.
When everybody is finished taking their turn, the child with the closest to the correct position wins

Note: Help them in using the pins

You may change the rule. Instead of a donkey, you can use the kid’s favorite character or favorite celebrity. Instead of the “tail,” you may use a “hat” or a “mustache.”

Shake Rattle and Guess

Things needed:

Different small gifts wrapped in small boxes of different shapes and sizes for each child.
Mark a number on each box.
Small paper and a pencil for each child

How to play:

Pass the boxes around and allow the children to rattle these gifts.
Tell them to guess what’s on the boxes and ask them to write it on their paper according to its number.
When everyone has rattled all the boxes, allow the children to choose a gift from it.
You can do the choosing from youngest to oldest or start with the birthday child to the person next to him/her.
Do grand opening.
Let the kids open the gifts and compare it to their guesses.

Note: You may also do this before you do the “actual games.” The winner in every game during the party will choose their prize in these numbered gift boxes.

Party Games for Ages 5 and Up

The Straw Game

Things needed:

Half a number of bowls to the number of your players in each team, add two more
Plastic straw for each kid
Any candies, or sweets – preferably small

How to play:

Divide the children into two teams and line them up.
Line the bowls in front of each team with a straw next to it.
Put the sweets in the first bowl.
Put the extra bowl at the last- that will be the final bowl.
Start the signal.
The first player in each team will transfer the sweet from the first bowl to the next bowl until it reaches the final bowl.
It must be transferred by straw only, using hands are not allowed.
Then the next player begins until all the players have transferred the sweets to the final bowl.
The first team to transfer the sweets to the final bowl wins.
Matchbox Noses

Things needed: the sleeves of the matchboxes for each kid

How to play:

Let the children kneel on the floor and tell them to put their hands behind their back.
Stand the matchbox sleeves by its end in front of each kid.
Start the signal.
The kids must maneuver the matchbox onto their noses without using their hands.

Notes: You can play this by partners. The pair kneels opposite to one another with a matchbox sleeve standing on the floor between them. One player must maneuver the matchbox onto their nose and pass it to their partner’s nose without using hands.

You can play this by teams. The first players in each team kneel with the matchbox standing in front of them. The first player must maneuver the matchbox to their nose and pass it to the next player. Then the next player transfers it to the next until it has been passed onto the last ones. The first team to finish wins.

Hunt the Thimble

Things needed: Thimble or button or coin – any small object will do

How to Play:

Choose one child that will hide the thimble, it is better to choose the birthday celebrant if it’s a birthday party.
All the children will leave the room while the other child is hiding the thimble.
When the thimble is already hidden, call the children back in the room.
Whoever finds the thimble first will be the one to hide the object and the game continues on.

Notes: This game can be played with adults. Choose an object for an adult to find. Let the chosen two people hide the objects – thimble for kids and button for adults. Then, kids and adults must find these objects each round.

Sardines

Things needed: None

How to play:

Choose one child as the first “sardine.”
Ask him to hide while the other children are counting to ten.
The children must find the “sardine” individually.
When a child finds the first “sardine,” he/she must join the sardine in the hiding place.
The last child to join the hiding place will be the first sardine for the next round.

Note: Use a funny word or phrase like “silly sausages” when you need to call the kids to inform that the game round is over and need to return to you

Party games for Ages 6 and Up

The Flour Game

Things needed:

Pudding basin to use as a mold
Flour
Coin
Knife
Plate

How to play:

Start filling the basin with flour.
Press it down tightly until the basin is really full.
Put the plate on the top then invert it.
Lift the basin leaving the plate with “cake” flour.
Put the coin on top carefully.
Call each child one at a time and ask them to take a tiny slice of “cake” without disturbing the coin.
Reward the children who successfully take the slice off.
If a child fails in taking a slice, he/she must get the coin using his/her teeth keeping his/her hands behind his/her back.

Sausages

Things needed: a sausage-shaped balloon for each team

How to play:

Divide the kids into teams and line them.
The first player of each team will put the sausage balloon on their knees.
On your signal, the first player of each team must pass it onto the next player without using hands.
If a balloon is dropped, it must be picked up by using their knees.
If it is popped, the team must start again.
The first team to finish wins.

Greetings, O Great One

Things needed:

Blindfold

How to play:

Pick one child to be blindfolded.
Other children must circle around him.
Turn the blindfolded child three times.
Silently point one child at the circle.
He/she must shake the blindfolded child’s hands and greet him/her by saying, “Greeting, O Great One” in a disguised voice.
The blindfolded child must guess who the other child is.
If he/she guessed it right, then the other child will be the next blindfolded player.
If the blindfolded child did not guess it right, he/she must turn three times again and point another child to shake his/her hand and greet him with a disguised voice.

Notes: You can change the greeting to “Greetings, O Prince” or “Greeting, O Princess.”
This game has no winner or loser, just pure fun.

Cotton Wool Giggles

Things needed:

Cotton wool ball
Large spoon or ladle
Two large mixing bowls or buckets
Stopwatch
Blindfold
Two chairs

How to play:

Place the chairs about five or six feet facing each other.
On one chair, put the empty bowl or bucket.
On the other chair, place the bowl and bucket full of cotton wool balls.
Choose a child to be blindfolded.
The blindfolded child must spin about three times.
Put the spoon in his/her hand and guided his/her to the chair with cotton wool balls.
Start the signal.
The player must transfer the cotton wool balls using the spoon from one bucket to the other one at a time.
They must only use one hand.
Give each player a minute during their turns.
Make sure that everybody has taken their turns.
The most wools the child has transferred wins.

Balloon Pop

Things needed:

Small pieces of paper
Balloons about 2-4 each child
Small prizes

How to play:

Mark the papers in a way that the child would know they will be rewarded with a prize.
One prize per ten balloons.
Roll the pieces of paper and insert it into the balloon.
Blow it up.
Give a signal.
Allow the children to rush to the balloons and pop it.
See if the paper inside it awards them with a prize.
No using of teeth or any sharp object.

Note: It would be fun to have one “grand” prize.

Overall note:

Prizes can be given every round or keep their score and the higher score will have the prize.
Some children do not want to play games. Allow them to be the official “supervisor” who will make sure that the players are playing along with the rules. In that way, they could still participate in every game.
In team games, if there are uneven teams, you can make one player go twice to make it equal with the other team.
Be sure that you are knowledgeable about the children’s health. Watch out for asthmatic kids. As much as possible, avoid using sweets with nuts since some kids might be allergic to it.

It is great to see lots of children with big wide smiling faces as they play party games. Let us allow them to have fun and enjoy these kinds of moments in their lives. Kids sure do love prizes, but it is also important to teach them that more than winning prizes, the best things they can get from joining party games are having fun and gaining new friends. We hope the game ideas we shared will help you host an enjoyable kid’s party.