When you’re hosting a party, whether it’s for your toddler’s birthday or a get together for ‘tweens or teens, party games can set the tone for your party and get all the guests involved in an activity that is fun.

Toddlers & Preschoolers
Young children generally love musical games.  Remember, children at this age have very short attention spans so be sure to keep your games simple and quick.  Avoid games with blindfolds as they could be frightening to some children.  Be sure to have a “prize” for everyone as children this age don’t understand the concept of competition.  Any of these games are great for young party-goers:

• London Bridge
• Old MacDonald Had A Farm
• Follow the Leader
• Simon Says
• Bean Bag Toss
• Bowling. (Use a plastic bowling toy set or just use empty plastic water or soda bottles set upright in a row. Have the kids roll the balls to hit the targets.)

You can make up your own versions of these games, too.  Just remember to keep the instructions simple and be ready to change to a different activity when the kids lose interest.

School Age Children

Once kids enter school, they are better able to follow rules and instructions.  As they progress through elementary school, they are able to follow more and more complex directions and games can become a bit more challenging.

• “Chinese Whispers” or “Telephone”
  Chinese Whispers (or Telephone) is an easy game to learn and play. Have children sit in a circle. Whisper a short phrase to one child and instruct him or her to whisper the phrase to the person on their right. Each child whispers the message what he or she heard to the next person, and so on. The last child announces the phrase and laughter will surely ensue when you announce what the REAL phrase was.
• Freeze Frame

Put on music that is lively but not too wild. Ask children to move, run, or dance freely in time to the music. Stop the music suddenly. When you do, everyone must freeze in whatever position they are in. Anyone who moves, quivers, shakes etc is out of game. The winner is the last one still playing.

‘Tweens

‘Tweens are in that awkward stage between childhood and teenage.  They like to play games but they don’t want to do anything that might be considered “babyish” by their peers.  Here are a couple of games that fit the bill:

• Question Ball
  Write questions all over a large inflatable beach ball. Have everyone sit in a circle and toss the ball to someone. Whoever catches theball has to answer the question that is under (or closest to) their right thumb. After they answer the question, they toss the ball to another person.
• o Fun questions to write on the ball (Be sure to have a lot of questions so someone’s thumb will always be touching!)
• § What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
• § What is your favorite color?
• § What are three adjectives that describe you?
• § Who is your favorite band/singer?
• § Who is your favorite movie star?

• “Hot Potato Pants”
  Here’s a more grown up version of the old kids’ classic “Hot Potato”. Before the party, collect a variety of clothes like hats, dresses, shorts, nightgowns, cloth diapers, etc. and place them all in a big bag. Sit everyone in a large circle and play a favorite tune. As the music plays, the kids pass the bag around like a hot potato. As soon as the music stops, the person left holding the bag has to put his or her hand in (no peeping) and pull out an article of clothing, which he/she then has to put on. The game continues until the bag is empty. You can award prizes for the funniest costumes.

(Image Credit: Jessica Driver)