Fun Outdoor Birthday Party Games for Kids -Backyard Ideas

Throw a birthday party kids will remember with fun outdoor birthday party games. Easy DIY party games and ideas kids and parents will enjoy. Stop spending all that money on birthday facilities and throw an awesome party at home.

All of these outdoor birthday party games are classic party games that are simple to set up to make throwing a party at home less stressful. Plus having all the kids outside will keep your house clean (:

You’ll find great games that kids of all ages will enjoy whether it’s a large group or a smaller party and the best part is the kids will have lots of fun.

So, keep reading, to find easy ways to celebrate the perfect backyard birthday party with fun games that are sure to be a hit.

If you can’t be together in person this year consider a Virtual Birthday Party with friends or family.

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Fun Outdoor Birthday Party Games for Kids in Your Backyard

Look through our list of fun outdoor birthday party games for kids and find a few that are perfect for your child’s personality. You can even look over the list with your kids to find games they want to play at their party. They’ll love having input into their own birthday.

If you want a combination of indoor games and outdoor party games make sure to read our 30 Awesome Party Games for kids. It will give you even more fun game ideas.

Try some new Meaningful birthday traditions this year before or after the party with your family too. Birthdays are not just about the party but making the whole day feel extra special for your child.

Plan a birthday party by age group or if your child is becoming a teen check out 50 Best 13 Year Old Birthday Party Ideas too!

Backyard Scavenger Hunt

Let the kids explore your backyard with a scavenger hunt. You can break the kids up into smaller teams and give each a backyard scavenger hunt list to complete.

See which group makes it back first with a completed list and give out a small prize to that team. ( I find tons of cheap goody bag items and prize ideas at Dollar Tree)

Make sure to look over this free printable backyard scavenger hunt before the party to make sure you have everything. You can even hide a few of the items to make it more challenging.

I left open the last two spots on the printable so you could add your own unique items from your backyard.

If you want to take the kids on a walk you could also try a Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt. Older kids could go off in small groups searching your neighborhood for items and see who can make it back first. Younger children will need to go with an adult.

If the kids are a little older and enjoy taking selfies try the Pre-Teen & Teen Scavenger Hunt.

Nerf Outdoor Birthday Party Games

Kids love to play with Nerf Guns outdoors. Create some cool Nerf Targets to spread out around the yard for the kids to shoot. If your kids are really into Nerf Guns host a Nerf War party and play capture the flag.

These parties can be really fun with a few DIY bases set up in your yard. The kids can even bring their own Nerf Guns to play. We’ve done a few of these parties and they’re a huge hit with older children.

Frisbee Golf

This is super easy to do in your backyard for parties. All you need is a few buckets or trash cans spaced out around your yard. Then give each kid a frisbee to throw.

Make it a circuit to go around and have them try to throw their frisbee into the bucket.

Find more fun games like Frisbee Golf in Easy DIY Outdoor Games from Dollar Tree. Cheap & fun games to play with the kids in the backyard.

Minute to Win It Games

If you’re looking for quick games to hold the kid’s attention try Minute to Win It Games. They’re easy to play in your yard by setting up a long table to fit all the kids or set up a couple of card tables. Each table could hold a different game and the kids could rotate through the birthday games.

The goal is to complete each game in under a minute. The time limit of 1 minute is what helps these games be quick and fun for party guests.

Here are a few ideas but make sure to visit our Minute to Win It Games for more ideas.

Cup Stacking Races – See who can build a pyramid with 21 solo cups and take it down within a minute.

Straw Race – See who can move all the M&M’s from one plate to another only using a straw in under a minute. (you can use any candy)

Marshmallow Stack – Try and stack 3 marshmallows using chopsticks. (kids can use cheater chopsticks too)

If you have older kids try our Minute to Win It Games for Teens & Tweens.

Relay Race

A relay race is a simple outdoor birthday party game that doesn’t require a lot of equipment. First, create an area in your yard that will be your relay track.

Then make relay wands out of a paper towel roll. You can paste construction paper on the roll so that each team gets a different color.

Next, break the kids up into small groups so they are evenly matched. Have the kids decide the order each team member will race. Line the kids up and say go.

The first person on the team runs the track and then hands the wand to the next teammate. The next person then runs the track and hands off the wand. You do this until all the team members have run.

The first team with all their teammates making it to the end of the track is the winning team.

Related Article – Best Family Game Night Ideas & Tips

Balloon Pop Race

Balloon Games are a fun & cheap way to entertain kids at a birthday party. The Balloon Pop Race is a hilarious game that only needs some chairs and a bag of balloons. Here’s how to play:

Divide the kids up into even groups of 3-4 kids. On one end of the room put a line of chairs to match the number of groups you have. Then on the other end of the room have a start line with the kids lined up with their groups.

When you say GO the first kid races with their balloon to a chair, places it on the chair, and needs to pop the balloon by sitting on it. When they pop it they run back to their group and the next kid goes.

The first group to get all the kids to pop their balloons on the chair and make it back to the start line wins.

Get More Cool Balloon Party Game Ideas

Balloon Stomp

Another simple game to play is Balloon Stomp. It’s a great game to get all the kids up and moving.

To play Balloon Stomp tie a long ribbon to the end of a blown-up balloon. Then tie the ribbon onto each player’s ankle.

When you say go the kids will try and stomp on the other kid’s balloons while they try and guard their balloon by pulling on the ribbon. When a balloon bursts that child is out.

The game ends when the last person with a balloon still blown up is left. They are the winner of the game.

Escape Room Party

Guess what this hugely popular party game doesn’t have to actually be done in a room you can play it outdoors too. Plan a super fun escape room birthday party. Your kids will love the challenge of solving the puzzles and completing the challenge to “escape the room”.

Here’s how you play – First get the storyline and clues to solve the puzzle. We like to use the Escape Room Geeks Printable sets or Lock Paper Scissors Printable Sets. They have everything you need for the game already created for you. Just print it out and you’re ready to go.

See our full review or Printable Escape Room Games for kids to find the perfect kit & difficulty level for your kids.

Next, break the kids up into teams and give them an area to sit in the yard to work as a group. Then read the storyline to all the kids.

After that give each group the set of clues to try and solve the puzzle to break out of the escape room.

The escape room sets are created by age group so you can find one that will be easy enough for all ages at the party. The games will work for kids aged 5 years old to Teens.

Find more ideas like an escape room laser maze, invitations, decorations & more in our Ultimate Escape Room Birthday Party.

Obstacle Course

Create a backyard obstacle course. This is easier than you think. Use items that you already have in your garage to lay out around the yard. Here are a few ideas.

• place small cones or buckets for the kids to weave through
• place a longboard on bricks to walk on like a balance beam
• If you have a backyard climber have kids run through that.
• If you have a slide add that to the course
• Layout hula hoops and have kids jump or crawl through them

Make sure to create a finish line so the kids know where the obstacle course ends.

If you don’t have time to make your own obstacle course. America Ninja Warriors has a cool backyard obstacle course you could set up.

We really loved the American Ninja Warriors full ropes course we set up in our backyard. The kids used it for a party and then kept playing with it all summer.

Would You Rather

Hilarious games to play when you are in transition between games or waiting for the cake to be served. Would You Rather printables have great questions to ask kids and you’ll love their funny answers.

The perfect game to pull out when you need to fill in some time. Use our free printable Would You Rather Questions.

Try these themed Would You Rather Questions too – Would You Rather Christmas, Would You Rather Teens & Tweens, and Would You Rather Valentine’s Day 

Charades Ideas for Kids

Kids will love this fun game of Charades for Kids plus it’s super easy to run. The game can easily be played outside with the kids sitting with their teams in the grass and the person acting out the Charades standing up in front.

To play first, print out our Free Printable Charades Ideas for Kids with 144 Words & 8 Categories to choose from.

Then break the kids up into teams. You can do two larger teams or if you have a lot of kids maybe make 4 teams.

Have a bowl with the printed-out Charades words for the kids to pick from when it’s their turn.

The first player on a team has 1 minute to act out the word on their paper. If their team guesses the word before the 1 minute is up their team gets 1 point. If they don’t guess the word the other team has one chance to guess the correct answer and win the point.

Trade-off between teams taking turns until all the kids have had a chance to act out a word.

The winning team has the most points at the end of the game.

FREE Printable Charades Ideas for Kids

Hula Hoop Contest

Have a hula hoop contest with the kids. You could do this in two different ways.

The first is playing the traditional way with the kids seeing how long they can keep the hula hoop going on their hips.

The second is a hula hoop toss. Pair the kids up and line them across from each other. The kids will toss the hula hoop to their partner and see if they can catch it. Each time they catch it have the kids take a big step back and try again.

The last two kids left who haven’t dropped the hula hoop wins.

Musical Chairs

Play musical chairs outdoors with the kids. Place a line of chairs in your yard with one chair less than the number of kids playing. The chairs will be back to back so the kids can walk in a circle.

When the music plays they walk around the chairs following each other in a line. When the music stops they have to find a chair to sit on.

If they don’t find a chair they are out. Before the music starts remove one chair and play again. Keep going until only one kid is left with a seat. Whoever gets that seat when the music stops wins the game.

Potato Sack Races

Sack races are super fun and hilarious to watch. For this game, all you need are a few cheap pillowcases or sack race bags.

Have kids step into the sacks and line up. When you say go they have to hop to a designated spot. The first to cross the finish line wins.

Tip: To add another activity to the party you could buy white pillow slips for each child and let kids decorate them with markers before the big race.

Sandbox Treasure

Younger kids will love playing in the sandbox at the party. Before the party hide little items in the sand for the kids to find. I would add items that go with your party theme.

Treasure ideas – plastic dinosaurs, unicorns & fairies, superheroes, army soldiers, or construction trucks.

You could even give each kid a sand bucket and shovel for the dig. SAVE MONEY by finding buckets & small figures at Dollar Tree.

Tug of War

Play Tug of War with the kids. All you need is a large tug of war rope for the kids to pull. Tie a flag or place a colored piece of tape in the middle of the rope. This will let you know when one side passes the line you make on the ground.

Lay out the rope on the grass and have a cone or type of marking in the middle. Evenly divide the kids up on each side of the rope. Have the stronger kids at the ends.

When you say go have the kids start pulling the rope. The first team to have their flag pulled over the cone loses.

Tip: Make sure to do this game over a soft surface like grass in case they fall down while pulling the rope.

Mini Carnival Games

Set up a bunch of mini carnival games all over you yard. The kids can walk around and try all the games. You can put a basket of small prizes next to each game and let the kids know they get one prize after each game.

Give each kid a small carnival bag to collect all their prizes.

Here are a some Game Idea for Your Carnival:

• Corn Hole – bean bag toss game
• Lawn Darts
• Balloon Darts – Tie balloons to a board & throw darts
• Carnival Clown Toss
• Cone & Ring Toss – toss swim rings onto small cones
• Lawn Bowling

You could also get a carnival yard set if you don’t have time to create each game.

Limbo Outdoor Party Game

Play a game of limbo with the kids. All you need is a long limbo stick for the kids to go under and some music.

To play have an adult hold each end of the limbo stick. Line the kids up and have them try to make it under the limbo stick without touching. Each round lower the stick and see who can make it through.

Water Balloon Toss

If it’s a summer birthday party break out the water balloons. You could have a good old fashion water balloon fight or do a water balloon toss.

For the water balloon toss pair up the kids and have them stand in two lines facing their partner. Start off closer together and toss the balloon to your partner. If your partner catches the balloon they then take a giant step back.

Keep going until only one team is left that hasn’t popped their water balloon.

Tip: Get the water balloons that will hook up to your hose to fill a bunch at a time. It’s so much easier than fill each balloon up individually and you don’t have to tie the balloons.

Are you ready now to play all these fun outdoor party games for kids? I hope these backyard games will be perfect for your kid’s birthday party.

Hot Potato

This classic game for kids is always a hit with younger children. To play hot potato you need to create something to be the item the kids will pass around the circle. You can use an actual potato or try this fun Hot Potato Game that has music built in.

If you use an actual potato you’ll need to find some fun music to play during the game.

Have all the kids sit in a circle and let the birthday child hold the potato. When the music plays the kids will pass the potato around the circle. When the music stops the child holding the hot potato is out. The circle then shrinks and the kids go again when the music plays.

The game ends when the last person is left who was not holding the potato when the music stopped. They are the winner of the game.

Cheap Party Favors & Small Prizes

Kids love to get small prizes for the winning team and cool party favors at the end of the party. My secret to saving money on these is shopping at Dollar Tree. Yep, you’d be shocked how many great birthday party items you can find there. Grab cheap goody bags and all kinds of small items the kids will love.

And let’s be honest all the stuff they get in party favors is junk their moms will end up throwing out anyway so why spend a ton of money.

Get tons of ideas on what birthday items you should be shopping for in my Favorite Cheap Birthday Party Supplies at Dollar Tree.

Birthday Party Checklist

Get organized with a birthday party checklist. A list of everything you need to remember to do before the party. The checklist starts at 8 weeks before the party and ends with what to do after the party. Use it to make party planning so much easier!

Grab your Free Printable Birthday Party Checklist and get organized!

More Fun Outdoor Birthday Party Ideas

Need a few more fun birthday party ideas? Visit our kid’s party game page & birthday party ideas page.

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Free Printable Birthday Interview Questions for Kids & Teens

How to Throw a Nerf Gun Birthday Party in your backyard

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Birthday Gift Ideas

Give your kids the hottest birthday gifts this year.

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Keep Your Kids Busy This Summer – Plan an awesome Summer Camp at Home with this 30+ Page printable with everything you need.

I hope you found some fun outdoor birthday party games & ideas for your child’s next birthday!

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