My little man Doodles turned five on Friday, as a result we have a had a busy weekend celebrating! Some of the highlights of the weekend were the fun had by all with these all time favourite party games!
- Pass the Parcel: I loved Pass the Parcel as a child and it is a “must have” game at all of our parties. As the vast majority of the children at the party were under 6 I tucked a little gift into each layer of wrapping paper – whistles, badges, crayons, bouncy balls, etc.
- Musical statues/bumps: Most kids love to boogie and they also love a good competition. Musical statues always goes down a treat – we played 2 versions, 1) musical statues, where they had to freeze in position when the music stopped, anyone who moved was out and 2) musical bumps – this time they had to sit on the ground when the music stopped, last one down was out!
- Pin the Tail on the Donkey: this is a traditional favourite – each child takes a turn trying to pin the “tail” on the donkey while blindfolded. We actually used a shop bought version that I spotted on sale for 1.00euro in a party supplies shop and the “tail” was a sticker. The giggles of the kids is infectious while they try to find the right position without being able to see!
- Hide and Seek: My 2 would play hide and seek all day if they could. This games is perfect for in or outdoors and for all ages.
- Duck, Duck, Goose: We featured this in our Top 20 Traditional Outdoor Games. It is so much fun and great as an ice breaker to start a party off! All of the children except one sit in a circle facing each other. The remaining child is “on” and goes around the circle, tapping each child gently on the head and saying “duck. When the tapper says “goose,” the child whose head was just touched jumps up and chases the tapper around the circle. The tapper tries to get all the way back to the goose’s spot without getting caught. If the tapper succeeds, the goose becomes the new tapper and the game continues. But if the goose catches the tapper, the tapper continues around the circle again tapping each child.
- Ball Toss: usually we use bean bags or juggling balls for this and a bucket, this year we used water balloons and our Little Tykes basketball net, which can be adjusted up and down very easily for little kiddies.
- Simon Says: Always a firm favourite and great fun especially if you throw in some instructions such as “Simon says hop around like frogs”, “Simon says wiggle your bottom” “Simon says pretend to be a gorilla”, etc.
- Sardines: Doodles loves this game, and I have very fond memories of playing this in a friends house when I was younger. It is basically the reverse of hide and seek – one child hides and all of the other children must try and find him or her, when they do they hide in the same spot and wait for the other children to find them, the games continues until all of the children are squished into the same hiding spot like tinned sardines, hence the name!
- Mummy Race: this is so much fun and perfect for all ages, including adults. Split the group into two teams, give each team a toilet roll, they then must race to cover one teammate in toilet paper, by wrapping it around their body, making them into a Mummy!
- Relay Races: simple running relay races are always fun! As we were having a water themed party this year we had a water relay, where the teams raced to fill a basin with water, filling little buckets up from the paddling pool!
Bonus favourite: The Flour Game! As kids we always played this at Halloween! Make a mound of flour and place a raisin or sweet on the top of the mound. Take it in turns slicing away the sides of the mound with a knife. Whoever causes the raisin or sweet to fall must then put their face into the flour and try to pick up the raisin or sweet with their mouth!!!
Over to you – what are your favourite party games? Have you tried some of these and had great fun, or some sort of disaster! We would love to hear from you. Let us know in the comments and if you have a similar post about party games, please feel free to leave a link in the comments and we will share it on our Facebook and Pinterest accounts!
Have fun!
Ciara x
Linked to: Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop @ Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, HDYDI? @ What’s Up Fagans?, Mom’s Library @ iGameMom, The Mommy Club @ 3 Boys and a Dog, Tuesday Tots @Rainy Day Mum, Good Tips Tuesday @ Golden Reflections Blog
Our Little House in the Country 
27 responses to “Top 10 Party Games – for younger kids!”
These are brilliant! I want to come to one of your parties, it sounds so much fun!! My 2 love hide and seek too although they are still too young to be any good at it ;-). Musical chairs is great too! Was very funny watching the kids club playing it on holiday and trying to explain to the little ones how it works and that once they are out they can’t carry on playing!!x
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My little lady is hilarious playing hide and seek, she either hides in the same place every time or thinks if she can’t see the seeker then they can’t see her and often stands in full view covering her eyes!!! X
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Ha ha! Yes that sounds just like Jack. He “hides” with his eyes squeezed shut whilst giggling very loudly!x
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What a brilliant list of games! Though Amelua is still too small formost if them, they will be ideal for next years party! The flour game reminds me of being a child at Halloween too! Great game xx
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I have photos of us as kids covered in flour at Halloween because we had been boobing for apples and did the flour game with wet faces – hilarious!
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oooooops I meant “bobbing” !!!!!!!
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That flour game is hilarious! I’ve never heard of it before, but we will certainly be giving it a try. Do you need to do anything to protect their airways, or do they just naturally avoid inhaling the flour?
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Hi Sheryl, we’ve never used anything to be honest and have been ok! Must admit I haven’t thought about that aspect of it before! Really great fun though!
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Great games! I’ll definitely keep these in mind when my little girl gets older. That flour game will be a great hit!
Maria
cmntsblog.wordpress.com
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Thanks Maria, the flour one is such fun! 🙂
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Good ideas. I loved playing sardines when I was younger. My kids just need to hurry up and get a bit bigger then we can do these kinds of things 😉 #MMWBH
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I loved sardines too! Thanks for for visiting 🙂
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Such brilliant ideas, I love the use of traditional games. Nowadays there are so many bowling parties, cinema parties and soft play parties. What’s wrong with a bit of good old fashioned fun?! Plus it exhausts the kids which is an added bonus!
Thanks so much for sharing. Visiting you from #mmwbh
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Thank you! The old ones are often the best! My kids are constantly invited to indoor play area parties (which they love) etc and we always have a good old fashioned party at home in the garden and they always go down a treat with the friends! Anything that wears them out is definitely an added bonus! Thanks for visiting 🙂
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What a fun resource! I’m filing these ideas away for birthday season in the spring. We have six children, with birthdays each month from February until June! I have to start planning EARLY!
Thanks for linking up with The Thoughtful Spot!
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Thanks Dianna, they’re really great fun! Wow you have a busy Spring with all of tikes birthdays!
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These are such great ideas! With six kids, birthdays begin in February and end in June each year here. I have to start planning early.
Thanks for linking up with The Thoughtful Spot!
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Never heard of the Sardines game before! Fun!!
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Never hear of Sardines before, fun!! Must try that next time we have a bunch of kiddos around!!
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It’s great fun Susen, well worth trying!
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[…] Unfortunately at least 4 of the invited kids had contracted Chicken Pox so were unable to attend the party but despite our reduced number we had a really great time. The parents mingled on the patio, Mr G manned the BBQ and I, the big kid, happily organised all of the water games (I spent many a happy hour on Pinterest, scouring for water party ideas). These are the ones we tried at the party! (We also played many traditional party games which we have listed and explained in our Top 10 Party Games for Younger Kids). […]
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Great ideas for party games. Ive not tried the mummy one, sounds like fun.
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
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Thanks, it’s great fun- a little tricky for littlies but great for the older kids!
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Wow loving the makeover – I didn’t know where I was for a minute! Some great party games here – I remember most from my childhood and can’t wait to play them with our two at their birthday parties.
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Thanks so much Clare, just completed the new design last night, still getting used to it myself! Yes, most of these were childhood favourites for me too!
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I use a lot of these games to keep dancers busy backstage during their dance recitals! Thanks for putting them all in one place. I’ll have to use musical statues next year. I’d forgotten about that one.
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Saving this for the next party! Love the flour game, might need to play this on a regular day too. Thanks for sharing at the Love to Learn Linky. (http://leftbraincraftbrain.com/love-to-learn-linky-party/)
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