Original Kid Party game ideas for the 5-10 year olds
We all had such fun... " All the kids games below can be adapted to suit the age group, your house, garden and the weather. 
Those that I have indicated as an indoor party game can sometimes be played outside and vice versa. They are arranged in alphabetical order.Other Kid Party Games Ideas Artist Indoor Equipment: Large sheet of plain drawing paper, felt pens, blindfold This kid party game always attracts great laughter. Attach a large piece of plain drawing paper on the wall at child height. One child is chosen to be the artist and he is blindfolded. Ask him to draw a house and then the children take it in turns to ask him to add things to the picture such as a chimney, window, tree, people, himself. The resultant drawing rarely resembles a house but it is very funny to look at.
Balloon Chits Tear the paper into small strips and on each piece write a dare (chit). Roll up the paper and place one chit in each balloon. Blow up the balloons and tie. Each player then has to choose a balloon and burst it with the needle. Then they have to do whatever dare is written on the paper they find inside their balloon. Balloon Relay race Outdoor A kid party game best played outside with a lot of people. Divide into two or more teams and give each team a balloon. The object of the game is for the first team member to place the balloon between their knees and to hop or run to the other end of the track and back again. If the balloon drops or bursts, that person must start again. Once successful, the first player has to then pass the balloon to one of his team-mates using only his knees (no hands allowed!), who then also runs up and down the track. The first team to finish is the winner. Beetle Indoor This is a quiet indoor kid party game that is best played in small groups of 4 or 5. Issue each child with a pencil and paper and one dice per group. Take it in turns to throw the dice and depending on what number you throw, you can draw a part of your beetle. You must always start with a 6, which is the beetle body. For the legs, eyes and antennae, you must throw the required number several times depending on the body part e.g. you must throw a four twice (one for each front leg). The aim is to be the first to draw a complete beetle.Six – the bodyFive – the headFour – the two front legs Three – the four back legsTwo – the two eyesOne – the two antennae Bobbing for Fruit Submitted by Mercedes Smith PA Give each player a piece of fruit which they place in front on them in the pool. The aim of the game is to be the first to get their piece of fruit from one end of the pool to the other. But...you are not allowed to touch the fruit with your hands, just your face. Broken bottles Outdoor This outdoor kid party game is a great warm up game for other more boisterous outdoor kid party games. Use a big blow up ball for the smaller children and a tennis size ball for the seven to ten year olds. All the children stand in a circle with one player in the middle. The central player throws the ball to each child in turn. If a player doesn't catch the ball he must then on his next turn catch it with one hand only. If he misses again, he goes down on one knee and if he misses again he goes down on two knees and finally sitting down. If the player does not catch it sitting down then he is out. However if the player manages to catch it whilst kneeling or sitting, he can reverse back through the positions with each subsequent catch until he is standing again. Bubble Butt Indoor A noisy kid party game! Line up a row of chairs with a balloon on each on one side of the room and get the children to sit in a row on the floor opposite the chairs. It's best to tie the balloons to the chair to stop them blowing off. On the signal to go, all the children must rush over to a chair and sit on the balloon, trying to pop it using only their body weight. Once done they must rush back to their place on the floor. First one back is the winner. Bubble Gum Blowout Submitted by Amie Spence, Surrey UK Each person has a plate in front of them with some cream on andunderneath the cream a piece of bubble gum. The object of the game is to stick your face in the cream and find the gum - no hands!. The first person who manages to blow a bubble with their bubble gum 'wins'. Cards in the HatIndoor A kid party game to test their skills. You will need 2 packs of cards (make sure each pack has a different back), and a hat. Split the kids into two teams. Place the hat on the floor and stand each team about 2 metres from the hat and opposite each other. On the count of three, each team member takes it in turns to attempt to throw a card into the hat. It doesn't matter that both teams are throwing at the same time as it adds to the fun. When all the cards have been thrown, count the ones that have landed in the hat. Each card from two to ten counts as one point. The Royal cards and the aces count as two points each. This game is surprisingly difficult so you could adjust the distances. Catch the Balloon Indoor A popular kid party game that is so simple. Get everyone to select a piece of paper with a number on which they then pin to their chest. The child with the highest number is given a balloon. The kids then all dance round the room to the music and when the music suddenly stops, the child with the balloon has to throw it in the air and shout out one of the numbers. Whoever's number he shouts out, has to run and catch the balloon before it reaches the floor. There is much hilarity as everyone tries to remember what their number was and to move the other players out of the way in order to catch the balloon. If he is successful, he then has the role of the balloon thrower in the next round. Cherry Drop Outdoor A kid party game for when the weather is good. One child is elected to be the cherry tree, he is blindfolded and stands with his arms and fingers outspread like branches. The other players are the cherries on the tree and they each grab hold of part of the branches. The cherry tree then says "Are you ready?" When the cherries shout "Yes", the cherry tree counts to ten as fast as he can whilst the cherries run from the tree. When the cherry tree gets to ten, he yells "Cherry drop!" and all the cherries have to stop running and stand still. The blindfolded cherry tree has to then find and touch all the cherries. The last cherry to be gathered up is the winner and becomes the next cherry tree. Chocolate Dice Game Submitted by Karen Niederer, NSW Australia Players sit in a circle with all items in the middle taking turns to roll the die. Once a 6 is thrown the player must quickly put on the hat and apron, take up the knife and fork and commence to cut and eat small pieces of chocolate but only using the fork. They are allowed to continue until another player throws a 6 and whereupon the eater must immediately stop, remove and pass all items to that player who in turn dresses up and starts to eat the chocolate. Tip: Players should predetermine the size the chocolate should be cut to when eating. Cotton Balls Indoor This is an hilarious kid party game and quite frustrating to watch. It's best to let one person at a time play as it's just as much fun to watch. Place the two chairs opposite each other about 2 metres apart. On one chair place a bowl of cotton wool balls and on the other an empty bowl. Blindfold the chosen player, give them a few twirls and then place them in front of the bowl of cotton wool balls. Using the ladle, they then have to try and scoop up a cotton wool ball (or more) and carefully carry it and place it in the bowl on the opposite chair. It's quite funny to watch as the cotton wool is so light that they are never sure if they are carrying anything or not. Set a time limit of one minute so that everyone gets a go. The winner is the person who transferred the most cotton wool balls. Cut the Cake Indoor This is a fun kid party game where the loser wins! Before the party you need to prepare a flour cake. Fill a pudding bowl with flour and carefully upturn the flour onto a plate. With even more care, place a sweet on top. At the start of the game, lay a big sheet on the floor to catch any mess and sit the children in a circle around the flour cake with the spare plate next to it. The object of the game is to take it in turns to cut a slice of the cake with the spoon and deposit it on the spare plate without letting the sweet fall. The child who causes the sweet to fall has to then use his mouth to get the sweet out of the flour. Thus the loser gets to eat the sweet and have a very floury face! Dare to Dare Submitted by Olivia Brown Indoor Equipment: Large bowl, pen and paper, music In advance write down some age appropriate dares on separate pieces of paper. Place these in a large bowl and have the kids sit in a circle. Whilst the music plays, the kids pass around the bowl of dares and when the music stops, whoever is left holding the bowl has to pull out a dare. They MUST read it out loud and then perform it. Dragons and Snatchers
Submitted by Bob Hope The object of the game is to obtain the dragons egg. Select one person to be the dragon. Then set a small object on the ground (like a ball) to be the 'dragons egg'. The dragon then has to guard this egg from the snatchers (the rest of the group). If the dragon can touch any Snatchers trying to take the egg, they are frozen. But any snatcher who has not been frozen can unfreeze their friends by touching them. The game concludes when either a snatcher obtains the dragons egg, and carries it a short distance to a base, or when all of the snatchers are frozen. In the case of a snatcher obtaining the egg and taking it to a base, that snatcher gets to pick who the next dragon will be. In the case of the dragon freezing all of the snatchers, then that dragon gets to pick who the next dragon will be. (The dragon cannot choose himself) Ducks and Chickens Submitted by: Shireen Mackay, NSW Australia In advance hide some treasure in various places. Pick 2 team captains and have them choose their team one at a time. The groups are called 'Ducks' and 'Chickens' with their leaders called 'Mother Duck' and 'Mother Hen'. The leaders are blind folded and then the teams of ducklings and chicks have to rush off and find the treasure. When they find some they mustn't take it but must instead say "Quack quack" or "Cluck Cluck" in order to attract their mothers attention. She must find them and then collect the treasure. The funny part of this is that they cannot touch them and they cannot call them by name. The team with the most treasure at the end is the winner! Eye Witness
Indoor Boys seem to love this kid party game. Explain that there has been a robbery and a suspicious character was seen leaving the scene of the crime. Choose a volunteer and take him out of the room and dress him/her in an assortment of clothes. The funnier the better and use props such as a rolled up newspaper, glasses, false moustache. You then announce to the other children that the suspect was seen running away and that they have been asked to give an accurate description of him. As you shout "Police", the child outside runs into the room and runs/walks quickly round it (maybe twice if your room is small) and the other children have to write down anything that he was wearing or carrying. The one with the most accurate list wins and he becomes the next burglar. Follow the onion
Submitted by Holly Fayers,Australia Prior to the game someone makes a path by rubbing a half an onion onto poles and trees as a marker. Depending on the number of people present you can then either all go as a group or split into teams with one person blindfolded. The blindfolded teammate then has to sniff out the onion path to get back to where you started. Goldilocks
Indoor This is a great kid party game for a large group and for getting the kids to be quiet for a bit. One child is chosen as daddy bear and goes out of the room whilst everyone else gets right under the blankets and duvets. The daddy bear then renters the room and gently prods each cover and says, "Who's sleeping in my bed?" The covered child must reply "Goldilocks" but in as disguised a voice as possible. If daddy bear guesses correctly who is under the covers, the person must come out but if he guesses wrong then the person says "No" and stays put. The last person left under the covers is the winner and becomes the next daddy bear. Hares and Hounds
Outdoor This is an immensely popular kid party game especially with boys over the age of 7. You really need a large space so a park or wood where you can lay trails would be perfect. Choose two people to be the hares and the rest of the kids are the hounds. The hares run off and lay trails with chalk, sticks, stones, cloth and arrows drawn in the dirt. They are allowed to draw false trails but so long as they lead to a cross on the third marking so that the hounds will not try and go further. Any change in direction must also be clearly marked. The hares have a fifteen minutes head start and then the hounds set off to try and catch them before the hares trail leads back to base. If the hares reach base without being caught, they have won the game. Harold and Gertrude
Indoor A kid party game for those kids who like a bit of action. Choose two people to be Harold and Gertrude. Blindfold Harold and give him a rolled-up newspaper. Place him in the middle of the circle of children who are holding hands. As the children move around in a circle (they can walk or run), Harold shouts out "Gertrude" and Gertrude must answer "Harold". Harold must try and find her by the sound of her voice and to tap her with the newspaper. Of course as the circle moves, Harold will probably end up bopping the other children but they must try and avoid getting bopped by accident. If they are bopped they are out of the game. Once Harold finds Gertrude, the kid party game starts again. Hot Potato pants
Indoor This is an hilarious kid party game when played by both boys and girls – adults love it too! Before the party, collect together a variety of clothes such as hats, dresses, shorts, frilly tops, cloth nappy and so on, and place them all in a big bag. Sit everyone in a large circle and as the music plays, they have to pass the bag around like a hot potato. As soon as the music stops, the person left holding the bag has to put his hand in (no peeping) and pull out an article of clothing, which he/she then has to put on. The game caries on till all the clothes are finished and the prize goes to the one voted as the funniest dresser. Have your camera ready for this one as to see the class bruiser decked out in dress can be quite amusing. I'm in the River Outdoor Equipment: A long plank of wood or length of rope. This is a fun kid party game for a crowd. Everybody stands on the plank or rope with one person in front and facing them. When that person calls out "In the river", all the players have to jump forward. If he calls out "On the bank", they all jump backwards. But the tricky bit is, if the person calls out "On the river" or "In the bank", everybody must stand still. Anyone who wobbles the slightest is out. Jump Ball
Outdoor This is a good kid party game for any number of kids. Wrap the ball in a piece of cloth or netting and tie a string to that. Players stand in a large circle with one person in the middle holding the ball by the string. As the central person swings the ball at ankle height, the other players have to jump over it. If the ball touches a player, he is out. Long Jump
Outdoor A kid party game that tests their jumping skills. Divide the kids into two even teams and choose a leader for each. Place a stick as a starter marker on the ground and each team lines up behind their stick. The leader starts by jumping forward as far as he can go in one leap. The next team member has to then jump from where the leader landed and so on down the line until the last player has a turn. The team which jumps the furthest wins. Melting Memory
Indoor This kid party game is great for quietening down an excited group. In advance of the party find fifteen to twenty small objects from around the house and place them on a tray. You could include such items as a pen, spoon, thimble, toy car, playing card. Sit the children in a circle and issue each with a pencil and paper. When they are ready place the tray in the middle of the circle and give the children three minutes to study and memorise the objects. When the three minutes is up, remove the tray and the children then have to write down as many objects as they can remember. The winner is the one with the most correct answers. Some children panic at not being able to spell the words so allow them to draw a simple picture of the item if they prefer. Minefield
Outdoor You need quite a big space for this kid party game and maybe ear mufflers, as there will be a lot of shouting! Divide the kids into two teams. Lay out all the boxes and chairs - these are known as the mines. Blindfold one person from each team who then has to navigate through the minefield under the verbal guidance of their team mates. If either player touches a mine, they have to stop for a count of ten. When the player finally reaches the end of the minefield, they remove the blindfold and run back to the start and another of their team mates has a turn. The winning team is the one to get all its members through the minefield first. Mummy wrap
Indoor A kid party game that involves the adults!Divide the kids into two or more teams and choose one member of each team to be the mummy. Actually it's more fun for the kids to have two real mummies if you get what I mean!! Give each team a toilet roll or two and on the signal go, they have three minutes to wrap the mummy in as much toilet roll as possible and without leaving any gaps except for the nose. Have your camera ready for this one, as it's really hilarious. Musical Pillows
Indoor This kid party game is a variant of 'pass the parcel' but much more boisterous. Sit the children in a circle and give one of them a large pillow or cushion. As the music plays, they must throw the pillow to someone who must hold it for one second before throwing it to someone else. When the music stops, the person left holding the pillow is out of the game. New Aged Drawing Submitted by Bailey Braden TN, United States Everyone sits in a long straight line except for 1 person who draws a simple image on a piece of paper (such as a flower) and shows it to the last person in line. That person then draws the image on the next person's back using their finger. This person then draws the picture (or what they think it is!) on the back of the next person and so on until the image reaches the front. The last person tries to draw the image on a piece of paper and shows it to the person who drew the original picture and sees if it is correct. THERE IS NOOOO TALKING! Pass The Toilet Paper Submitted by Nancy Tello, Wisconsin, US This game is fun for everyone young and old. Have 2 teams, split each team in half and place them facing each other across the yard. One side has a plunger and the other side has a roll of toilet paper. A team member from each side places either the plunger or toilet paper between their legs and they then walk towards each other. Once they meet, they have to try and get the toilet paper onto the plunger - no hands allowed! When they do, they take it off and they each run back to their team sides and pass the plunger and toilet paper to another set of team players. And so the game continues. The team that can do this with each player first, wins. Penalty Kick
Outdoor This is a great kid party game for the boys and gives even the non-sportive child a chance. Place the ball 2 metres away from the goal post. Select one child at a time and explain that this is their chance to score a goal with no goalkeeper to stop them. The tricky part is that they are blindfolded and then placed five or six paces from the ball. To make it even harder you could turn them round several times before they attempt their penalty kick. Tell them to run five paces up to the ball and kick. It is hilarious to watch especially if the child runs in completely the wrong direction. Piñata
Outdoor Piñatas are becoming increasingly popular and is a great kid party game for all ages. How to make a pinata plus the rules and history. It's great fun. Pop on Pop
Outdoor Play this kid party game outdoors and on a warm day. Split the children into two teams and assign one adult (preferably a dad) to each team. The adults sit on the floor holding an empty bottle on top of their head. When the whistle blows, each team has to rush to a bucket of water, fill up a paper cup and then rush back and pour it into the bottle that sits on their "pop's" head. The game continues until one of the pop bottles is full or when pop feels totally drowned! Red light, Green light
Outdoor A kid party game that needs lots of outdoor space. Choose one child to be 'IT'. The 'IT' turns her back on the other players and calls out "Green light, one, two, three, four, five, Red light!" As soon as she says green light, the other kids start running towards 'IT' but as soon as she says red light, the kids must stop perfectly still. If 'IT' catches one of them moving, that player must go back to the starting line. The player who manages to touch 'IT' on the shoulder is the winner and becomes the next 'IT'. Red Rover All Over
Outdoor You need lots of kids for this kid party game and a large space. Everyone lines up on one side of the garden except one person who stands a few metres in font of them. When he shouts "Red Rover all over", everyone must run down to the other side of the garden and past him whilst he tries to catch someone. Whoever is caught becomes his partner and together they try to catch more people when the children run the other way. The game continues until there is one person left to catch and he/she is the winner. Sardines to the tin
Outdoor Play this kid party game outside where there are lots of good hiding places. One person hides whilst all the others count to one hundred. Everybody then sets of separately in search of the hidden person. Once one person finds him/her, they then hide with them in the same place. The game carries on until everyone is hiding together except for one lone wanderer who can't find you. 52 Scatter
Outdoor This is another of my childhood favourite kid party game. You need a large outdoor space with plenty of hiding places. Pick a spot such as a large tree as home base and choose one person as the catcher. The catcher stands at the base with his eyes shut and counts to fifty-two out loud. Whilst counting, the other children run off and hide. When the catcher gets to fifty-two, he shouts "…Fifty-two, coming ready or not". He then sets off to find the other players. If he spots one, he must rush back to base, touch it and say, for example, "I spy John behind the green shed". However if John knows that he has been spotted he can try and race the catcher back to the base. If he is successful at getting there first, he becomes the next catcher. Scavenger Hunt
Outdoor/Indoor
This is a great kid party game if you need some time to get the food ready and don't want the children milling round you. It is best played in a park or wood unless you have a very big garden. In advance, make a list of twenty things that the children have to find, such as a yellow leaf, sweet wrapper, bus ticket, pebble. Each player (or more if they are in teams) is given the list and a bag and then has twenty or thirty minutes to find all the items. The winner of this kid party game is the first person or team to return with all the objects ticked off on their list. If you need help in planning, scoring and just getting scavenger game ideas, have a look at these scavenger hunt planners. They give you stacks of ideas and do all the clues automatically for you. Brilliant if you are short on time.
Riddlle Me Scavenger Hunt SchoolIndoor The kid party game is played on a short flight of stairs. One child is elected the teacher and the others are the pupils and they start off sitting on the lowest step. The teacher hides the pebble or coin in a fist and asks the children to guess which hand it is in. If they guess correctly they move up a step and if they get it wrong they move down a step. (If they are on the first step they stay where they are). The winner is the first person to reach the top step and then he/she becomes the teacher. Shipwreck Outdoor/Indoor This is a great kid party game for a large group of kids and one that the smaller size kids can do well in. Use a large room or garden where there are various items of large furniture or objects that you don't mind the kids clambering on. One person is chosen to be the captain and then all the kids run round the garden or room. As soon as the captain shouts "Shipwreck – bench" for example, the kids all have to rush to the bench and climb on it. The last one on is said to have sunk in the sea and is out of the game. As more and more players are out, the captain names smaller and smaller things to climb on. Sitting Duck Indoor This kid party game is better suited to a group of kids who know each other. Sit the children in a circle except for one player who puts on the gloves and blindfold. Spin that person round several times and then guide them to the centre of the circle. The blindfolded player has to then feel his way towards a person, place the cushion on their lap and then sit on them. He then says, "Who are you?" and the person should say "Quack, quack" but in a disguised voice. If the sitter guesses correctly whose lap he is on the two players then switch places. If he guesses incorrectly, he must move on to another lap. The idea of the gloves is to stop the blindfolded person from feeling the other persons face or hair as it would then be easy to guess who it was. Spin the Bottle Indoor My teenager (just) son just loves this kid party game although he tends to put a different spin on it - if you get what I mean! Everyone sits in a circle with a plastic bottle in the centre. One person spins the bottle and whoever it points to has to do a dare chosen by the person sitting to their left, such as sing a song or pretend to be an animal. Alternatively you could write out some dares in advance on pieces of paper that are put in a bowl and the person has to pick one out. Spooky Dooky Submitted by Karen Johnson from California A twist on an old favorite kid party game. Hide and go seek, in the dark! Designate an area as the 'Safety Zone'and choose one person to be the 'Seeker'. For more fun, split up into groups of two or three and go off to hide together. The seeker must count to 30 and all lights must be off. You may only run if the seeker sees you, but if you get to the safety zone without being tagged you are still in. The more people, the more fun this kid party game will be. Sticky Toffee Outdoor This kid party game is a variation of tag but more complicated and more fun. Someone is chosen to be the Sticky Toffee. All the other children run off and the Sticky Toffee has to try and catch one of them. Once caught, that person is stuck to the Sticky Toffee by joining hands and together they have to run off and catch more players. Eventually there is a long line of Sticky Toffee chasing after one child who is declared the winner. Stop The Bus! Submitted by Joanne Mc Hugh from Ireland Give pen and paper to each child and on the paper they must draw a grid with 5 columns and several rows. At the top of each column they must wrtie a category such as: Stuck in the MudOutdoor This kid party game is a variant of tag that I loved playing as a child. One child is chosen as IT and he has to try and catch the other children whilst running around. Once caught, the player has to stand in one spot with his legs apart, arms outstretched and shout for help. Another free player can then run and crawl between his legs to free him. If large numbers of children are playing it is sometimes easier to have two or three ITs to make it easier to catch people. Tower BuildIndoor A kid party game that is harder than it sounds. Sit the children in a circle and in the middle place six building blocks, the bowl of sweets and the boxing gloves. The children take it in turns to roll the dice. If they get a six, they must rush to the centre of the circle, put on the gloves and attempt to build a tower of six blocks before the next person throws a six. If they are successful they get to take a sweet from the bowl. You can vary this game by using chopsticks or spoons instead of the boxing gloves and use a different number of bricks depending on the age range of the children. Treasure Hunt Indoor/Outdoor All kids love a treasure hunt. For my son's last birthday (he was 11) I used this excellent Treasure Hunt party planner. Nikki Wilson the designer, made it all sound so easy. We will use it again next year I am sure.
Under and Over Outdoor Arrange the kids into two teams. Each team lines up its players one behind the other and with their legs apart. The first person in each team bends down and tosses the ball backwards and between his legs to the player behind him. The next player catches the ball and then tosses it backwards and over his head to the player behind him. This under and over process continues until the last player has the ball. He takes the ball and runs to the front of the line and the process begins again until the first person in each team has worked his way back to the beginning. The first team to finish is the winner of this kid party game. Up Jenkins Indoor This kid party game is best played with a maximum of 10 children unless you have a huge table. Split the children into two teams and sit them opposite each other at a table. One of the teams has a small coin, which it must try and keep hidden from the other team. The members of the team pass it to each other beneath the table until the leader of the opposing team says "Up Jenkins". They must them put their clenched fists on the table and the other team have to guess who has the coin. The leader may say:"Creepy crawly" – this means moving the fingers in a kind of crawl."Flat on the table" – unclenching hands and laying them flat."Wibbly wobbly" – turning clenched fists over and back again.They only have one guess and if they guess correctly, they then take the coin and the game starts again. If not the team with the coin has another go. Other Resources Kids Games Explained Kids Games For Playing Party games for toddlers Party games for older kids Main kids party games page Return from Kid Party Game to Home Page Have a Great Party Game for a 5 - 12 year old?Do you have a great game idea? Share it! What Other Visitors Have SaidClick below to see game ideas from other visitors to this page...
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