It’s not easy keeping the kiddos bubbly at bashes. Here’s a quick guide on the best children’s party games!
So here’s a common problem mamas, how are you supposed to keep the kiddos entertained at a party when they get bored so easily? I used to teach drama to young bubs and had a couple of stints as a camp counsellor, so finding ways to keep the littles happy was the only way to survive and I racked up a modest collection of party games below. If you have any other faves yourself, do let me know!
Dance Party Freeze
Always a hit with the really little ones, this one’s a cross between a disco and Simon Says. Put on some music and lead the shimmying round the room – then at random, suddenly stop the music. All the kiddos have to freeze, and anyone who freezes is out. As it gets harder, throw out some fun instructions like ‘Dance like a dinosaur’ or ‘Dance like a ballerina’ to keep them on their toes!
Human Knot
All the kiddos have to stand in a circle and put their hands in the middle. Everybody has to grab one hand with a person across from them and another hand of somebody else – remind them not to grab the hands of people standing beside them! After that, their task is to work together to untangle themselves- always hilarious to watch.
Mummy Race
A good old mummy race never gets old, though it can get a bit messy! Split the kiddos into teams and distribute a few rolls of toilet paper between them evenly. Put a timer on for a few minutes and whoever makes the best mummy wins. Don’t forget to hold a spooky fashion show at the end of it all, complete with mummy groans and trailing tissue paper.
Musical Chairs
This is one that doesn’t require that much explaining, but we’ll go ahead and do it anyways. Arrange some chairs in the centre of a circle of the kiddos and play some music. Everybody has to shimmy and shake their way around, however when the music stops they have to run over and sit down on a seat as fast as they can. Every round, another chair is removed and whoever doesn’t get a seat is out.
Name Splat
Everyone stands in a circle. The first splatter makes their hands into a gun and points at someone in the circle while shouting splat, however they can’t splat people right next to them. Whoever has been splatted immediately ducks, then the two people on either side face off and shout splat as fast while splatting them with guns. Whoever is fastest wins and the loser sits down and is out for the rest of the game. After that, the winner gets to splat somebody else and so on until there are only three people left.
At that point, mama will have to step in and randomly shout someone’s name to duck while the other two splat one another. After that, there’s a proper cowboy back to back standoff, where whoever is judging will choose a random word (we find banana is always a good one). You’ll have to start naming random objects and with every new object, the finalists take one step. At some point, you have to say your chosen word (i.e. banana) and the moment the kiddos hear it, they have to turn around and splat one another as fast as they can.
Night at the Museum
One kid plays the museum security guard and all the other kids are frozen statues on display spread out across the space. The goal of the game is for the statues to move very carefully and slowly towards the guard, but be careful – if the guard spots you moving, then you have to take two steps back! If one of the statues taps the guard, they become the security guard for the next round.
Jazz it up by helping the kiddos really get into it: some can pretend to be dinosaur statues, others cavemen and women or whatever else pops into their heads. You can even make the child who’s the security guard wear a police cap and flashlight.
Pass the Parcel
Nothing beats the classics really, mama. Wrap up a little prize in layers and layers of newspaper and put on some music, kiddos will pass the package from person to person. Whenever you stop the music, the kiddo holding the parcel gets to rip off a layer. Keep going until the present is finally revealed – whoever ripped the paper last gets to keep whatever’s inside.
Sticker Stalker
Every party guest gets a pack of stickers at the door. The goal of the game is to sneakily put stickers on people without them noticing – the first person to use up all their stickers wins!
So there’s the list of party games – I hope your littles have an awesome celebration! Oh and just as a side note, if any New Girl fans could explain the rules to the ultimate party game True American I would be much obliged…