Magical party games for kids!

Planning a party for your child's birthday? Want party games for kids that are both fun and safe to keep your little guests happy? Along with suggestions from a professional children's entertainer?

Great! I've had the honor of interviewing Hijinx, a New York City magician and children's party entertainer.

Discover how you can organize your party games like a pro - and cut down on all that stress!

Find out which games are best for a kid's party, what to play at an outdoor birthday party, how to keep your kiddie guests fabulously entertained and more - enjoy!

What are the best types of games for children’s birthday parties?

That greatly depends upon your guests. You need to select party games for kids that are appropriate for the size of the party as well as the ages of the children and your event space.

If you’re having a small, outdoor party for a handful of children over the age of five, you have a broader choice of games than someone who’s planning a birthday party for a dozen three-year-olds in a tiny apartment.

When you’re planning a birthday party your first concern has to be the safety of your guests.

That’s why I don’t recommend playing any contact sports at birthday parties. Try to keep the activities limited to more creative games.

What are some good games for an outdoor birthday party?

For children under the age of three I highly recommend some parachute games. You can purchase a play parachute very inexpensively and there are dozens of different party games for kids you can play with it.

Spread the plate parachute out on the grass and have children circle around and hold the edge. Very young kids will enjoy the fun of lifting the parachute up high and filling it with air. As it gently floats down, two of the children run under the parachute and trade sides.
Or one child can sit in the middle of the parachute while the other kids lift it up and down around him or her.
Another idea: toss a beach ball in the middle of the parachute and the kids will have a great time shooting the ball in the air and trying to catch it back down on the parachute.

While these don’t sound like very exciting games to adults, toddlers really enjoy them!

These party games for kids don’t seem very competitive, is that deliberate?

Yes, it is!

While it is important to teach our children good sportsmanship your child’s birthday party is not the time to teach that lesson.

Very little children can get very upset when they lose a silly little game!

That’s why games that only have one winner usually backfire at a toddler’s birthday party.

Do you have suggestions for parties for kids ranging in ages from 2 to 10 years old?

When you have a broad range of ages like that it doesn’t make sense to try to get the kids to play a competitive game. The toddlers don’t stand a chance of winning most games and in fact they can get hurt. A game like "musical chairs" might seem like a game that every child can play but it can get very rough and the little ones could get knocked over by the bigger kids.

"Limbo" is a fun, somewhat physical game for kids. While they do get to move around and act silly as they try to limbo under the stick, since it’s only one child going at a time there is little chance that someone will get hurt. Plus, this is one game that the little kids have a chance of winning.

How many games should you plan for a birthday party?

In my experience, you should have about four different party games for kids planned.

Not every minute of the birthday party has to be prescheduled - kids enjoy hanging out with their friends and just goofing around, but without some structured activities they tend to get bored and even out of hand.

Try mixing games with some sort of craft project too.

Variety is the key to keeping kids entertained!

You want to give them some physical activity as well as some creative output.

What’s a good way of choosing games to play?

Ask the birthday child to help you plan the games out!

It’s their party after all, and when they get to choose the activity they’ll be much more enthusiastic about playing.

If the birthday child is excited about playing again the other kids will generally follow along.

What are some other ways to keep kids entertained at parties?

For bigger parties consider hiring a good children’s DJ. Not every DJ is the same so be sure to hire someone that’s specializes in entertaining children. Your disc jockey can bring along prizes and play games like "Name That TV Show Theme," as well as classics like "Simon Says," and "Red Light Green Light."

Organized line dancing and even a bit of karaoke can make a children’s party a lot of fun.

One very popular way to entertain children is the classic birthday party magic show.

A good children’s magician will have lots of age appropriate magic tricks and jokes in the act.

Many performers combine other skills like juggling, ventriloquism, puppetry and balloon sculpting to add variety. For most parties I recommend that this shall be no more than one hour long.

Top tips:

It’s best to have the show start during the second half of the party after the kids have worked off their energy by running around but before they become bored and looking for something to do.
Whenever you’re hiring a magician or other children’s entertainer it always makes sense to ask for and check references. Anyone can claim to be a good entertainer but very few have the skills and the inclination to be good at entertaining kids.

Hijinx is the magician New York parents call for birthday party magic shows in Long Island. This Brooklyn magician has performed hundreds of shows for children of all ages.

Thanks for those tips Hijinx! It's been great talking to you!

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