Bring some fun and excitement to your child’s next party with these hilarious birthday party games for kids. They’re easy kids party games you can create at home to keep them entertained during the whole party.
You’ll find indoor & outdoor party games the kids will love and beg for more. Get inspired for your next birthday party with our awesome party game ideas for kids.
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30 Fun Birthday Party Game Ideas for Kids
To help you find the best party games for your child’s birthday I’ve divided up the list by indoor and outdoor party games. Get inspired reading the different party game ideas and then plan your party.
Your first step in planning your party is deciding where you will host it at your home indoors or outdoors. Then pick the games you want to play and create a timeline. After that just plan the food and invitations and your set.
If you are under stay at home orders consider throwing a virtual party with fun Zoom Games for Kids. It’s a great way to celebrate with faraway relatives too.
Indoor Party Games
When you review these party game ideas keep in mind that many of the indoor games can be played outside too and vise versa.
Balloon Stomp
What You Need – Balloons, Ribbon, Candy
How to Play – Stuff a small piece of candy into a balloon then blow it up. Tie the end of the balloon to a ribbon. Then tie the balloon to each child’s leg. When you say go kid will try and stomp on the other kid’s balloons. If your balloon pops your out and the kid who stomped it gets the candy. The winner is the last child left with a blown-up balloon.
TIP – Use candy that doesn’t mush easily if stomped on. Also, have extra pieces of candy to give the kids who are out to keep anyone from getting too upset.
Hot Potato
What You Need – An actual potato or get the electronic Hot Potato that plays timed music to make it easier to run the game.
How to Play – Have the kids sit in a circle. When the music starts they begin passing the potato. When the music stops whoever has the potato is out. The winner is the last child still in the game.
Saran Wrap Candy Ball
What You Need – Pieces of Candy or small trinkets for prizes, 2 -3 boxes of Saran Wrap (Cling Wrap), 2 dice and tin pie holder (to roll dice)
How to Make Your Saran Wrap Ball – Start by laying out a couple of layers of Saran Wrap on a flat surface. Then add a prize and roll into a ball. Next, add another piece of candy in a different location and wrap a few more pieces of Saran Wrap. Rotate the ball each time you wrap it so the wrapping starts in different locations and is harder to open. Also, make sure to keep shaping it into a ball as you go.
Keep going with alternating between wrapping and adding a prize until you’ve wrapped all your prizes.
How to Play – Sit the kids in a circle to play. Each round has an “unwrapper” and dice player sitting next to each other. When you say go the unwrapper starts unwrapping and the dice play throws their dice until they get doubles. Use the pie tin to throw the dice into so they don’t roll to far.
When they get doubles the unwrapper has to stop and can keep any prizes that came out while they were playing. The ball is then passed to the dice player who now becomes the unwrapper and the player next to them the dice player. Keep going like this around the circle until you’ve come to the last prize.
Tip: I would add the best prize you are giving in first when wrapping the ball. This way the last prize of the game they open is your best item.
Musical Chairs
What You Need – Enough chairs for all the kids but one. So if you have 12 kids have 11 chairs. Plus music to play during the game.
How to Play – Place chairs in two rows with the backs of the chairs touching the row behind them. Kids begin by forming a circle around the chairs.
Next start the music and the kids walk in a circle around the chairs. When the music stops they must sit down on a chair. The kid who does not get a chair is out. Each round after someone is out, remove a chair and play again. In the end, you will have one chair and two players. Whoever gets that chair is the winner.
Laser Maze
Create a fun laser maze for the kids to climb through at the birthday party. It’s super easy to do with streamers taped across your hallway. I suggest using painters tape so that you don’t ruin the paint on your walls.
When it’s all set up let your kids try to get through the maze without touching the lasers (streamers). To make it a game-time the kids going through to see who is the fastest.
Learn more about making your own DIY Hallway Laser Maze.
Freeze Dance
This is a simple game that can be played when you need something quick to take up time and get the kids wiggles out.
What You Need – Music to Play
How to Play – When the music starts the kids start dancing. When the music stops they need to freeze. Anyone who doesn’t freeze is out. The last child still in the game is the winner.
Bingo
What You Need – Bingo Cards to play
How to Play – Kids each get a Bingo card and chips to cover their card. The parent will then call out a picture or number on the cards. If kids have it they cover that square with a chip. The first to get a row with chips wins.
Minute to Win It
Spice up your party with a few competitive Minute to Win It Games. Each game only takes a minute to play and they are hilarious to watch. You can do a few different games or just stick to one. Here are our top 20 Minute To Win It Games to play with kids at parties.
Scavenger Hunt
What You Need – Printable Scavenger Hunt clues and Prizes. (there are tons of free printable scavenger hunts on Pinterest no need to make your own)
How to Play – Hide your clues around the house and prizes before the kids start. Break the kids up into teams and give them the first clue to get started. Then let them roam the house to find all the clues and eventual prize.
TIP: Print out the clues in a different color for each team so they know when they find their clue. Then rearrange the order of clues for each team so they are not all headed to the same place at the same time.
Airplane Races
What You Need – Blank 8X11 Paper, Crayons, Paperclips
How to Play – Let the kids start out by folding and decorating their planes. Then have them line up and see who’s plane flies the furthest. To keep it going add paperclips in the next round to the tip and see if it changes the outcome.
Balloon Challenge
What You Need – Balloons
How to Play – Give each kid a balloon you’ve blown up (not helium) and see who can keep the balloon up in the air the longest without it touching the ground. Make it harder by having them keep one hand behind their back.
Capture the Flag
What You Need – Something to be a flag could be a bandana or a piece of cloth. You’ll need one for each team you have.
How to Play – A parent hides each team’s flag around the house and the team that finds their flag first wins.
Bigger Challenge – If kids are a little older make it more challenging by adding in Nerf Guns. Each team still searches for their flag but if you are shot by an opponent nerf dart you have to go back to your base and start searching over again. Get more details in our How to Throw the Best Nerf Wars Birthday Party.
Hide & Seek
This is a classic game and great for smaller kids’ birthday parties.
How to Play – One child is the seeker the others are the hiders. The seeker closes their eyes and counts to 10. While they do that the other kids hide. The first kid they find is the seeker for the next game. Continue to keep searching until all the kids are found then start another round.
Mummy Wrap
This is a great game at Halloween time but honestly, it’s really fun any time of the year.
What You Need – 2 Rolls of Toliet Paper per team
How to Play – Divide the kids up into teams. Each team then picks one person to be wrapped up like a mummy. When you say go each team will work to cover that person with toilet paper.
There are two ways you could pick winners. 1 – The first to wrap the entire body of the player. 2 – The first to go through all their toilet paper.
TIP: It’s tempting to buy the cheap toilet paper but it tends to rip easily and it is harder to wrap the mummy.
Tennis Balloon
What You Need – paper plate for each kid, popsicle stick for each kid or wooden spoons, masking tape, crayons, and balloons.
How to Play – Have each child start by decorating their paper plate and taping it to a popsicle stick or wooden spoon. Then team up kids in twos and give each team a balloon.
When you say go one player throws the balloon up and the team hits the balloon back and forth like a game of tennis. If a team’s balloon touches the ground they are out. The last team left in the game wins.
Pin the Tail on the Donkey
This is a classic game for smaller kids and is loved by all.
What You Need – Pin the Tail on the Donkey Kit with a poster, eye mask, and fake tail to pin.
How to Play – Hang the poster up on the wall and give each kid a donkey tail to pin. The first child puts on the mask and tries to pin the tail on the donkey while blindfolded. Continue by letting each child try. In the end whichever tail is the closest to the right spot wins.
TIP: If you want to do this more than one-time use painter tape on the back of the tail to easily take them on and off without ripping poster.
Indoor Bowling
What You Need – 10 Empty Water Bottles, One Soft Ball or use a kid’s bowling kit.
How to Play – Set up the water bottles like bowling pins. Then have the kids roll the ball and see who can knock down the most pins.
TIP: Set up the pins with a wall behind it so you can easily pick them up and they don’t roll all over when knocked down.
Zoom Games
Have a party with friends and family that live far away with a virtual birthday party. Kids will love playing Zoom Games like Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader, scavenger hunts, charades, bingo, and more. Get more ideas on how to play Zoom Games with kids.
Outside Party Games
If you plan to have an outside party and it ends up raining you can adjust many of these to also be fun inside party games.
Obstacle Course
What You Need – Cones, Hula Hoops, ladder, 2 sturdy buckets, long board or anything you have at home that might work in an obstacle course.
How to Play – Create an obstacle course in your backyard for the kids to run through one at a time. If you want it to be competitive time the kids to see who runs through the fastest
Obstacle Course Idea – Line up 5 cones for kids to weave through, then hop through a hula hoop, next cross a balance beam (board & two buckets), and end by running through a ladder laid flat on the ground.
This can be easily adjusted to whatever you have laying around the house. I’ve even taped cut out shapes that the kids hop through like a frog.
Piñata
Kids love to line up and hit a Pinata filled with candy or treats. You can find fun pinatas for all different themed birthday parties. Find your child’s favorite character or a cute smiley face.
Hula Hoop Contest
What You Need – Several Hula Hoops
How to Play – Have kids start hula hooping at the same time and see who can last the longest.
Tag
What You Need – Nothing except glow stick necklaces for the night time game.
How to Play – Choose one child to be the tagger and the rest run. The tagger tries to tap one of the runners. Once they do then that person is the new tagger.
Zombie Tag – The tagger is a zombie and the rest of the kids are humans. Once a human is tagged by a zombie they become a zombie too and begin tagging the humans. Whoever is the last human left is the winner.
Freeze Tag – When kids get tagged in this game they have to freeze. In order to unfreeze another kid needs to crawl between your legs to free you. But they must do this without getting tagged themselves. The last kid, not frozen wins.
Glow in the Dark Tag – Have each kid wear glow stick necklaces and play tag at night in the backyard. Before you play this make sure they have a safe place to play in the dark with no obstacles in the way or streets close by to run on.
Water Balloon Baseball
What You Need – Water Balloons, bat, bases
How to Play – Put the kids on two teams. One goes in the outfield and the other team waits to bat. The pitcher will throw 3 water balloon pitches. If the batter hits it they advance to first base and the other players move to the next base or make it home. If the batter misses all three pitches they are out. You score by making it around all the bases just like a real baseball game.
This is a really fun party game on a hot summer day.
Water Balloon Battle
What You Need – Water Balloons and a large bucket for each team
How to Play – Break kids up into two teams and each gets a bucket of water balloons. Then let the kids throw the balloons at the other team. You can do a line down the middle to keep them from getting too close with the balloons.
TIP: When the game is done tell them the faster they pick up all the balloons in the grass the quicker they can eat cake. That way they are all cleaned up before the end of the party.
Need a unique gift idea for a sport-loving kid? Sports Subscription Boxes are a monthly box filled with items for their favorite sport. Pick your child’s age then pick between baseball, soccer, football, hockey, basketball, or mixed sports. They’ll be excited every month to receive these fun sports-themed boxes.
Water Balloon Toss
What You Need – Water Balloons
How to Play – Have kids pick a partner and line up in two long lines facing their partner. Kids will throw the water balloon to their partner to catch. Start out with the kids close and after each round have the kids take two big steps backs. If you drop the balloon your team is out.
Spoon Races
What You Need – Large wooden spoons, water balloons and small cones or chairs to race around – If it’s cold you could use ping pong balls instead of water balloons.
How to Play – Give each player a wooden spoon and a small water balloon. When you say go they race around the cone and back to their starting position. The goal is to make it back without dropping the water balloon.
TIP: Don’t put too much water in the ballon so that it can fit the size of your wooden spoon.
Sack Races
What You Need – Pillow Slips for Each Player and cones /chairs
How to Play – Kids step into the pillow slip and need to hop from the starting line around a cone and back to the starting line. It’s a race so the first back to the starting line wins.
TIP: If you want to make a project out of it let the kids decorate their pillow slips before you play and then take them home as part of a goody bag.
Basketball Shooting Contest
What You Need – A basketball hoop and basketballs
How to Play – Draw chalk lines every couple of feet from the basketball hoop. Start by having the kids all shoot from the closest line. Whoever, makes it goes on to the next round and shoots from the next line. Keep going until you make it shooting from all the lines. If there is more than one kid left at that point have each shot until they miss and are out. The kid that is left is the winner.
Backyard Nerf Wars, Targets & Fortnite Battles
What You Need – Nerf Guns, Bases
How to Play – Divide the kids into two teams each with their own base. They can use nerf guns you provide or have the kids bring their own from home.
When you say go the kids try to shoot the other team with their nerf darts. If kids get shot then their out. Kids can use their nerf bases and obstacles you set up in the yard to hide behind. The team with players left at the end wins.
Get more details on Nerf War Paries, Nerf Gun Games & Targets, and Fortnite Birthday Parties for creating bases to games, goody bags, and food. Everything you need for a complete party.
Tug of War
What You Need – A large rope, and a small one to create a line
How to Play – Lay out a long rope on the grass and place a line in the middle of the rope on the ground to indicate where the players need to pull too. Divide the kids into two groups and have them stand on their side of the rope. When you say go they pull and try to get the other team to step over the line.
Birthday Party Checklist
Be ready for your upcoming birthday party with our free printable birthday party checklist. Everything you need to remember to do before the party.
I hope that you have found a few fun birthday party games for kids to use. These easy party game ideas should keep the kids entertained throughout your whole birthday party. Whether you need indoor or outdoor party games I think I have you covered.
Get some free game ideas too in our 60 Fun & Free Things to do with Kids Screen-Free.
Do you have any great game ideas you’d like to share? Please leave them in the comments I love to hear from readers.
More Fun Kids Party Ideas
Looking for a few more birthday party ideas and party games? Here are a few of our favorites.
- Virtual Birthday Party for Kids on Zoom – How to throw a virtual party with themes and game ideas.
- 10 Most Popular Birthday Party Ideas for Boys – 10 Fun Birthday Themes they’ll love
- Cheap Birthday Party Decorations from Dollar Tree – Make your kid’s birthday party look great and save money doing it.
- How to Throw the Best Nerf Wars Birthday Party – Step by step guide to easily throwing a Nerf Gun Party.
- Best Fortnite Birthday Party Ideas, Games & Supplies – Everything you need to throw a cool Fornite Birthday Party.
- 20 Easy Minute To Win It Games for Kids – Fun Party Games to play at home or at school
- Easy Elementary School Indoor Party Games for Kids – Entertaining classroom games for school parties that room parents and kids will love.
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