You’ve set a date, sent out the invitations and are expecting a gaggle of excited kids to turn up ready to party. Now all you need to do is keep everyone entertained. Gulp.
Don’t worry. We’ve put together some fab group games for kids parties to break the ice, get everyone having fun. There are even some to keep everyone busy and quiet(ish).
You probably know all the old favourites, such as pass the parcel, musical statues, musical bumps, tug of war and pin the tail on the donkey which are all great group games for kids parties.
Mix up the classics with these fab, original group games.
They’re guaranteed to entertain the party guests so much, that they’ll all leave with big smiles on their faces.
And then you can collapse on the sofa with a glass of well-earned glass of gin!
Jump across the river
Place two pieces of rope on the ground, with a small gap in between them to make your river. The guests take it in turns to jump across the river safely. If they don’t make it over they are out.
Each time, move the ropes a little further apart from each other to make the river wider.
Topple the paper cup castle
Set up a pyramid of paper or plastic drinking cups. Divide the party guests into teams.
When you say GO the first person has to take a water pistol and try and knock over all the cups by spraying them.
Then they have to rebuild the pyramid and let the next team member have a go, until the whole team has accomplished it.
This is one that’s best played outdoors!
The balloon waddle
Get all the guests to stand in a line at one end of the room or garden.
They have to place a balloon between their knees and waddle over to the other side of the room.
If their balloon drops, they have to go back to the start.
Marshmallow pick-up
Give each guest a bowl of marshmallows, an empty bowl and some chopsticks.
When you say go each guest has to transfer all the marshmallows from one bowl to the other. The one who does it the fastest wins.
Over-under pass the ball game
Split guests into two teams and arrange them in lines. Give the first person in the line a soft ball (or a large balloon). When you say go they have to pass the ball backwards over their heads.
The next person has to pass the ball under their legs and carry on down the line alternately passing the ball over and under until it reaches the last person in the line.
The person at the back then has to run to the front and start again. When the original person is back at the front of the line again, the whole team can sit down and is finished.
Which team will be fastest?
Team scavenger hunt challenge
Divide the guests into teams. Give each a basket and a list of items to find.
These can include a mix of different things to hunt down and place in the basket and challenges to complete on the way. You could write things down like:
- Things to find outside: Find four different shaped leaves, three sticks of a different length, a daisy chain (which they have to make), something shiny, a length of plaited grass, a Barbie doll hiding in the garden….
- Things to find inside: A book about a wizard, something heavier than a bag of sugar (have one out for them to compare weights), something glittery, something orange…
- Things to take photos of: An animal footprint or track, a pretty flower, a picture made out of leaves and pebbles on the path, a word in the dictionary that you none of your team knew the meaning of, a team selfie…
- The cocktail stick challenge: Bring back 20 cocktail sticks with your team animal on
For the cocktail stick bit of the challenge print out 20 images of different animals for each team. Then stick them to a cocktail stick.
Then place them in the ground in the garden for the team to hunt and find.
Clothes peg tag
This one’s great is you have lots of room and you want the party guests to burn off loads of energy.
Attach four clothes pegs to the clothing of each guest. When you say ‘Go’ everyone has to run about and grab as many pegs from the other players as possible.
The one with the most pegs at the end wins.
Drawing in the dark
Make some cards with simple drawings on them – such as a snowman, a dog, a house, a car, a mouse… Keep the drawings nice and simple.
Now divide the guests into teams. The first players from each team must sit in front of a sheet of paper, hold a pen and then be blindfolded with a scarf. Pick someone to be the ‘Describer’.
They must pick a card and describe the drawing to all the blindfolded players. They must do so bit by bit so each player draws what they hear, for example:
First draw a circle. In the middle of the circle draw two dots for eyes and a big smile. Draw two big round ears at the top of the circle.
The team members from the other team watch and see what the blindfolded team end up drawing as they try to follow the instructions. Will it look anything like it was supposed to?
When the Describer has finished, all players can remove their blindfolds and guess what they have drawn.
Points can be given for the best pictures. Little prizes can be given out at the end, once everyone has had a go at drawing.
Wrap the Mummy
Give each team a roll of toilet paper (or two) and they have to race.
Who can wrap a team member up in it as a mummy the fastest?
It’s great fun, very silly and kids will love it!
What’s in Granny’s stockings?
Take some long socks and place an item at the bottom of each. Pick some very unusual items – like a pine cone, a plastic animal, a nail brush, pipe cleaners, some broccoli…
Divide guests into teams. They must take it in turns to feel inside the socks without looking and guess what the object is inside. Each team member can have a go and they must then write down their answer.
When they have felt and guessed all the socks, reveal the objects and award prizes for the team that guessed the most items correctly.
Marshmallow catch
Divide guests into pairs. Give one guest an empty paper cup. Give the other a paper cup filled with 10 marshmallows.
Each person in the pair must stand five feet away from one another. When you blow a whistle, the player with the marshmallows has to throw them and try to get as many as possible in their partner’s cup in a minute.
The team with the most marshmallows in their partner’s cup at the end wins.
Who can eat the chocolate bar?
An old favourite but a guaranteed hit at any party.
Sit all the guests in a circle. Place a hat, scarf, gloves and a knife and fork in the middle, as well as a large bar of chocolate.
The guests take turns rolling a dice and then passing it to the next player in the circle.
If someone rolls a six they run into the middle, put on the hat, scarf and gloves and can start eating the chocolate bar, using the knife and fork to cut pieces first.
They can stay there until the next six is rolled and another player takes their place.
Musical shrinking islands
Place some large sheets of newspaper around the room. Players must dance to the music and, when it stops make their way to an island.
More than one guest can share an island but each must be able to place both feet on the island. Anyone who wobbles off is out.
Start the music again and this time, while it is playing fold each sheet of paper in half. Now it is much harder for everyone to find and stand on an island with both feet, without wobbling off.
Keep going until there are only teeny tiny folded islands left.
Thrifty fashionistas
Give each team a pile of newspaper, some scissors and some sticky tape.
When you say ‘Go’ they have to create an outfit for one member of their team using just the items they have been given.
Award prizes for the most creative thrifty garments.
Silly socks
Fill a box with loads of odd socks. When you say go each player has to put on as many socks as they can until the time is up.
The one with the most socks wins.
Lots of these games are so much fun that your guests can play them more than once.
Make sure you’ve got all the things you need prepared in advance, so that they can get playing straight away and keep the party flowing.
Always have a few extra easy games, such as pass the parcel and musical statues prepared to keep up your sleeve in case you have time to spare.
You can have a big bowl of little sweets or treats to hand out as prizes. Instead of handing them out, you can pop them in named party bags, all ready to take away at home time.
