Birthday Party Games

Preschool Birthday Party Games

Birthday party games for preschool kids should be simple, short and active. This is especially true for games that take turns or have one-at-a-time players.

• Land and Water: All players begin at the starting line. When the announcer says the word "land" the players jump forward. When they hear "water" they jump back. Tricky words may be shouted to trick the listeners. Players who don't follow the command start over. The first person to the announcer wins.
• Balloon Ball: Put a balloon on the floor. Blindfold a player about 2 feet from the balloon. Turn the player around twice then ask them to kick the balloon ball into the goal. Without touching the blindfolder player, kids who aren't blindfolded can give directions and help them get closer when they miss.

Elementary Parties

Attention spans can still be an issue at this age. For guaranteed success, continue to keep games short and active.

• Pillow Case Race: Each player stands in a pillow case. The first to jump to the finish line without getting out of the case wins.
• Telephone: Have all the players sit in a circle or a line. The first person starts the game by whispering a phrase, rhyme or tongue twister in the ear of the next person. That person whispers to the next and so on. At the end, the last person announces the message. Depending on the complexity of the phrase and the number of people playing, the message can get pretty distorted and comical.

Junior High Birthday Party Games

At this age kids can handle games with more complex directions and skills. Birthday party games that have a flair for the ridiculous are perfect for young teens. They love to giggle, laugh and are easily entertained by situations where silly gestures and movements naturally happen. A couple of games like this are:

• Catapiller Race: Form two teams. The players of each team stand in a single file with their hands on the hips of the person in front of them and is squatted down. Each team races to a goal. The team that gets there first without crashing, standing or letting go of each other wins.
• Eggs in Spoons: Form two teams. The players of each team stand in a line from start to finish. With hands behind their backs and a spoon in their mouth, players pass an egg from spoon to spoon until it has reached the final person. Of course water balloons, cotton balls or anything that fits on a spoon can be passed.

Games for High School

Birthday party games for teenagers also work best if there is an element of silliness. For Sweet 16 parties, sleepovers and Quinceanera parties any sort of "Truth or Dare" game works, but can get serious quickly. Keep it light and fun with games like these:

• Baseball balloons: Divide players into two teams. Form two lines. Give the first player of each line one long balloon (the "bat") and one small balloon (the "ball"). Make a goal an appropriate distance away and have each player hit the ball with the bat until it reaches the goal. The ball must not touch the ground. When the goal is made, the player runs the bat back to the next team member and he/she starts hitting for the goal. The team that gets all the balls in the goal wins.
• Which Witch: Best as an outside game! One player grabs the broom and holds it by the handle over his/her head. The player is turned around a number of times, then asked to put the broom head on the ground and stand on the broom head while still holding onto the handle.