By Ginny – founder of www.allaboutpartybags.co.uk , owner of a children’s play and party centre, teacher for over 20 years and mum of 3   A Few Golden Rules Have more games up your sleeve than you think you’ll need. Things never go exactly as anticipated and on the day you want to feel confident that you can cope with anything! Make sure you have more than enough prizes of prizes – and prizes that children actually want! We have loads in our Party Bags & Prizes section,starting at 25p. You might want to follow a theme throughout the party and keep to this for your prizes too. During the party, try to keep a mental note of who’s won a prize and who hasn’t. Attempt to ‘fix’ prize winning to keep everybody happy! Make sure the games you choose are age suited. There is nothing worse than having to keep bored or frustrated children amused for 2 hours. You know best what your child and their peers will enjoy and be capable of playing. We suggest an age for each game but it is a guideline only. Don’t forget that parties need to be fun. The trick is to keep things moving and so prevent boredom setting in. Get yourself organised - do all your organisation beforehand. Never spend too long explaining rules, deciding who’s ‘out’, coaxing individuals etc. Just get on with it and everything will fall into place. · Traditional games such as pass the parcel, hot potato, musical chairs, bumps and statues have stood the test of time and are still really well loved. You might think you’re being boring but really, your little guests won’t! 1. Air Balloon (3 upwards) This is more of a time filler than a game with a winner and is enjoyed by everybody because it doesn’t matter how good or bad you are! It’s a good way to start a party whilst you are waiting for everybody to arrive. Before the party, insert a small, light-weight gift such as a Stretchy Smiley Men into the opening of a balloon before inflating it. Then, blow air into the balloon and repeat until you have a balloon for each guest. The children have to try keeping the balloon in the air for as long as they can just using their head. Once given the go ahead they can enjoy bursting the balloon and retrieving their prize! 2. Pass the Parcel (3 upwards) Before the party wrap a gift into a layer of paper. Now wrap it in another layer and repeat until you have the same number of layers as you do guests. (If you have more than about 15 guests it’s more fun for your guests if you play the game with 2 parcels). Seat everyone in a circle and play some music for a short time. When the music stops, the person holding the parcel removes ONE layer of wrapping. (Have a bin bag ready so you can keep tidy from the start!) Repeat until the last layer of wrapping has been removed. The winner keeps the present. Three variations include: Putting a forfeit in each layer e.g. name 2 animals beginning with p, count from 20 backwards, kiss somebody wearing blue…. Putting a gift in each layer. Have a look at our really special made up pass the parcels which save you a huge amount of time and inspiration. If you make up your own, choose fairly small gifts to stop the parcel becoming unmanageable and you might like to follow your party theme if you have one. Look at our ‘Individual Party Bag Items and Xmas Stocking Fillers’ Section for ideas. Cinderella Pass the Parcel – another special pass the parcel but more of an effort for you. You need a pair of Cinderella type dressing up slippers and as many girly gifts as you have guests. First, wrap one slipper with a girly gift. Repeat wrapping individual layers and tuck a girly gift in each layer. About halfway through the number of layers you choose to use, insert the other slipper and a girly gift, and keep wrapping. Play the game in the normal way. Continue until the first slipper is unwrapped. Then, reverse the passing order until the second slipper is uncovered. The 2 girls holding the slippers then ball room dance around the circle, wearing one slipper each. 3. Musical Chairs or Cushions (5 upwards). Set up chairs or cushions in 2 rows back to back. Put out one less chair/cushion than there are children. Start playing the music and ask the children to walk all around the chairs/cushions until the music stops. When the music stops, the children must each sit on a chair/cushion. The child without a chair/cushion is 'out'. You might like to have a bowl of sweets to offer to each child that is 'out' so they don't feel too humiliated - but don't make it so tempting that everybody wants to be 'out'! Then remove another chair/cushion. If there is ever a tie, don't spend ages making a decision, just replay that round. Variation: Animal Musical Chairs. The player left standing must pull the name of an animal, written on a piece of paper, out of a hat. Then, they must act it out while the other guests try to guess what the animal is. Start the music again and repeat the game until there’s only one chair left. 4. Musical Statues (5 upwards) Play some music, and watch the children dance and jump about. Without notice, turn off the music and the children need to freeze. If any body moves they are ‘out’. As with musical chairs, you might like to have a bowl of sweets to give to this child so they don’t feel too humiliated – but don’t make it so tempting that everybody wants to be ‘out’! Repeat until there is just one person left. 5. Hot Potato (5 upwards) Sit the children in a circle and choose one to sit out wearing a blindfold. Begin by passing a potato around the circle, while the ‘blind’ child stands to one side. Everyone must accept the potato, and may not hold it longer than a second. At any point the ‘blind’ child can yell, ‘Hot Potato’, and whoever has the potato is out (Think about using that invaluable bowl of sweets again!) Continue to play until there is only one person left, and they are the winner. A really good variation is to follow the theme of your party. Use an appropriate item to pass around the circle instead of a potato. . 6. Duck, Duck, Goose (5 upwards) This classic children's game is perfect for any party. Gather your guests to sit in a circle and let the birthday child begin as the ‘Goose’. They walk around the circle tapping each child on the head, saying ‘duck’ with each tap. When they are ready to choose the next person to be Goose, they say ‘goose’ when tapping that person on the head. That child gets up and chases the birthday child around the circle. If the new Goose does not tag the birthday child before they make it all the way around the circle and sit in the open spot, then the new Goose becomes ‘it’. If the new Goose tags the birthday child, then the birthday child remains ‘it’ for the next round and the game continues. 7. Decorate a Birthday Banner (5 upwards) Unroll a roll of unwanted wallpaper and mount it plain side up on a wall within easy reach of your guests. At the top of the ‘banner’, write ‘Happy Birthday (your child's name)’. You could lay the paper on the floor if you're worried some of the artists may mistake your wall for their canvas! Provide a variety of crayons and felt pens and let the children create their own masterpieces. Don't forget to ask each artist to write their name and age beside their drawing. You can even encourage them to write a special message to the birthday child. After the party, fold it up and save it, or if you'd prefer, take a close-up picture so you can tuck it inside your photo album later. 8. Animals (2 upwards) This is game is fun for small children who are naturally intrigued by animals and can’t cope with the intricacies of a more complicated game. Have a selection of animal masks or small wild animals– the same number as you have guests. Hold one up, one at a time. Ask all the children to imitate the animal. Continue, changing the animal just as soon as you feel the time is right! At the end of the game, give a mask or animal to each child. This could be a good ‘going’ home game if you’re brave enough not to hand our party bags! 9. Chinese Whispers (5 upwards) Sit the children in a circle on the floor. Sit with them and begin by whispering a phrase into the ear of the person next to you. One by one, each person whispers the sentence (as they hear it) to the person next to them. It makes its way around the circle and when the last person receives the message they repeat it out loud – usually with very amusing consequences! By this time the children will have got the hang of it so you can extricate yourself from the circle and leave the children to take turns starting with their chosen sentence. 10. Egyptian Mummy Wrap (7 upwards) Get the children to choose a partner (you might find yourself having to be one – look out for anybody being left out). Before they know what to do get each pair to decide who is ‘Mummy’ and who is ‘Embalmer’. Give each ‘Embalmer’ a roll of loo paper. On the word ‘Go’ get the ‘Embalmers’ to race to see who can wrap up their mummy first. The game is tricky because the faster they try to wrap, the more the loo paper will break, causing them to keep restarting! 11. The Smelly Game (7 upwards) Before the party put 10 items that have an identifiable smell into a paper bag, one item per bag. Seal them with an elastic band. Number the bags 1 – 10. Examples are coffee beans, Marmite, toothpaste, orange peel, soap, chocolate, talc, grapefruit, lemon, coal, fire lighter etc… Divide the guests into teams with 3 or 4 in each team. Give each team a pencil and piece of paper numbered 1 – 10. Get each team to elect a scribe. Give a bag to each team and give them 30 seconds to identify the smell and have their scribe record it against the correct number on their sheet of paper. Rotate the bags around until every bag has been smelt by every team (Decide how you are going to organise this – don’t get in a muddle!) Make sure you have enough prizes for every member of the winning team members! Variation: The feely Game. Organise in exactly the same way as The Smelly Game above but put interestingly shaped items in bags. 12. Fishing Game (5 upwards) - wonderful for a sea life themed party You will need a helper for this activity. Tie a string across the room and hang a sheet over it so no-one can see what is on the other side. Use an old fishing pole, or make one using a stick and some string. Attach a clothes peg to the end of the fishing pole's string. Let each guest take a turn ‘casting’ their line over the sheet. Get your helper to stand on the other side of the sheet and attach small fishy gifts to the clothes peg, giving the line a slight tug on the line when they’re attached. When the children reel in their lines, they'll be delighted to see what they've caught! 13. Relay Races. Children adore relay races. They love the team spirit and cheering their team mates on. If you choose to play a few, mix the teams up if the same team is always winning! Here are just 6 variations. Try making up your own to follow your theme: Human String Relay (8 upwards). Before the party decide how many teams of 5 or 6 children you will have at the party. Prepare one wooden spoon tied to the end of a ball of string for each team. Get the teams to line up in single file and give a spoon and string to the leader of each team. When you shout ‘go’ each leader must put the ball of string on the floor in front of them and then thread the spoon down their top clothing and down through their pants. When it comes out of their pant leg, they must then pass the spoon to the next player. When it has gone through the entire line and everyone is attached, then the last person at the end of the line must reverse the process (while the leader winds the string into a ball as it comes back out of each person's clothing). The team to finish unwinding the string first wins. Ensure you have a prize for each member of the team. · Roundabout Relay (7 upwards). Your guests will jump for joy during this fun relay. Before the party, decide how many teams of 5 or 6 children will be at your party. Cut large shapes out of cardboard – 2 for each team. For added fun, make the shapes theme-specific to your party. At the party, divide your guests into the teams you’ve planned and give the leader of each team two of the cardboard shapes. These become the only thing they can step on as they travel from the front of the team, across the room, around a chair (place one opposite the front of each team – as far away as you think appropriate) and back to the line again. The game begins by having the first child on each team place one cardboard shape on the ground and step on it. Then, they place the other cardboard shape on the ground in front of the first and step on it. Next, they pick up the first cardboard shape and place it on the ground in front of the other, etc. When they get back to the front of their team, they hand the two cardboard shapes to the next player in line. The team to make it all the way around the course first, wins! Make sure there’re enough prizes for each member of the winning team. · Water Relay (5 upwards) Definitely a game for the garden! Divide your guests into teams of 6- 8 children. Line them up and give the leader of each team a small bucket or cup full to the brim with water. About 10 metres away, place an empty bucket for each team. When you say ‘go’, the leader runs down to the empty bucket, pours the water from his or her container into the bucket, and races back to their team with their empty container. The next team mate must then race down to the full bucket and pour the water from the bucket into his or her empty container, and then return it to the next person in the team. Your guests will have fun trying to keep as much water as they can in their buckets. The game ends when each team member has run down and back once. The team with the fullest bucket wins! · Balloon Relay Race (7 upwards). Divide the children into teams of 6 to 8 children. Place an inflated balloon between the knees of the leader of each team. When the race starts, the leader of each team turns to face the next person in line. The second child must grasp the balloon with their knees and turns to pass it on to the third person, and so on. If the balloon falls to the ground, the team must start all over again. The first team to successfully pass the balloon down the line, wins! · Egg and Spoon Relay (5 upwards). Beforehand hard boil as many eggs as you are going to have teams (about 6 – 8 children per team) and have a few to spare in case of eggceptional circumstances! Mark a starting and finishing point for each team, line up the teams behind their starting point and give each team leader an egg and spoon. They must get to the finishing point and back to the starting point without dropping the egg. If they do they have to return to their team and start again. Once the circuit is completed they have to hand the egg and spoon to the next team member who completes the circuit before handing over to the next team member. And so on. The first team to get through each team member is the winner. · Fire Alarm Relay (6 and upwards). Sound the alarm and put on the gear - there's no time to waste! Your fire fighters will need to dress as fast as possible, run to the blazing fire, attempt to put it out, undress, and return to their team line. Before the party, collect two sets of fire fighter's clothing - boots, oversized jackets, hats, and gloves. Use masking tape to mark the start/finish line on the floor. Put chairs across the room with an empty wrapping paper tube on them. This serves as the location of your fire and the hose to put it out. At the party, divide your fire fighters into two teams. Either you or the birthday child should demonstrate what you want them to do. They will need to put on the fire fighter's clothing, run to the chair, pick up the hose, run around the chair with the hose spraying the fire, set the hose back on the chair, return to the dressing station, take off the clothes, and go back to their team’s line. The next person in the team then repeats all these actions until all team members have taken a turn. The team that completes the relay first, wins! NB If your party size is bigger than about 16, it’s probably best to have 3 teams (which means 3 sets of fire fighters gear!) · Sheep Dog Relay (7 and upwards). For this game you will need one broom per team, a long string to mark your course, 3 balloons per team – one colour for each team and a few extra in case any should pop. Set up an obstacle course in your party area using boxes, chairs, bushes, trees, etc. Mark the path of your obstacle course with string. Divide your party guests into their teams, tell them they are sheep dogs and the balloons are sheep. Line the teams up at the starting line. Give the leader a broom and three balloons. Assign one balloon colour to each team. They must use the broom to herd their sheep (balloons) through the course. Each player must herd their balloons through the entire course to complete their turn. The first team to finish the course wins! If a balloon pops during a player's turn, they must take a new balloon to the starting line and begin again. 14. Human Knots (8 and upwards) This game will make your party guests howl with laughter. Instruct your guests to stand in a circle facing inward. To begin, everyone extends his or her right hand into the ring and takes a hold of someone else's hand. Then, they do the same with their left hands. The object of the game is to see if they can untangle the ‘knot’ by stepping over, ducking under people, or turning around. Whatever happens, they can't let go of hands! Just watch carefully for anybody being forced into a position they’d rather not be in! 15. What’s On My Back? (8 and upwards) So that you don’t need masses of different stickers, pair up your party guests (three's okay too) and put a sticker of a butterfly, ladybird, bee or frog on each child's back. Have the guests try to guess what animal it is by asking questions that can be answered with only ‘yes’ or ‘no’. For example, ‘Do I have legs?’ ‘Can I fly?’ and ‘Am I pink?’ You could put a sticker sheet in each party bag to take home. 16. Jelly Eating Contest (6 and upwards) (probably a better game for a smallish party!) Make one bowl of jelly for each child (plus have a few extra on hand). Line the bowls along the ground. It's a good idea to place a tablecloth or other protective covering on the ground for easy clean up. Each player places their hands on the ground beside their bowl and must keep them there throughout the game. When the command is given to start, all the contestants begin eating their jelly. The first one to clean their bowl completely, wins. Be sure to have a camera ready to capture the memorable moments! Great pictures to attach to your thank you letters after the party! 17. Treasure Hunt (8 and upwards) Children love to hunt for surprises so on your child's big day, create a special hunt (following the theme of your party – loads of ideas in ‘Individual Party Bag Items and Xmas Stocking Fillers’ Section). This takes quite a lot of preparation and does depend on help from a few extra adults to supervise. Separate the children into smallish teams and tell them that you will give each team their first clue that will lead to the second clue and so on. At each new clue they will find a selection of prizes. Each team is to select just one prize and put it in their bag before going off to follow their new clue’s instructions. If they try to cheat by skipping a clue they will also miss a prize! Give each team a bag to put their prizes in. Make sure each clue has the same number of prizes as you have teams next to it. The final clue should lead to the ‘treasure’ – wrap it up to make it look really special! Even though this has been a race, every child ends up with a prize when their team shares their bag of goodies out at the end. It’s a good idea to supervise this bit to make sure nobody is left out. 18. Magic Coin (7 and upwards) Pick 10p pieces with different dates on them. Place them in a top hat and ask the birthday child (who you’ve primed beforehand) to pick a 10p and pass it directly to you. Then, let all the guests pass the 10p around to look at the date. After everyone has seen it, quickly put it back into the hat and shake up the coins. Ask the ‘Birthday Magician’ to reach into the hat and pull out the same 10p again. They will pick it out and read the date to the astonished guests! The secret? The Birthday Magician knows which penny was chosen because metal absorbs heat, so the 10p everyone has handled will be warm. Repeat the trick a number of times and once everyone knows how the magic is done, let all the children take a turn being the Birthday Magician. 19. Freeze Tag (6 and upwards) For this popular game, guests need to spread out in the party area (or better still, outside where there's room to run). Let the birthday child be the first ‘tagger’. The ’tagger’ tries to tag all the other guests. If a player is tagged, he or she must freeze. Players who are not frozen can ‘melt’ frozen players by touching them. The first player to be frozen three times becomes the next ‘tagger’. You need to keep a close eye on who’s being ‘frozen’ – with large groups this isn’t so easy. 20. Blind Drivers Bluff (5 and upwards) Blindfold the person who will be the ‘driver’. (It usually works best to let the birthday child be the first driver.) Spin the blindfolded player around several times. The other players move around the driver making car and truck noises. The driver tries to locate the players by their sounds and tag the person closet to them. The first player who is tagged becomes the driver and the game continues. Variation: Animal noises instead – girls prefer this! 21. Leap Frog (7 and upwards) This classic children's game is sure to be a crowd pleaser at your party. It's best played outside where there's lots of room to leap. Show your guests how to get into a frog position by bending down and dividing their weight evenly between their hands and feet. Instruct the children to form a line and remind them to keep their heads down. The frog at the end of the line begins by placing their hands on the back of the frog in front of them, jumping in the air a little, and sliding their legs around the body of the frog they're leaping over. They continue jumping over all the other frogs in line. The person who is now at the end of the line, does the same thing, and so on, until everyone has jumped through the line several times. Try mixing up the order of the frogs and keep leaping! If it’s a large party you might want to divide the children into groups. Ensure you have enough adults around to help! 22. Edible Jewellery (6 and upwards – any younger and it takes forever!) You will need at least 60cm of string for each guest, sweets and cereal with holes, and small bowls to put them in. Before the party, fill the small bowls with the sweets and cereal and place them within easy reach of your guests at the party table. Give each child a length of string with the first sweet or piece of cereal tied on the end – otherwise anything the child threads on will fall off! Let them create a necklace, bracelet, anklet, etc. They'll have lots of fun creating their own yummy, edible jewellery! 23. Sleeping Lions (3 and upwards) Surprisingly loved by a huge age range, this is a great ‘calming down’ game before handing your guests back to their parents. Ask the children to ‘sleep’ on the floor like a sleeping lion. The moment anybody moves they are ‘out’. In reality, you can ignore the odd twitch and your guests can stay ‘sleeping’ until somebody comes to collect them! You will look marvellously in control and the children will have calmed down into a contented and peaceful state.

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