These easy birthday party games for kids will keep your celebration fun, but won't add any stress to your plate or wallet as a parent. Keeping children entertained is an important part of having a successful birthday party!
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WHY PLAY GAMES AT A BIRTHDAY PARTY?
You may be thinking that playing games at a birthday party is going to be too much work and just won't be worth it.
I believe that games can bring a lot of fun to a party and even more importantly it will keep the children focused and BUSY! There is nothing worse than a house full of kids with nothing specific to do!!
I have hosted many birthday parties over the last 20 years and a 2-hour party can feel like FOREVER if you don't have plenty of activities planned.
Kids love to play games and what better time than a birthday party.
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EASY BIRTHDAY PARTY GAMES FOR KIDS
These easy birthday party games for kids are no-brainers that work for boys or girls. I prefer games that don't take a lot of preplanning and are inexpensive.
CUPCAKE WALK
I was a PTO president for many years and at our annual carnival, the biggest hit was always the cakewalk. Apparently, walking in a circle around chairs is really fun if you have a chance to win a cake, LOL.
A birthday party is a great time to do a cupcake walk. A cupcake walk is the same as a cakewalk, but the kids will win cupcakes instead of a full cake!
Tip: Have the cupcakes in individual plastic to-go containers like THESE
If you aren't familiar with how a cakewalk works it is very simple.
- Place chairs in a circle. One chair for each person minus one chair.
- Play music and have the kids walk around the chairs until the music stops.
- When the music stops the kids have to sit down at the closest chair.
- The child who doesn't have a chair is out.
- Remove a chair from the circle.
- Play the music again…and keep repeating this process until there is only one child left!
MUMMY WRAP
My daughter's favorite class party included a mummy wrapping game. It was hilarious to watch and all the kids had a blast.
This is a cheap game if you buy some cheap toilet paper, LOL. There is no need to get name brand toilet paper for this party game.
Here is how to play the mummy game:
- Divide the children up into teams of two.
- Give each team a roll of toilet paper.
- Have one child be the mummy and the other child will be the mummy wrapper.
- The mummy wrapper will wrap the toilet paper around and around the mummy until they are covered in toilet paper.
- The team that wraps their mummy the fastest using the whole roll of toilet paper is the winner.
It is fun to have a mummy statue
BUCKET TOSS
The bucket toss is a simple, but very entertaining game. It is also a game that you can play over and over even after the party!
I have the supplies on hand to play bucket toss and we have played it at many different parties.
The supplies you need for the bucket toss are: 6 plastic buckets
- Line the buckets up in a vertical line spaced out evenly. You can number the buckets if you want.
- Make a line using masking tape or washi tape. The kids will stand at this line to toss the balls.
- Children will try to get a ball in each bucket.
You can do prizes in 2 different ways. There can be a prize if you get a ball in all 6 buckets. The other option is to buy small prizes and put them in each bucket. If the child gets a ball in the bucket they can grab a small prize out of the bucket.
Tip: Buy a big bag of ping pong balls so you don't have to chase them down as the kids play. You can have the kids chase the balls down later, LOL.
DANCING STATUES
If you have a group of really active kids you may want a game that will allow them to release a lot of energy! 😆 I think this dancing statues game is the perfect way to make that happen.
The basic principle of this game is similar to a stick in the mud type game.
- Turn on some fun, upbeat dance music.
- Tell the kids to dance while the music is playing and as soon as they hear the music stop they need to FREEZE and be totally still like a statue.
- While the kids are frozen watch them and if a child moves at all they are out.
- Start and stop the music until you only have one statue left and they are the winner!
The great part of this game is that it doesn't require any special supplies and doesn't cost a thing!
BALLOON STOMP
Balloon Stomp is a simple game but it can get very competitive. This is a very inexpensive game because you can get a bag of balloons at Dollar Tree!
- Blow up balloons before the party but don't make them too big. The balloons are harder to pop if they aren't overly full.
- When it is game time release the balloons onto the floor.
- Kids will try to pop the balloons with their feet with the balloons on the floor.
- Kids will get a point for each balloon they pop. The child who pops the most balloons will win.
A great prize for the balloon stomp winner would be a pair of silly socks
LIMBO
Limbo is a timeless game that kids absolutely love. It amazes me how low kids can go, LOL.
It is fairly easy to build your own limbo set. This easy limbo station tutorial will help you build a limbo set you can use over and over for years to come.
If you are short on time or tools you can purchase a limbo set
Directions for playing limbo are simple.
- Set up the limbo station.
- Kids will try to go under the limbo bar without touching it or touching the ground.
- After each child goes through on one height you will lower the bar and the kids will go through again.
- If a child touches the bar or the ground they are out.
- Keep repeating and lowering the bar until you have only one child left!
SPOON RACE
I remember doing the spoon race many times as a child. It is a timeless game, but still so fun.
All you need are spoons and small balls of some kind. I usually use ping pong balls. I have also played with eggs, but personally, that is too messy for me!
- Set up a starting line and a stopping line using masking tape or washi tape.
- Have all the kids line up side by side on the starting line holding a spoon that has a small ball on it.
- When you say go the children will walk as fast as they can toward the stop line trying to keep the ball from rolling off the spoon.
- If a child's ball falls off the spoon they have to go back to the start line and start over.
- The first child to make it to the finish line with their ball on the spoon is the winner.
Another variation is to make this a team game with a relay aspect.
PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY
Pin the Tail on the Donkey has been around practically forever. The great thing about this game is it is very easy to customize for your party theme.
We have had pin the tail on the princess, pin the tail on the dragon, etc. You can make almost any theme into a pin the tail game!
There are TONS of different pin the tail games
Some tips for playing:
- To reduce the chances of transmitting head lice it is better to have a separate blindfold for each child.
- Instead of using an actual PIN which could end up poking someone I like to use tape or adhesive putty
.
- Don't forget to turn the child around 3 times before they try to put the tail on to make the game a little bit harder.
BINGO
Bingo almost always gets kids excited. They want to shout BINGO and they want to win prizes.
Playing bingo
If your budget allows I think bingo is a great option for a birthday party.
You can find TONS of printable bingo games available online for FREE that are themed and will match your party.
Some ideas to make bingo a success:
- Decide how many games you will play.
- Make sure you have enough prizes for the number of games played and get a few extras for multiple bingos.
- If you don't want to use bingo daubers
you can use beans, buttons or even just a pencil to mark squares.
- To keep kids who don't bingo from being disappointed you can have some consolation prizes available so everyone gets something.
CHARADES
If you want to have a lot of laughs gather the kids together and watch them play charades!
You can buy a charades game
The key to a successful charades game is to make sure you the clues are age-appropriate so they aren't too hard for the kids to act out or guess.
Here are some free charade games you can print off:
- Fairy Tale Charades from Childhood 101
- Kids Charade Ideas from Moms & Munchkins
- Christmas Charades from Childhood 101
- Animal Charades from Sisters, What!
MARBLE GRAB
Marble grab is a very simple game. It is really fun to watch kids play this game!
If you have marbles at home already then you are basically set for supplies!
How to play marble grab:
- Give each child 10 (or any number) of marbles and a bowl or cup.
- Have each child sit down and take off their socks and shoes.
- The object of the game is to have the child use their TOES to pick up the marbles one at a time and put the marble in the bowl or cup with their toes.
- The child who gets all their marbles into the container first wins!
- This can be played over and over again!
FEATHER GAME
Another very inexpensive game is the feather game. All you need is a bag of feathers
Here is how you play!
- Give each child a feather.
- When you say GO the kids will throw their feather into the air above them and try to keep the feather in the air by blowing on it.
- The person whose feather stays up the longest wins!
This is one of my favorite easy birthday party games ever!
WHO ARE YOU GAME
Who are you is a hilarious game that puts the kid's drama skills to the test!
The only supply you need is a blindfold so this is CHEAP to play!
- Have all the kids stand in a circle.
- One child is IT and will stand in the center of the circle and will wear a blindfold.
- Turn the center child around a few times and then they can walk until they come to another child.
- They can touch the other child and they will ask WHO ARE YOU? The child they touch will try to disguise their voice and try to trick the center child.
- If the center child guesses who the other child actually is…then that child will move to the center and become IT.
It is so funny to hear how kids disguise their voices during this game!
WHAT EASY BIRTHDAY PARTY GAMES FOR KIDS WILL YOU PLAY?
Have you decided which easy birthday party games to play at your upcoming birthday party? There are so many great choices. I would love to hear what kind of party you have planned! Let me know in the comments!
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Dear Jamie 🌈🙏
Thank you for this inspiring ideas! I’ve terier to find some insporstions for my son’s first birthday ( Well, for my friends’s lider kids Haha ) and this post is very hemofilię with that 😊🥰 keep fingers crossed for that children Will like some Of those ideas and have a great time toherther 🤞🏼🤞🏼💚💙💜 best wiahes to U 🌈🙏😊