Planning a birthday party for your preschooler? Party games are
a great way to keep young children entertained and engaged in the
party. Make sure every child gets a prize of some kind so child
every goes home a winner!
Bean in Your Shoe
One player goes out of the room. A dried bean is given to one of
the players to put in his or her shoe. Play some music and have
all the players dance, each child pretending to have a bean in
their shoe. The player that left the room comes back and tries to
guess who has the bean in their shoe. If they guess right, the
person with the bean in their shoe gets to guess next. If they
guess wrong, they get to leave the room again and try again. If
they guess wrong a second time, they get to choose who gets to
leave the room next.
Hot and Cold
Have the players hide an object while one player leaves the room.
When the object has been hidden, the player that left returns to
the room and guesses where the object has been hidden. This
player must move around one step at a time while the other
players call out “Warm!” or “Cold!” or “Colder!” or “Warmer!” or
“Boiling!” until the player finds the object. The closer they
get, the “warmer” they are. The further away they get, the
“colder” they are.
Lucky Number
Give each child five buttons. The players go from player to
player, exchanging buttons with each other. They can give away as
many or few as they want, but they cannot refuse buttons from
other players. After approximately 2 minutes the leader
calls “Stop!” The leader then calls out a “lucky number” between
one and twenty. Whoever has that number of buttons wins.
Cat and Rat
This game is best for 10 or more players. The players hold hands
in a circle. One player is the rat on the inside of the circle,
and one player is the cat on the outside of the circle. The cat
tries to break through the circle to get to the rat. The players
in the circle try to prevent the cat from getting to the rat.
When the cat succeeds in breaking through the circle, the players
the cat broke between are the next cat and rat.
Balloon Race
Give each child a self-addressed postcard. Have the children
dictate to an adult notes to write on their postcard that state
they are having a contest to see whose balloon travels the
farthest. Also ask that the location, date, and time that the
balloon is found be written on the postcard by the person who
finds the balloon and that the person drop the postcard in the
mail. Place the postcards in ziploc bags and attach them to the
balloons. Set a date for when the contest ends, and launch the
balloons!
Farm Animals
Secretly give the name of a farm animal to each player. The
leader yells “Go!” and each player acts out their animal at the
same time. At the end of 2 minutes, each player calls out as many
of the animal names as they can remember. The player
that remembers the most animal names correctly wins the game.
Dog Bone
All players are seated in a group. One player is selected to be
the dog. The dog sits with his back to the rest of the players. A
bone (eraser, ball, or some other object) is placed on the floor
behind the dog’s back. One at a time, each player tries to sneak
up behind the dog and steal his bone. If the dog hears a sound
from the player trying to sneak up behind him, he “barks” and the
other player returns to their seat. If someone is successful in
stealing the bone, that player returns to their seat and hides
the bone. All of the players then say, “Dog, Dog, where’s your
bone?” The dog has three chances to guess who stole his bone. The
person who stole the bone gets to be dog next.
Break the Balloon
Each child receives a balloon. The first child to blow up their
balloon and pop it wins (show the children how to tie the
balloons before the game begins).
Blind Man’s Bluff
Choose one child to be blindfolded. Let the child wander around
the room until they touch another child. The blindfolded child
tries to guess who they have touched. If they are correct, the
other child gets to blindfolded next. If they are wrong, they get
to be blindfolded one more time. If they are wrong a second time,
they get to choose who gets to be blindfolded next.
Penny Dropping
Give each player 5 pennies. Place a jar on the floor behind a
chair. Have the players take turns kneeling on the chair and
trying to drop their pennies into the jar. Their hand should not
go lower than the top of the back of the chair. Whoever gets the
most pennies in the jar wins the game.