Games to Play

Games and entertainment are often the highlight of a party. But you do need to make sure that the activities/entertainment you choose are suitable for the age of your guests.

The key is to choose something you think your child and their friends will enjoy, and adapt them to suit your circumstances and theme. For instance, Pin the Tail on the Donkey can become Kiss the Frog for a Princess Party or a treasure /scavenger hunt can work for both a Pirate and Super Hero Party.

With smaller children, things really don’t need to be too structured. One or two simple games are usually enough or having a few entertainment pieces like a jumping castle, face painter and a clown/balloon modeller, but overall free play is advised. Games that involve winning and loosing can cause upsets, in fact, its better to include at least one game where everyone “wins” something like Pass the Parcel, which is a common favourite no matter what the age of the kids.

Kids aged 6-8 are more interested in all sorts of games and are better equipped to deal with competitive activities. Simple craft projects, imaginative or energetic play should also be encouraged.

Most of us will remember playing these games as kids, and things really haven’t changed that much, below are a few suggestions of games that can be played. Just remember all games can be adapted to your theme, with just a little creative thinking:

• Pin the tail on the donkey – you can generally purchase this game ready made from a local store or you could make your own. If you are themeing this game to your party, then you will probably need to make your own. With the internet and scrapbooking stores available, it is very easy. You just need to prepare a large picture of a donkey (or other) and make enough tails for each child to have one. It is probably best to utilize prestik rather than pins to avoid any nasty accidents. Each child is blindfolded, spun around a couple of times and then has to “pin the tail on the donkey”. The winner is the child whose aim is the best.


• Pass the parcel – this takes some preparation before hand but really is an old time favourite for all ages. You need to wrap a main prize and then keep on layering the gift with wrap, between each layer place a small gift. This ensures that each child gets a chance to win something. All the children need to sit in a circle and again you need child friendly vibey music. As you start playing the music, the kids must “pass the parcel” around the circle until the music stops. Who ever is holding the parcel when the music stops gets to unwrap a layer. So the game continues until the final prize is unwrapped.


• Musical chairs – set up a number of chairs either in a circle or straight line, ensure there is one chair for every child to start with. Play some child friendly vibey music and remove one of the chairs. The children must dance around the chairs. Once you stop playing the music they must try and find a chair to sit in. The child left standing is “out”. You repeat this until you have a winner – one child remains in one chair!


• Touchy feely – this is a great game for older kids. You will need either a box with a hole in it or a bag. Fill it with various objects that kids would recognise and fill the bag with them. Each child is then blindfolded and puts their hand into the box / bag and removes an item. They then get to touch and feel the item and try and guess what it is. You will need to award prizes for correct guesses, but it does create great laughs!


• Memory – put a selection of objects on a tray. Give each child a pencil and some paper. Show the children the tray for about 30 seconds, then cover the tray and ask them to write down as many objects as they can remember. The winner is the one with the most correct answers written down. Again, this is a great game for older kids.


• Little Chef’s – you can use both cupcakes and biscuits for this activity. On a large plastic covered table place a cupcake or shaped biscuit in front of each child with an assortment of decorations (hundreds and thousands, jelly tots, smarties, vermicelli, the list is endless) and icings. Each child can then decorate their very own cupcake or biscuit. This task can get messy so perhaps have a bowl of water nearby with a towel to wash those grubby little fingers afterwards.


• Statues – this is great for younger children. Get all the party goers to stand in a circle and play some upbeat child friendly music, when the music stops all the kids must stand still. If anyone moves they are “out”. This game can go on for quite a while and there generally is not a winner, so perhaps organize prizes for everyone, so they all win!

From about 9 years onwards, children are less interested in organised games and will be more interested in sleep over’s, dance parties, sport activities and pamper sessions. So remember to plan your activities/games accordingly.

Problems you might experience at your party are shy children who don’t want to get involved or aggressive ones who won’t let up. Children should never be forced to participate in something they don’t want to, instead, let them decide when they are ready to play or get them involved with handing out of prizes or helping you judge.