Party games

Games for older children

All answers begin with cat...

Prepare a number of questions all beginning with the word cat... For example:

Which cat causes a sudden accident? (Catastrophe)

Which cat is a member of the church? (Catholic)

Which girl has the name of a girl ? (Catherine)

Which cat likes to be in the water? (Catfish)

Which cat likes to hang in a group? (Category)

Which cat is in the underground place for the burial of the dead? (Catacomb)

Which cat floats on water? (Catamaran)

Which cat can you order from? (Catalogue)

 

The participants divide into two teams. The winner is the team with most right answers.

Arm-in-arm relay

Divide the members into two teams with two by two members in each. The teams sit down in a row behind a starting line. Place two chairs a few metres in front of the teams. Sitting back to back the first couples in each team hook their arms. When the starting signal goes, they get up, go forward and round their chair,  line up behind their team members and the next couple continue in the same way.

The team coming in first wins the game.

Balloon relay

Divide the members into two teams and make a starting line behind which the teams line up. Place two chairs a few metres in front of the teams. The first one in each team holds the balloon between his legs and hurries forward, rounds the chair, and gets back to the next member in the row, who takes the balloon and continues. If any member drops the balloon or this bursts, he must start all over again.

The team coming in first, wins the game.

Balloons.

Blowing the cotton ball

This game is suitable for a small group of children:
Place a cotton ball in the centre of a round table. The children are all seated around the table. On 'Go' all the children blow on the cotton ball as hard as possible.
The child who gets the cotton ball on him/her first is out and a new round starts. Last one remaining around the table not having touched the cotton ball has won!

Charades

The guests divide into two teams. Every member of both teams writes one word on a note and folds the note, so the word can"t be seen. Each team fills a bowl with their folded notes and then swaps bowls with the other team.
A team member in the starting team pulls one note out of their bowl, reading the word on it without showing anyone. After having read the word, he/she has to dramatise the word, and have his/her team mates guess what the word is, as fast as possible.
When the word is guessed, it"s up to the next team to do the same thing - pull a note and have the team mates guess the word. Fastest team wins!

To make this party game a bit easier (for example, when kids are playing) you can predefine a category of words, like "animals", "professions", etc.

Dancing with balloons

Each member gets two balloons, which he/she ties to each of his/her ankles. Divide the members into couples and play some music. Now the couples are going to dance, holding at least one of each other's hand.

The couple who are the last on the dancing floor without cracking their balloons, win the game.

Balloons with strings.

Eat ghosts!

Tie a marshmallow-"ghost" on each string and tie around the broom sticks. Divide the guests into two teams and draw a startingline which the teams place themselves behind in rows. Hold or hang the broom stick a couple of yards in front of the startingline. Each participate should then walk to the marshmallow-ghost and try to catch it solely with his/her mouth!

The team with the least number of ghosts is the winner.

Play this game at your Halloween party!

marshmallows strings 2 broom sticks

Ghost bingo

Give every participant one ghost bingo tray and one bowl with 9 sweets/candy in it each.

The game leader calls one number at the time. Every participant places a candy/sweet on the called number. If one participant fills a vertical or horizontal line with candy/sweet, he/she says loud "Ghost" and is then allowed to eat her/his candy/sweet.

Play this game at your Halloween party!

sweets/candy, 9 x number of participants one bowl per participant one ghost bingo tray per participant

Ghosts in a row

Write a couple of sentences containing exactly nine words; for example "Do not be afraid of the ghosts on Halloween!", "Horrible ghosts tries to scare sleeping children at night!". Cut out every word in the sentences, then there will be nine parts per sentence (don't mix the sentences!) and put one sentence in a bowl.

Give each player a game tray. Pick a sentence and print it on a board for every participant to see. Now the players should print one word from the sentence in any square on their tray, every word just once. The game leader pulls a word note from the bowl with the same sentence as on the board and reads the word. The participants crosses the same word on his/her game tray. The player being the first having three words in a row, vertical, horizontal or diagonal, is the winner.

Play this game at your Halloween party!

1 ghost-in-a-row game tray per participant (found under Templates & decorations) 1 pencil per participant

Hiding the Key

All children gather in a room. One of the children leaves the room. Meanwhile, the others hide a key somewhere in the room. The person outside now enters the room and asks the crowd if it"s "Bird, Fish or In Between" (i.e. is the key hidden high up somewhere, at waist level or somewhere low?). When the child looking for the key is getting closer to it, everyone screams "It"s getting hotter", and if he/she looks in the wrong direction they scream "It"s getting colder!". These directions will guide the person to find the key.

If the party has a theme, an object that has to do with the theme can be hidden instead of the key.

Musical chairs

Place a number of chairs (one less than the total number of game players, i.e. 10 chairs for a group of 11) in a room, back to back. Start to play some music and the participants walk in a cirlcle around the chairs, hands behind their backs. When the music suddenly stops, you have to quickly get a chair to sit down on. If two people sit down on the same chair, one of them has to find another free chair. The person who has no chair when they are all taken is out of the game.
Remove one chair and start the music again. The game continues until there is only two people and one chair left. The person who gets this last remaining seat as the music stops wins the game.

Orange relay

Divide the members into two teams and make a starting line, behind which the teams sit down in a row. Place two chairs a few metres in front of the teams. Given an orange to the first one in each team. Crawling on the floor they will now push forward the orange, by means of their faces only, round the chair and crawl back to the next one in the line, who takes the orange and continues in the same way.

If any member uses his hands he must begin all over again from the starting line.

The team coming in first wins the game.

Paper Bag Race

The children are divided into two teams, and sit down on the floor. Each child is given a paper bag. The first child of each team runs as fast as possible around his/her team, grabs their bag, blows it up and pops it. The pop is the signal for next team member to start running. Fastest team wins!

Potatoe Race

The children are divided into two teams. Each team sits down opposites each other on two rows of chairs. Each member holds a tablespoon in their mouths, with the spoon handle towards them. A potatoe is placed on the spoon of the first person in each team.
Now the potatoe has to be sent from one team member to the next until the last person - no hands allowed! If someone drops the potatoe it has to be picked up using no hands.
Fastest team to send it from the first to the last person wins!

This game can also be played without chairs. Place the potatoe on the spoon in the mouth. You then have to walk to a chair, round the chair, and then back to start again without dropping the potatoe. When back to start again - give the potatoe to the next person in line (still using no hands!) who does the same thing.

For small children, they can hold the spoon in the hand instead of in the mouth as they are walking.

Simon does..

One game player is chosen to be "Simon". The other players stand in line behind "Simon". Now all the players have to do exactly what "Simon" does, for example walk backwards, run sideways, sing a song, crawl under a table etc. When "Simon" has arrived to the spot where he started, next player in line gets to be "Simon".

Simon says..

One of the children is chosen to be game leader, called "Simon". The other children spread out in the room in front of Simon.
When the game leader says "Simon says: stand on one leg!" and shows the movement, they all have to do what he/she says. If he/she instead says: "Pinch your nose" and shows the movement, everyone should remain still (because "Simon" didn"t say "Simon says" first).

Anyone who doesn"t do what Simon says, or who moves when you should stand still, is out of the game. The game continues until there is only one remaining player. This player gets to be "Simon" in next round.

If the party is a theme party, you can name "Simon" something else, like "Sea Captain", for a Pirate Party, etc.

Suitcase Race

Pack two suitcases with a few pieces of clothing - for example an old hat, a pair of boots and a coat. Divide the children into two teams. Draw a startingline and place the bags next to each other, 10 m (or any suitable distance to run) away from it.
First person in each team has to run to the suitcase, put on the clothes from the bag, run 2 laps round an object (a chair for example), undress, put the clothes back into the suitcase and run back to the startingline. Next person from the team now does the same thing. All team members now repeat this - fastest team wins!

The Animal Game

All but one sit in a circle on the floor. One lies down in the middle of the circle and says the name of an animal. Then any of them sitting in the circle imitate the animal. The one in the middle shall now try to guess who's imitating.

The bear is sleeping

The children stand in a circle, holding hands. One child is picked out to be the bear lying in the middle of the circle sleeping. Now the the children walk around the bear saying with a low voice:

The bear is sleeping, the bear is sleeping...

As they continue they raise their voices and suddenly the bear wake up and runs around trying to catch someone who then becomes the new bear. The game continues until every child has been the bear.

The present

Prepare a little present for each guest on the party and wrap it with lots of paper. It should take time to unwrap it!

The participants gather in a circle on the floor and with music in the background the present is handed over to the next person around the circle. When the music stops the one holding the present should unwrap the first layer of paper. Then the music begins again and the game continues untill the present is totally unwrapped. The participant then holding the present keeps it and is also out of the game. Another present is handed out to the circle and the game continues like that until everyone has a present.

The whispering game

The participants gather in a circle on the floor. One participant begins the game by whispering a sentence or a long word to the participants next to him/her. This person whisper exactly the same sentence or word to the next and so on. The whisper goes on untill the last participant has heard it and says it loud so everyone can hear. This game could be really funny as the sentence or word might have changed dramatically since the beginning!

Walk the plank!

Fill a toddler's pool with water and put plastic crocodiles, or something similar in it. Place a plank over the pool and let the children walk over the plank from one side to the other, one at a time. Anyone who looses their balance and falls in is out of the game.

Fun at a pirate party! 

Yes or No

Prepare the game by writing down a list of "Yes- or No questions".
Divide the children into two rows and place a chair a few meters in front of each row. On one of the chairs there is a note saying "Yes" and on the other there is a note saying "No".
Ask a question from your list. The first person in each team/row runs towards the chairs and sits down on the "Yes" or the "No", depending on what he/she thinks the correct answer to the question is. The person who sits down first on the correct answer gets a point for his/her team. The team with the most points in the end wins!

You are...

The children start out by writing their names on top of a sheet of paper, fold the paper over the name (to hide it properly) and put the paper in a pile in the middle. Someone mixes all the papers before each child gets one of the papers back again. Now they all need to write an adjective, like for example "cute" or "brave". Then they all fold the paper to hide what they just wrote, and mix all the papers in the middle again. They pick a new paper and this time they need to write a proffession, like "fire fighter" or "zoo keeper" for example. Fold the papers again and mix them all.

In the end, they all pick one paper out of the pile and read what"s been written. They will read, for example: "Simon is brave. When he grows up he will be a fire fighter".


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