Kids' party games

[Gwylan]

Mrs G and I organising a birthday party for our daughter and are putting together a list of games suitable for 3 and 4-year-olds. We've already got Musical Statues, Pass the Parcel and Sleeping Lions and are looking for some more suggestions.

We've ruled out Musical Chairs, as that's an accident waiting to happen and O'Grady Says, as that's too complicated for them. Any other suggestions from the combined wisdom of NSC?

 

[Shizuoka Dolphin]

Pin the tail on the donkey - good clean fun and will gererate lots laughs when one of them pins the tail where the willy should be.

 

[Gully]

How about British Bulldog, Slaps and Chicken.

 

[Gwylan]

Pin the tail on the donkey would require a bit of equipment, but it's a possibility.

 

[Starry]

We play Desert Islands instead of musical chairs, with card islands instead of chairs.

Does the party have a theme? A treasure hunt, a small craft (drawing on paper plates is always popular around here for some reason or making their own placemats to sit down to eat at.)

Singing - a very basic Simon Says has always gone down well at that age here.

I think three games is enough though, by the middle of the second at parties here the children have lost interest and want to do things on their own schedule and not be tied into a game. A stack of over stimulated kids would be horrific! We play two games usually, have a piñata, a small craft and do food. We don't open presents at the party after an unfortunate incident when two children who were the givers melted down and wanted several of my daughters new toys. At that age most kids don't understand they're not taking the present home again. We open after the party when all the children are gone and send thank you notelets with a picture of child and gift instead.

Have fun!

 

[Gwylan]

Thanks Starry, there are some great ideas there (what's a piñata though?)

We thought of having more games, as the last couple of parties that our daughter went to didn't have enough. Kids were doing their own thing for a lot of the time and there was no unifying structure - particularly important in this case, as there will be quite a few kids who will know only my daughter and no-on else there.

 

[Brovion]

Thanks Starry, there are some great ideas there (what's a piñata though?)

It's basically a hollow donkey full of sweets. You hang it up and kids take it in turns to whack it with a stick until it splits open and reveals its contents.

With its underlying element of animal cruelty it's no surprise to find it's a Spanish/Mexican custom.

 

[Frutos]

Thanks Starry, there are some great ideas there (what's a piñata though?)

A piñata is a hollow object (usually in the shape of an animal) that you hang up and fill with sweets, then the kids use sticks and such to hit said object until it breaks and the sweets fall out, at which point they get eaten (the sweets, not the kids).

It's a Mexican or Spanish (not sure which) invention, and you can buy a variety of them in your local Woolworths these days.

 

[Starry]

I think structure is good, there is nothing worse than a roomful of bored three/four year old but at the same time we had a disaster of a party a few years ago when they all ended up over stimulated, nobody wanted to wait their 'turn' and everyone was whiny.

I really like the piñata thing, we make our own a few days before the party and it's become a 'Birthday girl/boy' tradition around here.

I started writing about ours but it got long and complicated -

http://www.chevroncars.com/learn/fun-games/how-to-make-pinata

It's pretty good fun, you might only want to do two layers since the children are small.

 

[Spunk Bubble]

Tag Wrestling

 

[TonyW]

Pin the tail on the donkey - good clean fun and will gererate lots laughs when one of them pins the tail where the willy should be.

Nail the Palace fan to the donkey

 

[Nibble]

Simple treasure hunt supervised by you guys. If you have a sand pit bury goodies in there and they can be pirates!

 

[TonyW]

Simple treasure hunt supervised by you guys. If you have a sand pit bury goodies in there and they can be pirates!

When I was kid, I once found a "goodie" in a sand pit at the local park.
Mum wasn't too pleased though

 

[Man of Harveys]

It's basically a hollow donkey full of sweets. You hang it up and kids take it in turns to whack it with a stick until it splits open and reveals its contents.

With its underlying element of animal cruelty it's no surprise to find it's a Spanish/Mexican custom.

Tsk. You racist.

Oddly, they're also quite popular in schools in Phoenix, Arizona, especially on "cinquo de Mayo", which I think might be Mexican independence day - a strange thing for the locals to celebrate but there we are. I had several swings and misses at a pinata at school while we lived there, then took more than my fair share of the sweets at the end, obviously.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

play pass the parcel!!!!

[edit] bollocks, already suggested!!!