Some children party games and ideas

Wherever there are children, party games will need to be considered for fun or as icebreakers.

Here are some ideas for differing ages: Remember the concentration rule of one minute for every year in age. If the majority of friends attending are 5, play each game for about 5 minutes.

Babies and toddlers:

Keep the planned program short and have frequent changes.

Toddlers enjoy chunky toys, cushions, nursery rhymes and board books.

Hand rhymes and finger puppets can be fun.

Have a bag with toys and give every friend chance to guess what is in the bag.

Toddlers enjoy humourous songs with jumping, turning and clapping.

Have a collect the toys race. Each child gets a bucket and collects specific toys along a line.

Blowing bubbles is great for any age celebration. Securely place a fan on a table and dip the blower in bubble solution in front of the fan. Use the fan to blow the bubbles for you. Do a test run before the actual day. Bubbles are safer than balloons for little ones.

Preschoolers:

Plan 8 -12 easy games. Change these frequently.

Dressing up is great fun for 4-6 year olds. A treasure hunt and a pirate theme party work well together.

Boys can have turns racing their cars: Dads can help build a ramp for everyone to race their little cars on.

Pass the parcel, musical statues, freeze, Duck, Duck, Goose,

Surprise bag: guess what in the bag.

A balloon race.

Have prizes for all the children.

Primary school age:

Blindfold games; Sheep and the shepherd

Treasure hunt with written clues, hiding small presents along the way. One for each of the invited guests; small soaps or bubble bath or bath fizzballs;

Spot the differences; - Table tennis; - Indoor cricket; - Guessing mime “Who or what am I?”; - Indoor golf; putt putt; - Karaoke; - Ready, steady, cook! Make pizza, pancakes, milkshakes; - Cat and mouse; - Musical chairs; - Tug of war; - Paint ball; - Pass the parcel; - Wolf, wolf what’s the time? - Playing cards; - Simon says; - Ten pin bowling; - Water bombs and slides; - Darts; - Egg and spoon race; - Sack race; - Three legged race; - Flick board; - Dominoes; - Marble games: One that takes longer but provides a fun challenge is building a marble run with a hosepipe folded double. Make hills and banked turns using bricks or sticks from the garden.

Let the Birthday boy or girl start as many games as possible.

Party planning tips:

For younger children keep the number of friends to a minimum. Avoid serving nuts and hard sweet to babies and toddlers to avoid choking.

Use a party schedule and checklist. Start with warming up exercises and activities; end with a calm activity.

Have a back -up plan for a rainy day. Crafts are a good choice as they can usually be confined to a single room.

Have all the props and music ready the day before.

With toddlers get a helper that knows your child but does not have a child at the party.

Have a safe area to play. Lock away dogs and make sure the pool is not accessible.

Have a basic first aid kit. Have different kinds of plasters as some can be allergic to.

Keep a list of parent s’ names and contact numbers close by.

Put away favourite toys to prevent tearful losses.

Put away your breakables.

Prepare for at least one unexpected guest.

Have 10-12 games to play. Some activities will be more popular than others. Be flexible and move to the next game when necessary. When preparing a child party, treasure hunt fun will keep the whole family ocupied for some time.

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