Party Games

It's amazing how many games you can come up with if you just put your mind to it. So if the thought of hosting party games to a bunch of hyped-up kids makes you feel faint, then read on!

There are the age-old favourites that everybody knows how to play:

pass-the-parcel
pin the tail on the donkey (or a variation thereof)
musical statues/bumps/chairs
blind man's buff
simon says
races
sardines

There are a host of other perhaps not-so-well-known games which are just as easy and fun to play. Here are a few good ideas.

Bunnies in the Burrow

Each child curls up on the floor and closes their eyes. One of the children has a light sheet or blanket placed over them so they are completely covered. Very quietly the other children are tapped on the shoulder - they all get up and try to guess which party guest is hiding under the blanket.

Corners

This is an excellent game to play in a hall.

To play it you need 4 brightly coloured pictures (animals/food/characters or just colours). These are stuck on each wall. The host turns their back to the children and starts to play music. The children dance around the room. When the host stops the music, each child must run to one of the pictures. Still not looking, the host shouts out one of the pictures - all the children next to that one are 'out'. They can all then help the host. The game ends when there is one child left.

Treasure Hunt

There are various ways of holding a treasure hunt, depending on the age of the children present and they are the ideal game for parties at home.

1. For younger children

Place lots of card shapes (e.g. teddy bears, butterflies, flowers etc) or wrapped sweets around the house and garden. Each child has a container and has to collect as many as they can.

2. For all

Place lots of different coloured balls around the house and garden. Each child has a container and a 'colour'. They must collect as many of 'their' colour as possible.

3. For all

This is my favourite and I always play this at the end of parties - the party bags/boxes are the treasure. Draw and colour picture clues and place them around the house and garden. For example, the first clue may be a picture of a garden shed - the children race to the garden shed where they find a picture of a television - they run to the tv where they find a picture of a tree they run to the tree and find a picture of a sofa......I think you get the point! It is helpful to have lots of pictures as kids love this game and tend to get faster as it goes on! At the end of the hunt, instead of a picture they will find the treasure.

The Missing Object

This is better for smaller groups of children.

Place a few items on a tray (eg. ball, fork, comb, pencil etc) and let all the children have a good look and try and memorise what is on it. They then all shut their eyes while you remove an object. Then on opening their eyes they have to guess which object is missing.

The Poison Apple

This is a sure winner for primary aged children.

First make some apples out of card and colour them in different colours. One child closes his eyes, while the others quietly point out one of the apples - this is to be the 'poison apple'. When the child opens his eyes he has to try and guess which apple is poisonous by pointing at them one-by-one. When he points at the 'poison apple' the other children make a big fuss of being poisoned and falling to the floor. Each child takes it in turns and the child who picks the poison apple in the least number of goes is the winner.

Traffic Lights

An old favourite this one - all the children pretend they are driving cars around an imaginary town. The host shouts out 'red' and the children stop - at 'amber' they move slowly, at 'green' they go fast! No point or winners to this game -they just like following the instructions!