Traditional
kids' party games

Traditional kids' party games are a life saver. They work. They involve everybody, cost practically nothing and have stood the test of time.

Could you really resist...
...experiencing the fun of your own childhood parties with your own child?

Remember ripping off the gift wrap in Pass the Parcel? Pinning the Tail on the Donkey?

And who doesn't recall excitedly choosing a mystery gift from the Lucky Dip?

You'll find instuctions for birthday games kids can play, great toddler party games and a treasure of birthday traditions that will complement your classic kids' party, too.

Traditional kids' games for a classic party

Musical Chairs - this classic musical game gets 'em moving!
Pass the Parcel - is this game the most loved of them all?
Kim's Game - memory testing fun!
Musical Clothes - a musical dress up party game.
I Went to the Shops... - and bought... - great circle game.
Pin the Tail on the Donkey - an easily adapted game for any party.
Musical Statues - for a few moments' peace and quiet...
Hunt the Thimble - small children love a mystery - just keep it simple!
Simon Says - a great party listening game.
What's the Time Mr Wolf? - Don't make this one too scary!
Follow the Leader - and use your imagination, too.

Musical Chairs
You'll need some suitable music as well as enough chairs for this kids' party game.

Arrange chairs in pairs facing outwards in a line. One less chair than the number of children playing. The music starts and the little ones start moving around the chairs - they can dance or just walk very carefully!

When the music stops, they have to try and sit down. The child who doesn't find a chair to sit on is "out". It's a good idea to have a consolation sweet handy to give the child who is out! The game continues until there is only one chair and two children left. The winner sits on the last remaining chair. The prize comes from the Lucky Dip!

Pass the Parcel
One of the classic kids' party games. Wrap a gift in many layers. If there are seven children playing, you'll need to wrap the gift seven or eight times! Use as much or as little sticky tape as you like, less for younger children.

More party music needed for this game. Seat the children in a circle and start the music. The children slowly pass the parcel around. When the music stops, the child holding the parcel takes one layer of wrapping off. Then the music starts again.

Give each child a chance to unwrap a layer of paper. To make the game more interesting, put a favor in each layer! The winner is the child who takes off the final layer of giftwrap.

Kim's Game
The usual version of this kids' party game involves preparing a tray with a number of items on it (cup, saucer, spoon, torch, pen, ball of string etc), and getting the guests to memorize the items before covering the tray with a cloth and asking the guests to write a list of everything they remember.

For little ones, you could prepare a similar tray, or stand the children round a table. Arrange eight to ten items. They could be a mixture of party items - a party hat, unlit candle, cup, gift ribbon, cuddly toy, birthday card - and everyday objects such as keys, a photo in a frame, a roll of toilet paper - you get the picture!

Everybody has to look carefully at the objects. Then everybody must turn around and shut their eyes. An adult - or a child - takes one object off the table. "Ready!!" Then everybody turns round and looks to see what's missing.

The first child to spot what's missing gets to remove the next item. Replace each item after each go. At the end of the game, get all the children to turn away and close their eyes. Remove everything from the table into a bag. Then all the children turn round and as a group try and remember every item that was on the table. That way, everybody wins!

Musical Clothes
You'll need a big bag of clothes for this game. You could gather together dressing up clothes from other parents for firefighter/cowboy/princess items, as well as using

• hats, gloves, and scarves
• coats and old shoes
• shirts, baggy t-shirts
• or plastic glasses, moustaches or that old wig from the depths of your wardrobe!

The children stand in a circle, the music starts - and the bag needs to be passed round the circle. When the music stops, the child holding the bag has to take something out and put it on.

The game continues until all the items have been used. The winner is the person wearing the most clothes. Let them wear the clothes for another kids party game, or just put some dance music on and tell the children to dance for two minutes in their new outfits!

I Went to the Shops...
All the kids sit in a circle. An adult or child can start the game by saying "I went to the shops and I bought a banana."

For little kids it gets too difficult if they get it wrong and are out, as it's harder to remember what everybody said! So it's best just to help each other out.

End this kids party game with a clap for everybody for remembering so well!

Pin the Tail on the Donkey
You can make a large picture of a donkey and attach it to a wall. Prepare a tail made of string or wool or fabric. Use sticky - tac or tape to stick on the tail.

Have a blindfold ready - a large handkerchief or a scarf will do nicely. Blindfold a child (the birthday boy or girl can go first), spin them round three times and point them in the direction of the donkey.

Write the name of the child on the spot where they "pinned" the tail. Each child can have a go, the winner being the one who put the tail nearest to where that tail should be! For themed parties, this kids' party game could be easily adapted.

Musical Statues
While the music is playing, the children have to move about, dancing, impersonating animals or pretending to do a certain activity.

When the music stops, they have to stand as still as a statue. The "judge" finds someone who is moving a tiny bit - and that someone is out! The odd occasion there may be nobody out! The winner is the last child left.

Hunt the Thimble
You can use a thimble, or something else that is fairly small. The guests leave the room while one child hides the thimble somewhere visible but not necessarily obvious. Adult help might be required to reach up!

Then the other children come back into the room, and try to find the thimble. The first one to spot it gets a turn to hide it.

Simon Says
The child who is Simon stands in front of everybody and gives various commands, such as "Simon says, jump up and down!". If he doesn't say "Simon says" then the children must not do the action. If they do they are out. The last child remaining is the winner, and can have a turn at being Simon.

What's the Time Mister Wolf?
You could have an adult be Mister - or Mrs - Wolf for the first round. As this is a chasing game, you'll need enough room for your guests to run - so this game could be played outside.

Mister Wolf stands at one end of the room. The children stand in a group at the other end of the room. Slowly moving towards the wolf, they start to shout "What's the time Mister Wolf?"

If Mister Wolf says "one o'clock!" or "six o'clock", the children can continue. But if the wolf shouts "Dinner time!" they had better start to run - as Mister Wolf will chase them! The child that is "tagged" gets to be Mister Wolf for the next round.

Follow the Leader
Clear a space for this game! The children line up behind a "leader" who will then walk, hop, jump, turn around, crawl, pretend to be an animal or whatever takes their fancy! The others have to copy.

Change the leader every 10 seconds or so until everyone has had a go! You could finish your kids party games with this one as everyone falls into an exhausted heap!

Or why not check out these other game pages for more ideas:

Party games for kids - advice from a pro
A New York City party entertainer shares some fab tips on what to play, what not to play, and gives more ideas on how to make your party a success.

Toddler party games
Musical games, action rhymes and a kiddie disco are some of the ideas you can use to create a great toddler party.

Party games for toddlers
More tips, this time for those of you playing party games with toddler guests.

Birthday traditions
You might find some of these birthday traditions inspiring when planning a classic kids' birthday party.