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19 Party Games For Kids: Easily Explained & Forever Memorable!
Kids know how to have fun, don’t they? If you’re organizing a kids’ party and need ideas, we have prepared a list of dozens of classic, funny, super-entertaining games for you to be the most remarkable game hoster ever! Keep an eye out or you’ll end up enjoying them even more than the kids, and we don’t judge you at all!
- The Games:
- Pin The Tail On The Donkey;
- Egg Toss;
- Treasure Hunt;
- Pass The Surprise;
- Donut Challenge;
- Musical Statues;
- Limbo;
- Duck, Duck, Goose;
- Piñata;
- Balloon Relay Race;
- Kim’s Game;
- The Telephone Game;
- Musical Chairs;
- Sleeping Lions;
- The Chocolate Game;
- Murder Winks;
- Red Light, Green Light;
- Simon Says;
- Cupcake Wars;
- How To Organise The Best Party For The Kids;
- Final Thoughts;
1. Pin The Tail On The Donkey
Ages: 5+ | Preparations: Print a photo of a donkey, and get whatever pieces of paper that could be used as tails. A game set is available on Amazon for $10.99.
How to play?
Guys, this isn’t the Hen party game, obviously. To start playing, put the donkey poster on the wall. Taking turns, all kids have to close their eyes, spin a few times, and try to place the tail where it belongs on the donkey. Make sure the tails have pushpins or anything that could help to stick them on the poster. The kid whose tail was closest to the target wins.
2. Egg Toss
Ages: 8+ | Preparations: You’ll need one egg for each pair of kids, and a yard space to play since this can get messy.
How to play?
Well, if you want it to get less messy, hard boil the eggs first. The game starts with all kids staying face-to-face with their partners, starting at a distance of 1 meter. They have to toss the egg to the other player, without falling off the ground. If they do it successfully, they go a step back and toss it again. This continues until the egg falls on the ground, and that team is out. The last team remaining wins!
3. Treasure Hunt
Ages: 6+ | Preparations: Plan the hunt and write all treasures and hints on paper. Hide the treasures and divide all kids into teams of 3-4.
How to play?
Kids have an unexplainable sense of finding things we hide from them, right? Once you’ve divided everyone into teams, give each team a paper, and tell them to start hunting. You may give a time limit and whoever finds the most items in that time limit wins, or keep playing until a team finds them all.
4. Pass The Surprise
Ages: 5+ | Preparations: Get a gift and wrap it with many layers of wrapping paper, or newspaper. Place one lollipop or other candy on each layer. You’ll also need music.
How to play?
‘Pass The Surprise’ or often found as ‘Pass The Parcel’ is a party game where the gift should be passed from one player to another, with them being in a circle. Each player has to remove one layer of paper before giving it to the next player. The kid who removes the final layer is the winner and gets the biggest gift that was hidden. Another version of it is the gift having only one covering layer, but using music. Whenever the music stops, that kid unwraps the gift.
5. Donut Challenge
Ages: 4+ | Preparations: To play you’ll need dozens of doughnuts, ribbon, and a rope. Tie the rope between two trees, and using the ribbons, tie the donuts to the rope, matching the kids’ height.
How to play?
All players start on the count of three. The idea is that all kids have to eat the donuts without touching them and without letting them fall off the ribbon. The first kid to eat an entire donut successfully wins the game. There will probably be a crazy competition, but that’s the fun part of it & we love it! Ps. Here’s a video of kids playing it: Donuts on a String.
6. Musical Statues
Ages: 4+ | Preparations: Get some good music for the kids, and ask them to get to the dance floor.
How to play?
This is it if you need a game that works fine outdoors, indoors, at birthday parties, or even in classes! The rules are simple: play the music, dance when there’s music, and stop when the music stops. If you are caught moving when there’s no music playing, you’re out of the game. However, you can continue dancing and enjoy the music!
7. Limbo
Ages: 5+ | Preparations: Let two adults hold a stick at the chest height of the kids.
How to play?
Let’s continue with something super simple, and an all-time favorite. Ask all kids to take turns going under the stick. The rule is that the ground can not be touched with hands. Therefore, they have to bend their knees and lean back as much as possible. Whoever doesn’t complete the challenge, is out of the game. In the next round, the stick gets lower. The last player remaining wins!
8. Duck, Duck, Goose
Ages: 4+ | Preparations: All you gotta do is ask all the kids to sit in a circle, facing each other.
How to play?
This will probably bring all your childhood memories back! First things first, one player will be the ‘IT’ player. That one has to run around the circle and touch other players on the head and say duck, duck, and when ‘IT’ says goose, that player has to get up and chase the IT player. The latter has to run until arrives at the goose’s spot and sits. If he/she can’t arrive at the spot and gets chased, they’re out of the game. The winner is whoever remains last in the game.
9. Piñata
Ages: 5+ | Preparations: Make your DIY pinata and fill it with treats of your choice, or get one game set on Amazon for $23.99. Hand it on the tree and you’re good to go!
How to play?
Piñata is always a good idea, no matter what. If there’s a birthday party going on, let the birthday queen/kind hit the piñata until it explodes. If it’s just a casual game party, let each get one hit, until it explodes. Then the kids race to collect most of the gifts, which should also include chocolates, candies, and other things kids (and adults) die for! For instance, here’s how it goes: Birthday Party Piñata.
10. Balloon Relay Race
Ages: 5+ | Preparations: Blow up enough balloons for all kids playing. Divide the balloons and kids into groups. Ask the kids to line up across the playing area.
How to play?
This is fun either if you’re an adult or just a kid! The game starts with one player from each team playing at once. What they have to do is get one balloon from one group, step or sit on it until it pops, and leave the turn to the next person in their team. The first team to pop all balloons wins the game!
11. Kim’s Game
Ages: 6+ | Preparations: Get a tray or whatever box you could use, and different items (toys, silverware, or whatever).
How to play?
Once you’ve placed all items (around 10 is fine) in one place, let players take turns to play. Preferably, one adult gives the kids 10 seconds to take a look at the items, and then cover it with a cloth. After 10 seconds, the kid playing has to name as many items as they can. They all have to do the same, and once everyone has played, the kid who has memorized the most wins.
12. The Telephone Game
Ages: 8+ | Preparations: Ask all kids to sit in a line, and that’s all you need.
How to play?
This is a core childhood memory for sure! The Telephone Game is super simple and brings tons of fun. The first player in line has to think of a word and whisper it to the next person in line, without the others hearing. All players have to whisper whatever they’ve heard to the next person, but there’s no repeating allowed. The game ends when the sentence has been said to the last person in line, and comparing the starting one, and the ending one, to check the matching.
13. Musical Chairs
Ages: 3+ | Preparations: Arrange chairs (one chair less than the number of players) into a circle, and get a device to play music.
How to play?
The idea behind the game is that kids have to walk around the chairs while there’s music, but whenever the music stops, they have to find a chair and sit. Since there’s always one chair less, the player remaining without a chair is out of the game. Whenever someone’s out, you also remove a chair. This continues until there’s one last chair left. Here’s how it goes: Kids play musical chairs.
14. Sleeping Lions
Ages: 6+ | Preparations: Ask kids to lie on the ground, beside one who should be the hunter.
How to play?
Above all, this is a great way to make kids calm down, just so you know. All kids should lie down in sleeping positions, besides one player who has to walk around and try to make them giggle or move, but without touching any of the ‘sleeping lions’. If any of the kids move, they have to get up and join the hunter. The last kid remaining on the floor wins.
15. The Chocolate Game
Ages: 7+ | Preparations: Before starting to play, prepare two dice, a plate, one fork, one knife, and a wrapped chocolate bar. And also some dressing-up items.
How to play?
Taking turns, kids have to roll the dice. If it’s a double, they have to go in the middle, wear the clothes (such as hats, scarves, or others), unwrap the chocolate, and eat it. Keep in mind that all these need to be done only by using a fork and knife. But they have time until another player rolls a double. The latter does the same phases as well. The game’s over when there’s no chocolate left.
16. Murder Winks
Age: 6+ | Preparations: Make sure there are more than 10 players, and ask them to sit in a circle on the floor.
How to play?
Each round, someone has to be the murderer, without the others knowing who it is. What the murderer does is wink at a player but without the others seeing. That player has to play dead and is out of the game. If another player thinks they’ve caught the murderer, they have to say ‘I accuse’, and wait for another accusation. If there’s a second one, the accuser tells the name of who they think it is. If correct, the murderer has to admit it, and the round ends. If incorrect, the accuser is out of the game.
17. Red Light, Green Light
Ages: 5+ | Preparations: Find a good outdoor area to play the game, and define the start and finish line.
How to play?
Do you know how the traffic lights work? Keep an eye on that! Starting from the start line, whenever you (or the leader) say ‘green light’, all players move toward the finish line. When you say ‘red light’ they have to immediately stop. If someone is caught moving when at the red light, they have to go back to the starting line. The player who arrives first to the finish line, wins, and is the leader of the next round. If you’re curious, watch this video: Red Light, Green Light.
18. Simon Says
Ages: 4+ | Preparations: Pick one player from the kids, or an adult to be the ‘Simon’ of the game.
How to play?
Well, just as known worldwide, Simon Says is a game all about following orders. One player has to give challenges, such as jumping 3 times in a row, and say it: Simon says jump 3 times in a row. All people playing should do that. Whoever messes up or starts too late, is out of the game. This continues until there’s only one player left. The ‘Simon’ could be the same for the whole game, or change each round.
19. Cupcake Wars
Ages: 9+ | Preparations: Make some vanilla & chocolate cupcakes, and get some decorations & icing for the kids to use.
How to play?
Divide the kids into teams, and ask them to decorate the cupcakes. They can add whatever they want. To make it more competitive, set a time limit. Once everyone has finished, let them vote for the prettiest cupcake. Besides all, these also add to the party snacks, which is a good hand for you.
How To Organise The Best Party For The Kids
Hosting a game night isn’t the simplest thing. Especially when it’s for kids, who can be very judgy and too honest at times! To help you with that, we’ve prepared some tips!
- Decorate the playing area. This has a great impact on the energy. Add some stickers, hanging decorations, animated characters, and so on. You can also make a themed party which is way better!
- Make simple food. When playing, it’s always a greater idea to make snacks that are simple to eat. Candies, chocolate bars, finger food, and mini-burgers are fine ideas to start with.
- Balance the teams. If the game requires to be played in teams, make sure they’re balanced. Here we include the gender, skills, age, and number of players of course. They need to know that they’re all equal.
- Be careful when picking the games. Usually, you should focus on the mass’ hobbies and preferences. However, think about the games that can be played indoors and outdoors, check if the age of kids matches the game rules, and so on.
- Play along with them. It’s important that all kids understand the rules and no one feels left out. The best way to do so is to demonstrate and play a few rounds with them. Then, once you see they’ve gotten it under control, you may leave the game.
- Set up prizes. We love encouragement. This also shows the kids that they will always be rewarded when they work hard. You may prepare boxes of candies, small toys, or just some cards to appreciate them. Give stuff to the losing teams as well, since that is always welcomed.
Final Thoughts
We’re always so delicate when it comes to kids. They deserve the absolute best, and these games are the bests. Besides bringing tons of fun, they also teach lots of lessons and improve skills, including teamwork, communication, competition, and so on. Enjoy them together with the kids!
