DD8 turns 9 at the weekend and the girls from her class (all 13 of them) are coming here for a party. I thought I had written a post about party games last year, along with a post I did on birthday party planning. I certainly meant to. (Goodness knows, I’ve mentioned these games to twitter and facebook buddies loads of times.) But a quick search of my blog this morning brought up zilch, so I’m getting them down down on virtual paper now.
If you’ve any other good ideas or family favourites, please let me know. And, hey, there’s cake for everyone! 😀
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| Cupcakes for DD’s seventh birthday |
* Eat Your Shoelace: give each contestant a very long liquorice shoelace and – with hands behind their backs – they have to eat it. Good for keeping them quiet…
* Fluffy Bunnies (suggested by Emma – thanks, Em!): put out a huge bowl of marshmallows and see how many marshmallows you can stuff into your mouth in one go. My DH will be standing ready in case any child requires the Heimlich manoeuvre…
* The Chocolate Game: contestants sit in a circle and take turns to throw the dice. If you throw a six, you put on gloves, a hat, sunglasses and pick up a knife and fork. You’re then allowed to cut up a (wrapped) bar of chocolate that’s on a plate. Eat one square before you go on to the next – no putting in four pieces at one time! ;D You can keep cutting and eating until the next person throws a six. [Adults love this game too!]
* Flap the Fish: cut out large fish shapes from paper or carton. Contestants stand in a line and race their fish. How do you get the fish to move? Use a folded up newspaper to ‘fan’ them with. Try and hit the ground just behind the fish. [said the old pro…]
* Egg and Spoon Race: contestants race with an egg perched precariously on a spoon. If you drop your egg, you have to go back and start again. We normally use small balls instead of eggs. Because it’s less messy – and to avoid this happening… ;D
* The Sack Race: um, do I have to explain this? Kids – or adults – race against each other in sacks. And if you’re terribly clever, you’ll ask the kids to use their plastic sacks afterwards for cleaning up the party debris 🙂
* Musical Statues: this is the easiest game of the lot – turn up the music, let the kids dance, randomly stop the music, everyone stands like a statue and whoever ‘moves’ is out. Those who are ‘out’ of the game help to be the judges. The simplest game of all – no equipment needed – yet the kids love it and keep asking for more… Isn’t that always the way?
* Pass the Parcel: wrap up a prize (best to have a small sweet for everyone) and then wrap it again and again and again – the more layers the merrier! Use all your old bits of wrapping paper, brown bags and plastic bags. The parcel is passed around in a circle and – when the music stops – whoever is holding it, unwraps it. Keep going until you get to the prize.
* Scavenger Hunt or Treasure Hunt: leave clues around the house and/or garden which lead the kids all over the place. We usually do this at the end of the party and give everyone a goody bag from ‘the treasure chest’. Lesley also had a great idea for goody bags: put them in a large tub filled with old, crumpled up newspapers and let the kids ‘fish’ for them.
* Newspaper Dress Up: divide the kids into two or more teams. Give each team a stack of old newspapers and a roll of stickytape. They have 5 minutes (or longer) to ‘dress up’ one of their team. Help them to get creative. They can make a hat, dress etc or just cover their person like a mummy. And don’t forget to take photos!
As I said earlier, if you have other good ideas, please leave a comment!
Hope you have a marvelous Monday! 🙂
[ Postscript: thank you, Emma and Lesley, for your help! 🙂 ]