Kids’ parties don’t need fancy entertainment. A handful of classic party games will keep a group of children laughing and busy for hours, and most of them need little more than music, a few balloons or some old newspaper.
These 25 games have been party staples for generations. They work at home, in the park or at a rented venue, and most can be adapted to any theme or age group.
Planning a themed party? We also have lists of tea party games and Christmas party games for kids. Here are the classics.
1. Musical Chairs
Set chairs in a circle facing outward, with one fewer chair than there are players.
Kids walk (or dance) around the chairs while the music plays. When it stops, everyone scrambles for a seat, and whoever is left standing is out.
Remove another chair, start the music again, and keep going until one player is left.
Not enough chairs? Try one of these instead:
- Outdoors, draw chalk circles on the pavement and cross one out each round.
- Tape paper circles to the floor. Players must stand inside one when the music stops.
- Skip the chairs entirely. When the music stops, everyone crouches, and the last one down is out.
2. Pin the Tail on the Donkey
Hang a donkey poster on the wall. Blindfold each player in turn, give them a gentle spin, and let them try to stick the paper tail in the right spot. The closest tail wins.
It’s easy to match to any theme: pin the wand on the fairy, the beard on the dwarf or the tail on the mermaid.
3. Pass the Parcel
This one takes a little prep, but younger kids love it. Before the party, wrap a small prize in many layers of paper (old gift wrap or newspaper is fine), with at least one layer per guest.
Kids sit in a circle and pass the parcel while the music plays. When it stops, whoever is holding it unwraps one layer.
Start the music again and keep going until someone removes the last layer and wins the prize.
Optional: tuck a small sweet or sticker between the layers so every child wins something.
4. Egg Toss
Hard-boil the eggs first unless you’re ready for a mess (raw eggs are funnier with tweens and teens, but only outdoors). You need one egg per pair of kids.
Partners stand facing each other a few feet apart and toss the egg back and forth. After each catch, both take a step back. Drop or break the egg and you’re out.
The last pair with an unbroken egg wins.
5. Egg and Spoon Race
Another classic outdoor race.
Each racer balances an egg on a spoon and heads for the finish line. If the egg falls, they stop, put it back and keep going (or, for a harder version, go back to the start).
Hard-boiled or plastic eggs keep things clean.
6. Sack Race
You need a burlap sack or large pillowcase for each player, or run it as a relay so teams can share.
Players step into their sacks and hop to the finish line (or to the next teammate in a relay).
First across the line wins.
7. Treasure Hunt
A treasure hunt can be as simple or as elaborate as you like.
The simplest version: hide wrapped candies around the play area, and kids keep whatever they find.
For a bit more challenge, hide tokens like plastic gold coins, painted rocks or printed pictures. The child who collects the most wins a prize.
If you have more time, write a trail of clues that leads the group from one hiding spot to the next until they find the treasure.
8. Wheelbarrow Races
A partner race that always gets laughs.
One child is the “wheelbarrow” and starts with their hands on the ground. Their partner, the “driver,” lifts and holds their legs.
The wheelbarrow walks forward on their hands while the driver steers from behind. The first pair across the finish line wins. Grass is the best surface for this one.
9. Duck, Duck, Goose
A favorite with preschoolers and kindergartners because the rules are so simple.
Kids sit cross-legged in a circle.
One child is “it” and walks around the outside of the circle, gently tapping each player’s head and saying “duck.” When they tap someone and say “goose,” they run around the circle.
The “goose” jumps up and chases them. If the tapper makes it all the way around and sits in the goose’s empty spot, the goose becomes the new “it.”
If the goose tags them first, the tapper sits in the middle of the circle (the “mush pot”) until someone else gets caught.
10. Balloon Relay Race
Running plus balloons is always a hit.
Split kids into relay teams of four to six, with half of each team on opposite sides of the play area.
Our favorite version: each player holds a balloon between their knees and hops across to the next teammate.
Another option: players run across the yard with a balloon, sit on it to pop it, then run back to tag the next teammate. The first team to finish wins.
11. Pinata
Buy or make a piñata that matches your theme and fill it with candy and small toys.
Hang it just above the kids’ head height and have everyone line up well back from the swing zone.
Traditionally, each child is blindfolded, spun three times and given a few swings with a stick. With young kids, skip the blindfold, keep everyone else well back, and let them take turns until it breaks.
12. Limbo
Two adults hold a broomstick loosely at about stomach height.
Put on some music and have kids take turns going under the stick, leaning back and bending their knees without touching it.
After everyone has had a turn, lower the stick a little. Anyone who falls, touches the ground with their hands or bumps the stick is out.
Keep lowering it each round until one limbo champion is left.
Hosting a roller skating party? Limbo on skates is a fun twist for older kids.
13. Leapfrog Race
Pair up kids of similar size and age.
Partners line up one behind the other at the start. On “Go,” the front player crouches with hands on knees and chin tucked. The back player puts their hands on their partner’s back and leaps over, legs apart.
Then the jumper crouches and the other partner leaps over them.
Pairs keep leapfrogging forward, and the first pair over the finish line wins.
14. Penguin Race
This simple outdoor birthday game needs almost no prep. Place two markers on opposite sides of the yard.
Each player holds a tennis ball between their knees and waddles back and forth between the markers. Whoever completes the most laps in 60 seconds wins.
Variation: Use water balloons at a summer or pool party.
15. Hula Hoop Pass
Split kids into teams of five or more.
Teams stand in a line holding hands, with a hula hoop over the first player’s arm. Players pass the hoop down the line by stepping and wriggling through it without letting go of hands.
If anyone lets go, the hoop goes back to the start.
For a longer game, have teams pass the hoop to the end of the line and back again.
16. Newspaper Race
This outdoor birthday activity is harder than it looks. Players line up side by side facing the finish line, each with two sheets of newspaper.
On “Go,” they stand on one sheet, lay the second sheet in front and step onto it. Then they turn, pick up the sheet behind them, lay it in front and step again.
They can only step on newspaper, and the first to reach the finish line wins.
The newspaper tears, slides and crumples underfoot, which turns a simple race into a funny test of balance.
17. Over and Under Race
Split kids into teams of six or more. Each team lines up with one small ball.
On your signal, the first player passes the ball over their head to the next player, who passes it between their legs to the next, alternating over and under down the line.
When the ball reaches the last player, they run to the front and start again.
The first team to get its original leader back to the front wins.
Variation: For a pool party or summer backyard game, pass a small cup or bucket of water instead of a ball. The team with the most water left at the end wins.
Expect plenty of shrieks when the water splashes down someone’s back on the overhead pass.
18. Captain’s Orders
Players line up facing an adult, the “Captain.” Before starting, teach a few commands and their actions, such as “Captain’s coming!” (stand at attention and salute), “Man overboard!” (pair up and pretend to row), “Scrub the deck!” (pretend to scrub the floor) and “Climb the rigging!” (pretend to climb a rope).
The Captain calls out commands and the crew acts them out. Speed up as you go, and it gets harder (and funnier).
Anyone who does the wrong action is out. For younger kids, have them do ten jumping jacks and rejoin instead.
19. Musical Statues
A great indoor classic. All you need is music.
Play upbeat music and let everyone dance. When you pause the music, everyone must freeze instantly.
Anyone who moves is out for that round. The last dancer left wins.
Preschoolers especially love it, because staying perfectly still without giggling is almost impossible.
20. Cupcake Wars
Give each child with one plain, undecorated cupcake plus an assortment of decorative options: colored frosting (in piping bags or spreadable with knives), various sprinkles, colored sugar crystals, crushed cookies, miniature candy pieces like tiny M&Ms, and tubes of edible food coloring gel.
Some kids create neat designs, others pile on every topping in sight. Either way, everyone gets to eat their creation afterward.
Judge by age group and hand out awards like “Most Creative,” “Most Colorful” and “Tallest Tower.” Check for food allergies before choosing the toppings.
21. Stack It Up!
A mix of balloon keep-up and cup stacking. Each team needs 15 plastic cups and one balloon.
Split kids into small teams. On your signal, the first player runs to the cups, builds a 5-4-3-2-1 pyramid and stacks the cups back up, all while tapping the balloon to keep it in the air.
If the balloon touches the floor, they start over. When they finish, they run back (still keeping the balloon up) and tag the next teammate.
The first team where everyone has finished wins.
Even the most coordinated kids end up frantically batting at the balloon while their pyramid collapses.
22. Pass the Poison Apple
Great for kids 9 and up who love to ham it up. Players sit in a circle, and one holds an apple.
Pass the apple around while the music plays. When it stops, whoever has the apple pretends to take a bite and acts out the most dramatic fairy-tale faint they can.
The best performance wins.
Some kids go for a long, dramatic speech, others for a quiet gasp and a graceful swoon. Both get big laughs.
23. Simon Says
Works well for kids 5 and up.
An adult gives commands, and players only follow the ones that start with “Simon says.” If you say “Simon says touch your nose,” everyone touches their nose. If you just say “Jump,” anyone who jumps is out.
The last player left wins.
Swap “Simon” for the birthday child’s name or a character from your party theme.
Start slow, then speed up and mix in a few tricky commands. Before long, even the most careful kids get caught.
24. Hide and Seek
Preschoolers and kindergartners never get tired of this one.
One child is the seeker and counts to 20 with their eyes covered.
Everyone else hides within the boundaries you’ve set. Then the seeker goes looking.
The last person found wins and becomes the next seeker.
At a home party, set clear limits on where kids can hide, and keep cars, closets that lock and appliances off-limits.
25. What’s the Time, Mr Wolf?
One child is Mr. Wolf and stands about 10 feet (3 meters) away with their back to the group.
The other players line up and call out together, “What’s the time, Mr. Wolf?” The wolf answers with a time, and the players take that many steps forward. “3 o’clock” means three steps.
They keep asking and creeping closer.
When they get close, Mr. Wolf shouts “Dinnertime!” and chases them back to the starting line.
Whoever gets caught becomes the next Mr. Wolf.
To Wrap Up
For a two-hour party, pick four or five of these games and mix active ones with calmer ones. Feel free to change the rules, add your party theme or make them easier or harder to suit your group.
And leave some time for free play. Kids often have just as much fun simply running around together.
