Kid birthday party games

Pinta

This game requires room and adult supervision - the children are blindfolded ( and they take a stick and try to break a hanging container that has sweets and other goodies in it. To make one, you can do something as simple as decorating a paper bag with paints or crepe paper and then gluing and taping the top shut once the treats are inside. Run a string along the top edge before shutting the bag. You can also make a fancier one using a balloon and paper mache. The fun thing is that these can be decorated to match any theme.

Pin the tail on the Donkey, the classic kid birthday party game

Traditionally pin the tail on the donkey, this game can be changed to fit any theme. In this game, blindfolded guests try to stick a paper 'tail' onto a poster of a donkey. You can take a piece of poster board and draw anything with something missing - a nose on a clown or animal, the TY heart on a beanie baby, a spaceship in an outer space scene, and one year we gave Yoda (Star Wars) his staff. Just be sure to include an outline of where the object needs to land.

Drop the Clothespeg into a Bottle

This is another one that can be turned into a themed activity simply by using a coffee can with a plastic lid on it as the container to catch the clothespegs. Cut a hole into the plastic lid appropriate for the age child. Then decorate the can.

Bean Bag Toss

You can make an easy Bean Bag Toss using a double layer of poster board glued together and a large box. Use the large box as a base, and attach the poster board to one side of it. Before attaching the poster board, paint a design on it, allowing for one or more holes. We never kept score, but the kids had a lot of fun throwing those bean bags. One year we even gave bean bags as party favors - they're easy to make from fabric scraps if you sew.

Treasure Hunt

You can scatter coins in the lawn and let the kids hunt for them, like an Easter egg hunt. You can hide each child's goodie bag and then give that child a piece of paper with a hint for finding it - it could be a simple map drawing for a young child, a word or two, or a riddle for older children. You can also let the children do a paper clue based hunt as a group - with the goodie bag for the youngest being the first found, along with the clue to the next goodie bag, and so on, great fun as a kid birthday party game.

Guess How Many

Fill a jar with sweets. Have children write their name on a small piece of paper and their guess as to how many swwets are in the jar. The child who guesses the right number, or comes closest, gets a prize. The sweets in the jar can then be divided among the kids.

Who Am I?

When the children come through the door tape a farm animal or item/object to their backs. Through the course of the party they may ask each other yes and no questions about what they are. Explain that the first question they may want to ask is "Am I an animal or an object?" At the end of the party each child takes a turn saying what they think they are.

Farm friends

Is similar to Who Am I?, but this time you whisper in each childs ear a name of a farm animal. Tell them that there is at least one other person that is the same animal as they are. Throughout the party they may ask each other yes and no questions to try to figure out who their "Farm Buddy" is. At the end of the party tell everyone to go sit by who they think their buddy is. Go over the clues with the kids until they figure it out and everyone is sitting next to the correct buddy.

Birthday Dinner

Players sit in a circle. The first player starts by saying, "At my birthday dinner I like to eat hamburgers". The next player must repeat "At my birthday dinner I like to eat hamburger..." and add another dish. This continues all the way around the circle with each player reciting the dishes in the exact order they have been given and then adding a new one. If a player makes a mistake they slide out of the circle and the game continues. The person left who can perfectly recite the birthday dinner menu wins.

Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a fun way to entertain kids at bithday parties. Rather than encouraging competitiveness between teams, have children work together to find all the items. Hide items in yard or designated rooms.