20 Easy and Fun Party Game Ideas for Kids

Keeping your kids engaged throughout the day can exhaust your reserve of ideas and tricks. Now imagine a group of children coming together and yearning to get involved in something or the other. Whenever there’s a party, the best way to make sure that kids have a gala time is to get them involved in games. Whether it is an indoor party or outdoor party, games light it up. We have put together some games to make the party all the more interesting.

Indoor Party Games for Children

Some of the indoor party games for kids include:

1. Passing the Parcel

It is one of the most popular games and is loved by all. Either you can play it the traditional way by playing with a cushion or you can spice it up. To make it more fun, here is what you will need.

What You will Need

• The main gift
• Variety of tiny gifts
• A lot of wrapping paper or old newspaper

How to Play

• Wrap the main gift with a new wrapping paper.
• Now use the newspaper to keep wrapping it in multiple layers. You can slip in a few smaller gifts in the certain layers, like sticker sheets, chocolates, toffees etc.
• Let all the children sit in a circle. One kid holds the parcel. Play their favourite music and let them pass the parcel around.
• When the music stops, the kid with the parcel has to unwrap a layer. If he finds a gift in that layer, he gets it.
• This continues until a kid unwraps the final gift.

2. Chocolate Eating Monsters

This game will leave your kids wanting to play so much more, because who wouldn’t want to play a game where you get to eat unlimited chocolate?

What You will Need

• A large slab of chocolate or chocolate cake
• A plastic knife
• A hat
• A jacket
• A pair of gloves
• Dice

How to Play

• Let the kids sit in a circle. Place the cake or chocolate in the centre with a knife. Keep the hat, jacket, and gloves on one side.
• Ask one kid to start rolling the dice. Each kid rolls it once and passes it to the next kid once the number has been seen.
• Whenever a kid rolls a 6, he needs to quickly wear the hat, the jacket, and the gloves. Once he has worn them, he can use the knife to cut a small slice of the cake and eat it.
• The kid can continue eating it while others keep rolling the dice. The moment somebody else rolls a 6, the first kid needs to hand everything to the other kid, who needs to wear it all so that he can start eating the cake.

3. Pin the Tail on Me

The classic version of this game uses a donkey but you can replace that with any other favourite cartoon character or replace it with a birthday party version.

What You will Need

• A large board
• A favourite image
• An object to pin up with a pushpin attached to it
• A cloth

How to Play

• If it is your child’s birthday, you could use his photo as an image and make the pinup object as the birthday hat or a pair of sunglasses, and so on.
• Each child will get his turn. Blindfold a child and give him the object that is to be pinned.
• He has only one chance to move towards the board and pin the object.
• Once he pins it, remove the blindfold and let everyone vote on how close it was. The kid who pins the object closest to the right position gets a prize.

4. The Silent Animal Gets the Fruit

Introduce this game smartly when kids are getting out of control and are all over the place. It is bound to calm them down for a while.

What You will Need

• A gift
• Anything that makes funny sounds

How to Play

• Turn a room into a forest (not literally) and let all kids be animals. On your cue, every animal has to lie down on the floor and sleep instantly.
• You can then walk through the forest, talking to them, making funny sounds, telling jokes, etc.
• The moment any kid moves or laughs or giggles, he would be out of the game and is moved out of the jungle.
• The last kid that remains silent throughout the game will win the game.

5. Catch the Monster Before It Catches You

An extremely exciting game that is bound to leave everyone happy and filled with energy and laughter.

What You will Need

• A large room

How to Play

• One child will be ‘himself’ and stand at one end of the room facing the wall.
• The rest of the kids are monsters who will stand on the other side of the wall.
• The monsters have to touch the kid but they cannot move when the kid is looking at them. The kid has to touch any monster before they touch him.
• When the game begins, the monsters need to start moving towards the kid without making sounds. At any point, the kid can suddenly turn around and open his eyes. The monsters need to freeze precisely where they are.
• Whoever touches the other, wins the game.

6. The Memory Game

Yet another game that allows kids to sit in one place and rack their brains for a change.

What You will Need

• A variety of items – small and large
• A big tray or table
• A big box
• Papers and pencils

How to Play

• Lay down all the items that you have on the table or the tray as closely as possible so that those can be covered with a box.
• Give every kid a paper and pencil and let them sit or stand such that they can easily see the items.
• When the game begins, lift the box and reveal the items for a specific amount of time, say 10 seconds or so. Cover the items with the box later.
• Now each kid needs to list out the items. The one who can list the most wins.

7. Dance to The Music, Statue to The Silence

A nice way to get a party started and get the kids on their feet.

What You will Need

• Speakers and music

How to Play

• Let all kids stand wherever they are in the same room. The rule is to dance when the music plays and freeze when the music stops.
• Start the music. Let the kids get into the groove and stop the music at a random point.
• The kid who lasts the longest wins the game.

8. The Cotton Ball Handler

Seems very easy until kids actually start playing it and end up pranking their friends.

What You will Need

• Two bowls
• Cottonballs
• A spoon
• A blindfold

How to Play

• Blindfold a kid and bring him to the table that has two bowls.
• Place all cotton balls in one bowl and keep the other ball empty and at a distance.
• The kid is supposed to use the spoon and put the cotton balls in the other bowl using only one hand.
• To make it a prank, you can remove the cotton balls after blindfolding the kid and let him continue doing the act of shifting the balls with the spoon.

9. Don’t Be the Donkey

An exciting game where everyone will fight to not become a donkey.

What You will Need

• A large bedsheet
• A feather
• Music

How to Play

• Let all kids sit in a circle and hold the bedsheet such that it is taut. Place the feather right in the middle of it.
• Start the music and the kids can start tipping the bedsheet to a side. All kids need to be sitting at all times.
• As the feather moves to a side, the kids need to blow it to the other one.
• Whoever the feather touches, becomes the donkey.

10. Hide and Seek

This game has been around for a long time now and can be played indoors as well as outdoors. The place doesn’t matter, kids love this game.

What You will Need

• A house with a lot of space

How to Play

• In this game, one person also called ‘denner’ will cover his eyes and count aloud. He can count to 50 or 100 while other players hide.
• Once the denner is done with the counting, he will start looking for other kids (hiders).
• The first person who the denner finds becomes the new denner.

Outdoor Party Games for Kids

When the celebration is on a lawn or a garden, outside party games for kids are extremely useful in bringing life to the party.

1. Racing with Eggs and Spoons

The all-time classic game that never fails to make an impression.

What You will Need

• Spoons
• Eggs or plastic balls

How to Play

• Make all kids stand in a line and hold a spoon with an egg or a plastic ball balanced on it.
• On cue, they need to start walking as fast as they can towards the finish line without dropping the egg or plastic ball.
• The first to reach the finish line wins the game. You can keep moving the finish line further away as well.

2. Turn to The Left, Turn to The Right

A quick game that can be played in teams and increases  the competitive spirit.

What You will Need

• Balls

How to Play

• Split the kids into 2 teams and let each team form a line. Give a ball to the first kid in the line.
• On the cue, every member has to pass the ball to the one behind him. If the second person receives the ball from his left, he needs to pass it behind from his right.
• When the ball reaches the end of the line, the last kid runs ahead to become the first and continues the game. This goes on until the original kid comes back to the front.
• The first team to complete an entire cycle wins.

3. Finding the Buried Treasure

This game is quite messy but kids will surely have fun playing it.

What You will Need

• A large tub
• Sand
• Gifts and chocolates

How to Play

• Keep chocolates and gifts at the bottom of the tub and cover it with sand.
• Make the kids stand around the tub. On your cue, the kids need to start digging through the sand and find the treasure.
• Whatever they find, they can keep for themselves.

4. Fox and the Doughnuts

A modern take on the fable of the fox and the grapes. Only this time, the grapes are not sour.

What You will Need

• A long rope
• Doughnuts
• A bundle of thread
• Scissors

How to Play

• Tie a rope between two trees at a certain height and hang the doughnuts off it by tying them with threads.
• The kids need to stand under the rope and attempt to eat the doughnuts without using their hands.
• There’s no winner in this since the doughnut is the prize. You can lower the rope for other kids after the first round.

5. We are the Explorers

Just like the treasure hunt, this game is fun too.

What You will Need

• Various items
• Riddles or maps

How to Play

• Hide various items in a garden or your building.
• Make two teams of kids. Give each team a map with riddles that depict where the items could be.
• Let the kids rack their brains to solve the riddle and rush to the location to find the items.
• The team that finds the most items wins.

6. Duck and Goose Chase

The game you might have played as kids, which your kids will also love.

What You will Need

• An open space

How to Play

• Make kids sit in a circle. One kid will walk around the circle tapping everyone’s head and saying ‘duck’.
• At any point, if he says ‘goose’, the person needs to get up and chase him before he can run around and sit on the spot where ‘goose’ was sitting. The other person who is chasing will now repeat the cycle.

7. Sack Race

Sack race is an all-time favourite game. You will need to arrange sacks, but we assure you that kids will love this game.

What You will Need

• Many sacks

How to Play

• Opt for a softer area for this game. All kids need to stand inside the sack in a horizontal line.
• On the cue, they need to hop with the sack and reach the finish line first. Many will fall, but they should get up and continue running.
• The first to reach the finish line wins.

8. Catch the Dragon’s Tail

Catch the dragon’s tail is a fun game and should be played when there is a large group of kids.

What You will Need

• An open space

How to Play

• Make two teams of kids. Each team makes a long line. One is the head the other is the tail.
• The head needs to bite the tail and the tail needs to run away, but they all need to run without letting go of each other.
• If the head bites the tail, the roles switch and the game continues.

9. Pop the Balloon

This game will seem like a riot but will leave everyone tired yet happy. Know how to play this game.

What You will Need

• Balloons
• Strings

How to Play

• Tie a balloon to each kid’s ankle with a string.
• Now every kid needs to protect his balloon while stomping on another kid’s balloon.
• The child who keeps his balloon safe until the end is the winner.

10. Ring Toss

A game where everybody can win if they are good at it.

What You will Need

• Big plastic rings
• Various gift items

How to Play

• Place the items away from the kids on a table. Each kid gets a fixed amount of rings to toss around the items.
• The kid who throws the ring correctly, (most items are captured in the sperate rings) will win the game.

Parties and gatherings are a fun way to get kids together and interact with each other. And games make the parties all the more interesting. So, try these games and make your child’s birthday party a memorable affair.