Javascript is either disabled or not supported by this browser. This page may not appear properly.
Jonathon T. Wizard's Fun Party Games...
Make them even more fun by adapting them to the theme of your party.
There's A Bug On My Back Pair up your party guests (three's okay too). Put a sticker or a picture of a bug on each child's back. Have guests try to guess what the bug is by asking questions that can be answered with only "yes" or "no." For example, "Do I have legs?", "Can I fly?" and "Am I Green?"
Duck, Duck, Goose This classic children's game is perfect for any party. Have the guests sit in a circle and have the birthday child begin as the "Goose." He/she walks around the circle tapping each child on the head, saying "Duck" with each tap. When they are ready to choose the next person to be the Goose, he/she says "Goose" when tapping that person on the head. That child gets up and chases the birthday child around the circle. If the new Goose does not tag the birthday child before he/she makes it all the way around the circle and sits in the open spot, then the new Goose becomes "it." If the new Goose tags the birthday child, then the birthday child remains "it" for the next round and the game continues. 
Musical Animal Acts Everyone gets into the act with this fun variation of musical chairs. Set up one fewer chair than the number of guests at your party. Start the music and have the children walk in a circle around the chairs, until you stop the music. When the music stops, the children try to sit in one of the chairs. The player left standing must pull the name of an animal, written on a piece of paper, out of a hat and act it out while the other guests try to guess what the animal is. Start the music again and repeat the game until all the animals in the hat have been acted out. 
Jungle Knots This game will make your party guests tumble with laughter. Have guests stand in a circle facing inward. Everyone extends his or her right hand into the ring and takes a hold of someone else's hand. They then do the same with their left hand. See if they can untangle the "knot" by stepping over, ducking under people, or turning around. Whatever happens, they can't let go of hands! 
Floating Balloons Pass out a large balloon to each guest. Have them blow up their balloon and offer your help tying each balloon. The object of this game is to hit the balloons up into the air and keep them afloat for the longest period of time. This is a fun easy way to start or end any party!
Roundabout Relay Your guests will jump for joy during this fun relay. Before the party, cut four large shapes out of cardboard. (Birthday Express shipping boxes work well for this activity). For added fun, make the shapes theme-specific to your party, (i.e. Flying saucers for a Star Wars party). At the party, divide your guests into two equal lines and give the first person in each line two of the cardboard shapes. These become the only thing they can step on as they travel from the front of the line, around a chair and back to the line again. The game begins by having the children place one cardboard shape on the ground and stepping on it, then placing the other cardboard shape on the ground in front and stepping on it. They then pick up the first cardboard shape and place it on the ground in front of the other, etc. When they reach the finish line, they hand the two cardboard shapes to the next player in line. The team to make it all the way around the course first, wins!
Pin the Tail on the Donkey This game can be made theme-specific by pinning any object that is relevant to your party's theme, (i.e. for a Pirate party, you can draw a treasure map and have your guests try to pin treasure chests nearest the area where "X" marks the spot). When it's time to play the game, mount your poster on the wall and place a piece of tape on the back of each object the child will be pinning on the poster. Before each child takes a turn, have them close their eyes, spin them around, and point them toward the poster. The child who pins their object closest to the designated spot, is the winner! You may want to play this game several times to give your guests more chances to win.
Ha, Ha, Ha The object of this game is to keep a straight face while the other players try to make you laugh. The players form a circle and one player begins by saying, "ha." The next player says, "ha, ha," followed by the next player who says, "ha, ha, ha," and so on around the circle with each player adding a "ha" to the string. Each player must pronounce their "ha ha"s as solemnly as they can, to avoid laughter as long as possible. Any player who laughs or makes a mistake must drop out of the "ha ha" circle. However, that player now gets to try to make the remaining players laugh in any way they can (except by touching them or talking). The player who keeps a straight face the longest, wins!
Jell-O¨ Eatin' Contest Make one bowl of Jell-O for each child (plus have a few extra on hand). Line the bowls along the ground. It's a good idea to place a tablecloth or other protection on the ground for easy clean up. Put a cartoon pooch's name (Dino, Muttly, Scooby, Huckleberry, etc.) on each bowl, it'll make calling the race more fun. Each player places their hands on the ground beside their bowl and must keep them there throughout the game. When the command is given to start, all the contestants begin eating their Jell-O. The first one to clean their bowl completely, wins. Be sure to have a camera ready to capture the memorable moment.
Smile a Thaumatrope This is a quick and fun way to show kids the concept of animation. Cut a 2-inch square piece of cardboard, make a small hole on two opposing edges. Attach short pieces of string or rubber bands through the holes. Draw a circle on one side of the cardboard and a smiling mouth and eyes on the other. Hold the string between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. Begin to twirl the square rapidly. While it is twirling you will see a composite face. It's this principle of rapidly changing static images that make cartoons possible. Science and fun, all in one.
Bean Bag Throw This is a great activity for kids of all ages. Purchase bean bags suitable for tossing. Draw a character (or image) relevant to your theme on the side of a cardboard box. Birthday Express shipping boxes work great for this game. Cut a hole in the box, large enough for the bean bags to be thrown through easily. If using a character like Scooby-Doo, have the character's mouth be the hole. Place the box about ten feet away and give each child several chances to toss the bean bags through the hole.
Birthday Cake Hunt Children love to hunt for surprises! So on this special day, create a special hunt for the birthday cake! You will need the help of at least a few family members, neighbors, or friends. Have the children separate into teams and give each team a set of clues and party favors to find. Give each child a bag to put the favors in and see that each guest has at least one favor so nobody feels left out. The clues and favors should lead them to the location of the cake. We recommend keeping the cake close to home and under adult supervision. Excited children running through the house with a cake can be messy! The first team to locate the cake gets served first.
Water Brigade Divide the partygoers into two teams. Line the teams up next to each other. Give the first person in each line a small bucket or cup full of water. About thirty feet away, place an empty cup or bucket for each team. When you say "GO!," the first person runs down to the empty bucket, pours the water from his or her bucket into the empty one, and races back to their team with the empty bucket. The next teammate must then race down to the full bucket and pour the water from the bucket into his or her empty container, then return the full bucket to the next person in line. Your guests will have fun trying to keep as much water as they can in their buckets. The game ends when each team member has run down and come back one time.
Bobbing for Apples Before the party, purchase a small apple for each child who will be in attendance. Tie a string to the stem of each apple. Then either hang the apples from a fixture in your home, a tree branch, or a swing set. Be sure to make sure they're low enough so the children can reach them with their mouths. Have each child try to take a bite out of their apple without touching it with their hands. The children will have a challenging time keeping the apples still long enough to take a bite. This activity makes a wonderful photo opportunity so be sure to have your camera ready.
Decorate A Birthday Banner There may be a young Matisse coming to your party and here's a great way to find out. Purchase a large piece of white butcher paper from your local arts and crafts store. At the top of the banner, write "Happy Birthday (your child's name)." Mount the paper on a wall within easy reach of your guests. You can also lay the paper on the floor if you're worried some of the artists may mistake your wall for their canvas. Provide a variety of crayons and coloured pencils (markers can be messy) and let them create their own masterpieces. Have them finish by writing their name and age beside their drawing. You can even encourage them to write a special message to the birthday child. After the party, fold it up and save it, or if you'd prefer, take a close-up picture so you can tuck it inside your photo album later.
The Magic Penny Pick five pennies with different dates on them. Place the pennies in your magic hat and ask one of your guests to pick a penny and look at the date, but not tell what it is. Have all the guests pass the penny around to look at the date. Quickly put the penny back into the hat and shake up the pennies. Have your Penny Magician reach into the hat and pull out the chosen penny. The secret? The Penny Magician knows which penny was chosen because copper absorbs heat, so the penny everyone has handled will be warm. Once everyone knows how the magic is done, let all the children take a turn being the Penny Magician.
Story Time Have everyone sit in a circle to hear a wonderful story. While the children listen, you can also have them color a picture related to your party's theme. This activity will not only keep the children entertained, but it will also help calm them down as the party comes to an end.
Honey Bee Guess Before the party, fill a jar with yellow and black jelly beans. Count the jelly beans before you put them into the jar. Put a "Honey" label on the front. As your guests arrive, have each one guess how many beans they think are in the jar. Write down each person's guess. At the end of the party, the person who guesses the closest number is the winner and gets to take home the "Honey Jar of Jelly Bees!"
Delightful Ballroom Dress-Up Your party girls are ready for a magical ball, they just need a little dressing up! Collect dresses, skirts, blouses, scarves, high-heeled shoes, ribbons, shawls, hats, gloves and costume jewelry, to create your own beauty box. Neighbors, friends, relatives and secondhand stores are excellent sources for dress-up items. Encourage them (it won't take much) to make themselves even more beautiful than they already are by donning the clothing and accessories of their choice. Try to have a mirror on hand so they can admire themselves in the party room, or have one nearby which they can use. Play music to set the mood while they dress. Once elegantly attired, give them the opportunity to dance around to the music. It's a perfect photo opportunity for you. Use a Polaroid camera so you can send home a photo with each guest. If you don't have a Polaroid camera, develop films (double prints?) as soon as possible. Send a print to each guest with a thank-you note.
Where's the Slipper? This pass-around activity requires a small amount of advance setup time. You will need a small pair of doll slippers, scissors, tape, wrapping paper, and music. Wrap one slipper in tissue. Cut another small piece of paper and wrap the slipper again. Repeat wrapping individual layers around and around. Remember to use as little paper as necessary, to make the unwrapping easy. About halfway through the number of layers you choose to use, insert the other slipper, and keep wrapping.  At the party, seat your guest in a circle, start the music and have the children begin passing the tissue ball quickly from one person to another. Stop the music. The guest holding the ball removes a layer. Continue until you find the first slipper. Reverse the passing order until the second slipper is uncovered. A small prize may be awarded to the person who finally finds the matching slipper, or you can choose to wrap a small trinket in each layer, rewarding all of the guests
throughout the game. (See 'The Magic Package' game for more information.)
Blind Drivers Bluff Blindfold the person who will be the "driver." (It usually works best to let the birthday child be the first driver. Spin the blindfolded player around several times. Have the other players move around the driver making car and truck noises. The driver tries to locate the players by their sounds and tag the person closet to them. The first player who is tagged becomes the driver and the game continues.
Fill the Bucket You will need: 2 buckets or bowls of equal size One spoon or small shovel for each guest A pile of sand next to each bucket (make sure you have enough sand to feel each bucket). This game can also be played in a sandbox. Divide your guests into two teams. Have each team sit around their bucket. When you say "GO," each team must try to fill their bucket with sand, using only their spoons or shovels.
Digging for Buried Treasure This is a perfect game for someone who has a sandbox. Hide some small toys in a sandbox and have your guests dig through the sand in search of fun treasures!
Leap Frog This classic children's game is sure to be a crowd pleaser at your party. It's best played outside where there's lots of room to leap. Have your guests get into a frog position by bending down and dividing their weight evenly between their hands and feet. (Remind them to keep their heads down). The frog at the end of the line begins by placing their hands on the back of the frog in front of them, jumping in the air a little, and sliding their legs around the body of the frog they're leaping over. They continue jumping over all the other frogs in line. The person who is now at the end of the line, does the same thing, and so on, until everyone has jumped through the line several times. Try mixing up the order of the frogs and keep leaping! 
Balloon Relay Race Have the children stand in two single-file lines, facing the same direction. Place a balloon between the knees of the first child in each line. When the race starts the child turns to face the next person in line, the second child must grasp the balloon with his or her knees and turn to pass it on to the third person, and so on. If the balloon falls to the ground the team must start over. The first team to successfully pass the balloon down the line, wins!
Fire Alarm Relay Sound the alarm and put on the gear - there's no time to waste! Your fire fighters will need to dress as fast as possible, run to the blazing fire, attempt to put it out, undress, and return to their team line. Before the party, collect two sets of fire fighter's clothing - boots, oversized jackets, hats, and gloves. Use masking tape to mark the start/finish line on the floor. Put chairs across the room with an empty wrapping paper tube on them. This serves as the location of your fire and the hose to put it out. At the party, divide your fire fighters into two equal groups and have them stand in two lines. Either you or the birthday child should demonstrate what you want them to do. They will need to run to the chair, pick up the hose, run around the chair with the hose spraying the fire, set the hose back on the chair, return to where they put on the clothes and take them off, and go back to their line. The next person in line then repeats all these actions until all team members have taken a turn. The team that completes the relay first, wins!
Building Muscles Jet pilots have to be strong to handle their planes. So here's a quick workout for your little Top Guns. This game will take some preparation but it's worth it. You'll need 50 to 100 small balloons. Recruit some help (Dads work well because they're full of hot air). Divide the kids into two teams. Select one guest on each team to be the "weakling," the remaining guests will be "personal trainers." Have the teams gather on opposite sides of the room and divide the balloons between them. Have each weakling put a union suit (one-piece long underwear) over their clothes. When you say "GO," the teams of personal trainers must make the weaklings grow instant muscles by stuffing as many balloons as possible into the union suits. Give the teams one minute to do this. When time is up, let everyone admire the weaklings' new muscles (have a camera handy). Then remove and count the balloons, the team that used the most balloons, wins! Try again with new weaklings this time.
Freeze Tag Have guests spread out in the party area (or better yet, outside where there's room to run). Let the birthday child be the first "tagger." The tagger tries to tag all other guests. If a player is tagged, they must freeze. Players who are not frozen can "melt" frozen players by touching them. First player to be frozen three times becomes next tagger.
Red Light, Green Light Before the game, lay two lengths of rope, or crepe paper, about 20 feet apart in your play area. The birthday child stands in front of one line (they're the Police Officer), and the others stand behind the opposite line. The game starts when the Police Officer turns his/her back on the other players and shouts, "Green Light!" They then turn their back and count to five. While he/she is counting, the other players try to run or walk quickly toward the Police Officer. When the Police Officer has finished counting to five he/she shouts, "Red Light!" and turns around quickly. The other players must freeze instantly. If the Police Officer catches anyone moving, they must return to the starting line. Play continues until one of the players crosses the line while the Police Officer's back is turned. That player then becomes the Police Officer.
Fishing Pond You will need a helper for this activity. Tie a string across the room and lay a sheet across it so no one can see what is on the other side. Use an old fishing pole, or make one using a stick and some string. Attach a clothespin on the end of the fishing pole's string. Let each guest take a turn "casting" their line over the sheet. Have your helper stand on the other side and attach small gifts, favors, or treats to the clothespin. When they're done, the helper gives a slight tug on the line. When the kids "reel" in their lines, they'll be delighted to see what they've caught!
The Magic Package This game takes advance preparation, but it's lots of fun to play. Before the party, find a small gift for each child, as well as varying sizes of paper or newspaper comics that you will use for wrapping. Wrap the best gift, the Magic Prize, first,  with special gift wrap and then wrap it  with a new prize, and wrap again, and again, continueing this process until you have wrapped enough gifts for each guest to unwrap one layer of paper to find a special gift for themselves. At the party, seat your guests in a circle. Play some magical music and tell the children to pass the magic package around the circle as quickly as possible. When you stop the music, the lucky player holding the package must say  "Abra Ca Dabra" before they are allowed to unwrap it. (Don't tell the kids there are other packages inside). Once a child has unwrapped the outer layer and found their gift, they must leave the circle with their gift. Start the music again and continue playing until each child has unwrapped a gift in the magic package. The child to open the last package is the winner of the Magic Prize! This is good game to play after the Birthday Child has opened their gifts and the guests are waiting for rides to go home!
Squirting  Gallery Partygoers can try out their accuracy with this fun outdoor game. Set up a number of plastic pop bottles about eight to ten feet away from where the kids will be standing. Place a jump rope on the ground to designate where the kids should stand. Give the kids squirt bottles or squirt guns and have them see how many bottles they can knock down. For younger children, decrease the distance between the bottles and the shooting line.


Johnny Ould, 904 Lawrence Rd. Windsor, Ontario N8Y 3Z8 CANADA - 519-944-9424
Jonathon T. Wizard's Fun Party Games...
Make them even more fun by adapting them to the theme of your party.
There's A Bug On My Back Pair up your party guests (three's okay too). Put a sticker or a picture of a bug on each child's back. Have guests try to guess what the bug is by asking questions that can be answered with only "yes" or "no." For example, "Do I have legs?", "Can I fly?" and "Am I Green?"
Duck, Duck, Goose This classic children's game is perfect for any party. Have the guests sit in a circle and have the birthday child begin as the "Goose." He/she walks around the circle tapping each child on the head, saying "Duck" with each tap. When they are ready to choose the next person to be the Goose, he/she says "Goose" when tapping that person on the head. That child gets up and chases the birthday child around the circle. If the new Goose does not tag the birthday child before he/she makes it all the way around the circle and sits in the open spot, then the new Goose becomes "it." If the new Goose tags the birthday child, then the birthday child remains "it" for the next round and the game continues. 
Musical Animal Acts Everyone gets into the act with this fun variation of musical chairs. Set up one fewer chair than the number of guests at your party. Start the music and have the children walk in a circle around the chairs, until you stop the music. When the music stops, the children try to sit in one of the chairs. The player left standing must pull the name of an animal, written on a piece of paper, out of a hat and act it out while the other guests try to guess what the animal is. Start the music again and repeat the game until all the animals in the hat have been acted out. 
Jungle Knots This game will make your party guests tumble with laughter. Have guests stand in a circle facing inward. Everyone extends his or her right hand into the ring and takes a hold of someone else's hand. They then do the same with their left hand. See if they can untangle the "knot" by stepping over, ducking under people, or turning around. Whatever happens, they can't let go of hands! 
Floating Balloons Pass out a large balloon to each guest. Have them blow up their balloon and offer your help tying each balloon. The object of this game is to hit the balloons up into the air and keep them afloat for the longest period of time. This is a fun easy way to start or end any party!
Roundabout Relay Your guests will jump for joy during this fun relay. Before the party, cut four large shapes out of cardboard. (Birthday Express shipping boxes work well for this activity). For added fun, make the shapes theme-specific to your party, (i.e. Flying saucers for a Star Wars party). At the party, divide your guests into two equal lines and give the first person in each line two of the cardboard shapes. These become the only thing they can step on as they travel from the front of the line, around a chair and back to the line again. The game begins by having the children place one cardboard shape on the ground and stepping on it, then placing the other cardboard shape on the ground in front and stepping on it. They then pick up the first cardboard shape and place it on the ground in front of the other, etc. When they reach the finish line, they hand the two cardboard shapes to the next player in line. The team to make it all the way around the course first, wins!
Pin the Tail on the Donkey This game can be made theme-specific by pinning any object that is relevant to your party's theme, (i.e. for a Pirate party, you can draw a treasure map and have your guests try to pin treasure chests nearest the area where "X" marks the spot). When it's time to play the game, mount your poster on the wall and place a piece of tape on the back of each object the child will be pinning on the poster. Before each child takes a turn, have them close their eyes, spin them around, and point them toward the poster. The child who pins their object closest to the designated spot, is the winner! You may want to play this game several times to give your guests more chances to win.
Ha, Ha, Ha The object of this game is to keep a straight face while the other players try to make you laugh. The players form a circle and one player begins by saying, "ha." The next player says, "ha, ha," followed by the next player who says, "ha, ha, ha," and so on around the circle with each player adding a "ha" to the string. Each player must pronounce their "ha ha"s as solemnly as they can, to avoid laughter as long as possible. Any player who laughs or makes a mistake must drop out of the "ha ha" circle. However, that player now gets to try to make the remaining players laugh in any way they can (except by touching them or talking). The player who keeps a straight face the longest, wins!
Jell-O¨ Eatin' Contest Make one bowl of Jell-O for each child (plus have a few extra on hand). Line the bowls along the ground. It's a good idea to place a tablecloth or other protection on the ground for easy clean up. Put a cartoon pooch's name (Dino, Muttly, Scooby, Huckleberry, etc.) on each bowl, it'll make calling the race more fun. Each player places their hands on the ground beside their bowl and must keep them there throughout the game. When the command is given to start, all the contestants begin eating their Jell-O. The first one to clean their bowl completely, wins. Be sure to have a camera ready to capture the memorable moment.
Smile a Thaumatrope This is a quick and fun way to show kids the concept of animation. Cut a 2-inch square piece of cardboard, make a small hole on two opposing edges. Attach short pieces of string or rubber bands through the holes. Draw a circle on one side of the cardboard and a smiling mouth and eyes on the other. Hold the string between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. Begin to twirl the square rapidly. While it is twirling you will see a composite face. It's this principle of rapidly changing static images that make cartoons possible. Science and fun, all in one.
Bean Bag Throw This is a great activity for kids of all ages. Purchase bean bags suitable for tossing. Draw a character (or image) relevant to your theme on the side of a cardboard box. Birthday Express shipping boxes work great for this game. Cut a hole in the box, large enough for the bean bags to be thrown through easily. If using a character like Scooby-Doo, have the character's mouth be the hole. Place the box about ten feet away and give each child several chances to toss the bean bags through the hole.
Birthday Cake Hunt Children love to hunt for surprises! So on this special day, create a special hunt for the birthday cake! You will need the help of at least a few family members, neighbors, or friends. Have the children separate into teams and give each team a set of clues and party favors to find. Give each child a bag to put the favors in and see that each guest has at least one favor so nobody feels left out. The clues and favors should lead them to the location of the cake. We recommend keeping the cake close to home and under adult supervision. Excited children running through the house with a cake can be messy! The first team to locate the cake gets served first.
Water Brigade Divide the partygoers into two teams. Line the teams up next to each other. Give the first person in each line a small bucket or cup full of water. About thirty feet away, place an empty cup or bucket for each team. When you say "GO!," the first person runs down to the empty bucket, pours the water from his or her bucket into the empty one, and races back to their team with the empty bucket. The next teammate must then race down to the full bucket and pour the water from the bucket into his or her empty container, then return the full bucket to the next person in line. Your guests will have fun trying to keep as much water as they can in their buckets. The game ends when each team member has run down and come back one time.
Bobbing for Apples Before the party, purchase a small apple for each child who will be in attendance. Tie a string to the stem of each apple. Then either hang the apples from a fixture in your home, a tree branch, or a swing set. Be sure to make sure they're low enough so the children can reach them with their mouths. Have each child try to take a bite out of their apple without touching it with their hands. The children will have a challenging time keeping the apples still long enough to take a bite. This activity makes a wonderful photo opportunity so be sure to have your camera ready.
Decorate A Birthday Banner There may be a young Matisse coming to your party and here's a great way to find out. Purchase a large piece of white butcher paper from your local arts and crafts store. At the top of the banner, write "Happy Birthday (your child's name)." Mount the paper on a wall within easy reach of your guests. You can also lay the paper on the floor if you're worried some of the artists may mistake your wall for their canvas. Provide a variety of crayons and coloured pencils (markers can be messy) and let them create their own masterpieces. Have them finish by writing their name and age beside their drawing. You can even encourage them to write a special message to the birthday child. After the party, fold it up and save it, or if you'd prefer, take a close-up picture so you can tuck it inside your photo album later.
The Magic Penny Pick five pennies with different dates on them. Place the pennies in your magic hat and ask one of your guests to pick a penny and look at the date, but not tell what it is. Have all the guests pass the penny around to look at the date. Quickly put the penny back into the hat and shake up the pennies. Have your Penny Magician reach into the hat and pull out the chosen penny. The secret? The Penny Magician knows which penny was chosen because copper absorbs heat, so the penny everyone has handled will be warm. Once everyone knows how the magic is done, let all the children take a turn being the Penny Magician.
Story Time Have everyone sit in a circle to hear a wonderful story. While the children listen, you can also have them color a picture related to your party's theme. This activity will not only keep the children entertained, but it will also help calm them down as the party comes to an end.
Honey Bee Guess Before the party, fill a jar with yellow and black jelly beans. Count the jelly beans before you put them into the jar. Put a "Honey" label on the front. As your guests arrive, have each one guess how many beans they think are in the jar. Write down each person's guess. At the end of the party, the person who guesses the closest number is the winner and gets to take home the "Honey Jar of Jelly Bees!"
Delightful Ballroom Dress-Up Your party girls are ready for a magical ball, they just need a little dressing up! Collect dresses, skirts, blouses, scarves, high-heeled shoes, ribbons, shawls, hats, gloves and costume jewelry, to create your own beauty box. Neighbors, friends, relatives and secondhand stores are excellent sources for dress-up items. Encourage them (it won't take much) to make themselves even more beautiful than they already are by donning the clothing and accessories of their choice. Try to have a mirror on hand so they can admire themselves in the party room, or have one nearby which they can use. Play music to set the mood while they dress. Once elegantly attired, give them the opportunity to dance around to the music. It's a perfect photo opportunity for you. Use a Polaroid camera so you can send home a photo with each guest. If you don't have a Polaroid camera, develop films (double prints?) as soon as possible. Send a print to each guest with a thank-you note.
Where's the Slipper? This pass-around activity requires a small amount of advance setup time. You will need a small pair of doll slippers, scissors, tape, wrapping paper, and music. Wrap one slipper in tissue. Cut another small piece of paper and wrap the slipper again. Repeat wrapping individual layers around and around. Remember to use as little paper as necessary, to make the unwrapping easy. About halfway through the number of layers you choose to use, insert the other slipper, and keep wrapping.  At the party, seat your guest in a circle, start the music and have the children begin passing the tissue ball quickly from one person to another. Stop the music. The guest holding the ball removes a layer. Continue until you find the first slipper. Reverse the passing order until the second slipper is uncovered. A small prize may be awarded to the person who finally finds the matching slipper, or you can choose to wrap a small trinket in each layer, rewarding all of the guests
throughout the game. (See 'The Magic Package' game for more information.)
Blind Drivers Bluff Blindfold the person who will be the "driver." (It usually works best to let the birthday child be the first driver. Spin the blindfolded player around several times. Have the other players move around the driver making car and truck noises. The driver tries to locate the players by their sounds and tag the person closet to them. The first player who is tagged becomes the driver and the game continues.
Fill the Bucket You will need: 2 buckets or bowls of equal size One spoon or small shovel for each guest A pile of sand next to each bucket (make sure you have enough sand to feel each bucket). This game can also be played in a sandbox. Divide your guests into two teams. Have each team sit around their bucket. When you say "GO," each team must try to fill their bucket with sand, using only their spoons or shovels.
Digging for Buried Treasure This is a perfect game for someone who has a sandbox. Hide some small toys in a sandbox and have your guests dig through the sand in search of fun treasures!
Leap Frog This classic children's game is sure to be a crowd pleaser at your party. It's best played outside where there's lots of room to leap. Have your guests get into a frog position by bending down and dividing their weight evenly between their hands and feet. (Remind them to keep their heads down). The frog at the end of the line begins by placing their hands on the back of the frog in front of them, jumping in the air a little, and sliding their legs around the body of the frog they're leaping over. They continue jumping over all the other frogs in line. The person who is now at the end of the line, does the same thing, and so on, until everyone has jumped through the line several times. Try mixing up the order of the frogs and keep leaping! 
Balloon Relay Race Have the children stand in two single-file lines, facing the same direction. Place a balloon between the knees of the first child in each line. When the race starts the child turns to face the next person in line, the second child must grasp the balloon with his or her knees and turn to pass it on to the third person, and so on. If the balloon falls to the ground the team must start over. The first team to successfully pass the balloon down the line, wins!
Fire Alarm Relay Sound the alarm and put on the gear - there's no time to waste! Your fire fighters will need to dress as fast as possible, run to the blazing fire, attempt to put it out, undress, and return to their team line. Before the party, collect two sets of fire fighter's clothing - boots, oversized jackets, hats, and gloves. Use masking tape to mark the start/finish line on the floor. Put chairs across the room with an empty wrapping paper tube on them. This serves as the location of your fire and the hose to put it out. At the party, divide your fire fighters into two equal groups and have them stand in two lines. Either you or the birthday child should demonstrate what you want them to do. They will need to run to the chair, pick up the hose, run around the chair with the hose spraying the fire, set the hose back on the chair, return to where they put on the clothes and take them off, and go back to their line. The next person in line then repeats all these actions until all team members have taken a turn. The team that completes the relay first, wins!
Building Muscles Jet pilots have to be strong to handle their planes. So here's a quick workout for your little Top Guns. This game will take some preparation but it's worth it. You'll need 50 to 100 small balloons. Recruit some help (Dads work well because they're full of hot air). Divide the kids into two teams. Select one guest on each team to be the "weakling," the remaining guests will be "personal trainers." Have the teams gather on opposite sides of the room and divide the balloons between them. Have each weakling put a union suit (one-piece long underwear) over their clothes. When you say "GO," the teams of personal trainers must make the weaklings grow instant muscles by stuffing as many balloons as possible into the union suits. Give the teams one minute to do this. When time is up, let everyone admire the weaklings' new muscles (have a camera handy). Then remove and count the balloons, the team that used the most balloons, wins! Try again with new weaklings this time.
Freeze Tag Have guests spread out in the party area (or better yet, outside where there's room to run). Let the birthday child be the first "tagger." The tagger tries to tag all other guests. If a player is tagged, they must freeze. Players who are not frozen can "melt" frozen players by touching them. First player to be frozen three times becomes next tagger.
Red Light, Green Light Before the game, lay two lengths of rope, or crepe paper, about 20 feet apart in your play area. The birthday child stands in front of one line (they're the Police Officer), and the others stand behind the opposite line. The game starts when the Police Officer turns his/her back on the other players and shouts, "Green Light!" They then turn their back and count to five. While he/she is counting, the other players try to run or walk quickly toward the Police Officer. When the Police Officer has finished counting to five he/she shouts, "Red Light!" and turns around quickly. The other players must freeze instantly. If the Police Officer catches anyone moving, they must return to the starting line. Play continues until one of the players crosses the line while the Police Officer's back is turned. That player then becomes the Police Officer.
Fishing Pond You will need a helper for this activity. Tie a string across the room and lay a sheet across it so no one can see what is on the other side. Use an old fishing pole, or make one using a stick and some string. Attach a clothespin on the end of the fishing pole's string. Let each guest take a turn "casting" their line over the sheet. Have your helper stand on the other side and attach small gifts, favors, or treats to the clothespin. When they're done, the helper gives a slight tug on the line. When the kids "reel" in their lines, they'll be delighted to see what they've caught!
The Magic Package This game takes advance preparation, but it's lots of fun to play. Before the party, find a small gift for each child, as well as varying sizes of paper or newspaper comics that you will use for wrapping. Wrap the best gift, the Magic Prize, first,  with special gift wrap and then wrap it  with a new prize, and wrap again, and again, continueing this process until you have wrapped enough gifts for each guest to unwrap one layer of paper to find a special gift for themselves. At the party, seat your guests in a circle. Play some magical music and tell the children to pass the magic package around the circle as quickly as possible. When you stop the music, the lucky player holding the package must say  "Abra Ca Dabra" before they are allowed to unwrap it. (Don't tell the kids there are other packages inside). Once a child has unwrapped the outer layer and found their gift, they must leave the circle with their gift. Start the music again and continue playing until each child has unwrapped a gift in the magic package. The child to open the last package is the winner of the Magic Prize! This is good game to play after the Birthday Child has opened their gifts and the guests are waiting for rides to go home!
Squirting  Gallery Partygoers can try out their accuracy with this fun outdoor game. Set up a number of plastic pop bottles about eight to ten feet away from where the kids will be standing. Place a jump rope on the ground to designate where the kids should stand. Give the kids squirt bottles or squirt guns and have them see how many bottles they can knock down. For younger children, decrease the distance between the bottles and the shooting line.


Johnny Ould, 904 Lawrence Rd. Windsor, Ontario N8Y 3Z8 CANADA - 519-944-9424
Use your Browser's BACK button
to return to the previous page.