My daughter just turned seven and I’m having a party for her this weekend. She’s never had a party at home before (not because I’m mean or anything, we’ve just taken her out with friends!) and I’ve got a few games already - pass the parcel, musical bumps, musical statues - but now I’m stuck! So I ask you…what games should we play?
We had a birthday bash for my six yo last month. It was her first party and we had about 15 kids in my small house! I had stuff planned but we didn’t do hardly any of it. First they arrived all at once - cool.
Then we squeezed around my kitchen table and made party hats. I picked up cheap plain white painter’s hats and painted their names on 'em before the party. They got to use glitter glue and foam cutouts to decorate. Then we played follow the leader outside which turned into a running race and then they went amok amok amok. They were all from her class - I invited the girls and added a few boys _ We live in a semi rural area no traffic to worry about and also have a wooden play structure they were swarming all over the place. Then back inside for pizza, then present opening,then playing with presents then into the party bags. I supplied mini kites, wikki stix and smelly stickers and some other junk. The kites were a huge hit and it being March there was plenty of wind. Oh what a sight some of those kids were tangled up in string. Then I managed to get 'em back in for cake and parents started to arrive to pick up. The party lasted THREE hours it flew by.
Other games I was ready for but didn’t do:
Draw a Face Race - Two lines of kids walk to a large sheet of paper where a circle has been drawn and add a feature and walk back and hand off the marker to the next in line.
Feed The Puppy or Monster: Get plastic dog toys that look like food to toss through a opening painted like an open mouth with dog or monster features.
Oh and I had balloons I was gonna blow up for balloon stomp or balloon volleyball. But just put the deflated balloons in their party bags. And they blew 'em up and let fly and that was fun especially in the house!
The kids were talking about the party for days. And when I volunteer in her class some still ask when they can come back.
We just might do the same thing next year!
My son had a superhero themed party for his sixth birthday. As we were waiting for everyone to arrive, I had them decorating their own superhero capes. One game that we played that the kids thought was hilarious was I filled small water balloons (with air) and had the kids put on adult-sized long sleeve sweatshirts and pants. Then they competed to see who could stuff the most balloon “muscles” in their shirt and pants in three minutes. A couple of the kids ran around posing with their muscles. Pretty funny stuff for a six year old…and a 24-year-old (at the time).
Oh man, “Bat the Balloon” was a perennial favorite in my house. Blow up one large balloon, and give all the kids long-handled cooking spoons. They must keep the balloon from hitting the ground, and no one can hit the balloon twice in a row. Good times.
Another fun one (though you have to keep a close eye out and make sure no one passes out): get a Ping Pong ball, and set it in the middle of your dining table. Have all the kids kneel around the table with their hands behind their backs. Everyone has to blow on the ball to keep it from rolling off the table in front of them. Two ways to play: if the ball rolls off the table in front of a kid, that kid is out. Or, you can keep score, with points being bad, one point awarded when the ball rolls off the table. It gets funny when the kids get responsible for bigger territory as others are out.
Thanks for the ideas! 