Fun Activities For Kids - When There's A Party To Organise...

Are you looking for some fun party games and activities for your children's birthday

? Here are some ideas to get you started!

Breakfast for Goldilocks

Age suitability: 3+

You will need: two teams, paper plates, porridge oats

Pass each child a paper plate and divide them into two teams. The first player on each team gets a large spoonful of dry porridge oats on her plate. She must gently blow it - as if cooling it down - on to the plate of the next player in her team, trying to spill as few oats as possible. Continue blowing in turn all the way to the end of the line and back again, then compare final platefuls. The team with the biggest pile of porridge left wins.

Find the Ring

Age suitability: 3+

You will need: a cheap plastic ring, a ball of string and a pair of scissors

Thread the ring onto a length of string about five metres long and tie together the ends. All partygoers should form a circle, holding the string taut, apart from one child who starts off as the Ring-Finder. He stands blindfolded in the middle and slowly counts to ten while the ring is passed around the string from player to player. When the count is up, the blindfold is removed and he must determine, in three guesses, which of the hiders is hiding the ring beneath their hands. If it isn't found, he continues for another round; if he's successful, he swaps places with the hider.

Dizzy Dancing

Age suitability: 2+

You will need: recorded music to dance to

You will find that this is an easier variation on Musical Statues, for those that may find standing completely still a challenge. In Dizzy Dancing, dancers do lots of dizzying twizzles and turns, so that every time the music stops, it's impossible to stand still. Let everyone enjoy not being able to keep their balance and award points for the most daring spins and grooviest moves.

Over and Under Balloons

Age suitability: 4+

You will need: two teams, two balloons, two paper plates of uncooked rice

This is a traditional party game race that is a safe bet. Each team passes their balloon through their legs or over their head to a player behind. The first team to pass the balloon to the bottom of their line and back again wins. Once they've mastered the basics, use a paper plate of uncooked rice instead. The team that spills the least is the winner. To extend the race, when the plate reaches the back of the line, the last player must carry the balloon/plate to the front of their team and start another pass-back. The winning team is the one who ends up in their original positions first.

Flap the Fish

Age suitability: 4+

You will need: two teams, two newspapers and two pairs of scissors

Cut out two fish shapes from the newspapers. Roll up the remaining paper to form your fish-flappers. Each team member must flap at their fish, causing it to move on the draught of air created. Treat it as a relay race, with the first team to arrive back the winners.

Newspaper Islands

Age suitability: 5+

You will need: newspapers

Everyone has two sheets of newspaper. They must, in turn, cross the river from one side of the room to the other, using their newspaper as stepping stones. (So you stand on one sheet, place the other in front of you, step on it, then pick up your first sheet and place it further on, etc.) This game would work well out in the garden too (providing it doesn't rain!)

Stamp!

Age suitability: 5+

You will need: a balloon for each partygoer

Each person is given a blown-up balloon tied to a piece of string about 50cm long. Everyone takes off their shoes and ties their balloon to their right ankle. You then have to try to burst the other players' balloons by stomping on them with your left foot, all the while trying to protect your own balloon by turning around - no pushing allowed. The last player with their balloon left un-burst is the winner.

Blank-bits

Age suitability: 8+

This is a great starter, but you will need to do a little homework the night before the party. Grab a fairy-tale book or a newspaper article and type out the first 30 lines. Every five or so words, miss out a key adjective, noun, verb, place or name. In its place, write the type of word in brackets, followed by a blank. Make enough copies to go round. As the children come in, hand them each a sheet and a pen, and get them to walk around asking others for words to fill in the blanks. If cliques need breaking up, set a maximum of three answers per person. Read the completed Blank-bits aloud to huge giggles.

Toss the Towel In

Age suitability: 5+

You will need: A4 paper, a large towel/sheet

This can be a good game to cool things down with at the end of the party (doctor your forfeits accordingly!) Write some forfeits (e.g. "tell a joke", "smell someone else's feet", "do a somersault") on A4 pieces of paper and crumple them up into balls. Each player then holds the edge of a large towel and keeps it taut. Place one of the forfeit balls on the towel. If you all raise your arms together, you should be able to toss the forfeit towards the ceiling and catch it in the towel as it falls.

Keep tossing until the ball ends up on the floor. Whoever is standing nearest to where the ball lands must open up the paper and perform the forfeit. If anyone argues about who is nearest to the ball, they must also do the forfeit. Continue until you run out of forfeits or steam!

Copyright (c) 2010 Ivana Katz

by: Ivana Katz

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