Party Game Ideas

Organising a Party - Use our helpful Templates

Let us take the stress by using our Helpful Party Templates

* Party Checklist
* Invitation/RSVP Form
* Shopping List
* Drop & Go Form (for contact details if leaving child at party)

Click on form below and print!

Party Checklist

Party Invitation/RSVP List

Party Shopping List

Party Drop & Go Form

Age's 1 - 4 yrs Birthday Survival Guide by Parties to your Door

Organising/hosting a childs party can be extremely exciting and stressful all at the same time, so we have given you some pointers to help you with the preparations of Childrens Parties between the Ages 1 - 4 yrs old - Lets Party!!

First Birthday

Firstly, Congratulations to all, especially you! You have completed your first year of parenthood.

Who do I invite?
* Keep it small
* Family along with a few friends
Too many guests could be overwhelming for all

Food & Drink?
* For the grown-ups, crack open the 'bubbly', along with a few nibbles
* For the little ones - finger foods ie chopped fruit & veg sticks, breadsticks, dippy cheese

When/Where?
* Your baby with dictate the pace, try and arrange around feed/nap times
* We feel home is always good as babies feel more relaxed, as will you

Don't Stress!
Please don't expect everything to go to plan, try and make it as informal and fun as possible for all of you, feel happy should your baby fall asleep as they will have had a fun and tiring time with all the action

2nd Birthday

This year will be so different to their First Birthday, most 2 yrs olds are full of energy and you will love to focus on them and why not, it is their birthday!

Who to invite?
* Again like the First Birthday party, keep it small
* Family along with a few friends
* 3-5 little play mates

Food & Drink?
* Try and strike a balance between healthy & junk food
* Examples: mini sandwiches, cubes of cheese, stripes of veg. with dip, crisps, mini pizza slices, party sausages etc

When/Where?
* Again, home at this age maybe still be the best option, as they may be still taking a nap in the afternoon, so speak to the other Mums to work out best time for all

Don't Stress!
At the age of 2 yrs old, they tend to play but have a short attention span, so have a few toys etc around and try to go with the flow

3rd Birthday

This is the age when it really starts getting exciting and feeling like a party as your child will know their likes/dislikes so maybe a theme would be good ie Princess, Superhero or any character(s) that they love.

Who to invite?
* You & your child may have a circle of friends now, so suggest inviting only a manageable amount

Food & Drink?
* Setting a table with their themed tableware will help no end to create the feel of a party
* Again, offer a healthy balance of food

When/Where?
* Depending on the circle of friends you may need to work around pre-school/nursery times
* As we are a little older and much more active you may want to look at local Village Hall or Activity Centre
* Entertainers may seem expensive but if you do decide on a larger party, worth the money without a doubt as they tend to run the party for you, so you can enjoy it too with your child

Don't Stress!
Good to have some Mum's at hand to help supervise food table, serving drinks, tidying up, try not to do everything yourself so that you can have fun too!

4th Birthday

This is the last one before they start 'big school' and he/she will really loved to be included with all the preparations ie who to invite, where, what food to eat, theme etc

Who to invite?
* A mix of both boys and girls is good

Food & Drink?
* If themed, go for it, with all the tableware, decorations, party bags etc, they will love it!
* Would suggest serving savoury food first to fill up on so that they won't want/need so much sweet food later.

When/Where?
* Weekends are probably best now, a couple of hours is generally a enough time for fun and food
* Again you may want to look at hiring your local village hall, entertainer or going to an Activity Centre or if you are lucky enough to have a birthday in the Summer months, Paddling pool party or Bouncy castle, really good fun!

Don't Stress!
Some parents (and you) will feel comfortable to drop off their child/ren but please ensure you have enough adults to assist, generally speaking 3-4 children to an adult and make sure the child knows who will be looking after them should they need help.

Childrens Party Games

3 Blind Mince

- One person is the cat,
- The others stand in a circle round the cat,
- The cat puts their hands over their eyes and repeats.
- Three blind mice, see how they run" as many times as they wish.
- When they stop and say "see how they run NOW" The mice run away and the cat tries to catch them.
- The one to be caught then becomes the cat.

Red Yellow Blue

- Red means fast,
- Blue means normal speed,
- Yellow means slow.
- Choose different activities hopping, skipping, jumping, walking, dancing etc.
- Shout out the colours and activity.

Pass the Ball

- Line up 2 equal teams of players all facing the same way.
- The one at the front holds the ball or balloon.
- On the word go the first passes the ball over their head to the player behind who then passes the ball etween their legs to the player behind.
- Continue over and between until you get to the last player, they then run to the front of the line and start again over head and between legs.
- The winners are the team who gets their first player to the front first.

Poker Faces

- Divide the players in to 2 equal teams.
- Call the teams different names eg 1 and 2 or oranges and lemons.
- Play music, after a time switch off the music, shout out one team name, that team has to make the other team laugh, smile or move any part of their face, the players that are not "poker faces" are counted as one point each, the team with the lowest score at the end of the game are the winners.
- Repeat as many times as you want the game to last.
- Alternating the team names shouted out

Feeling Game

- Collect about 10 boxes before the party, approx shoe box size, cut a hole in the top big enough to get your hand in, cover the boxes label or number them so you know which is which. place a different object in each box.
- Blindfold the players, get them to put their hand in the box one at a time and guess what they are feeling
Eg:- cotton wool, toy dinosaur, grapes, ball of wool, uncooked spiral or bow pasta, playdough, toy spider, marbles, toothbrush, sugar lumps.
- The list can be endless, don't go for anything too messy as the kids will only end up wiping their hands on their clothes.

Squeak, Squeak

- All children sit in a circle, one child is blindfolded has a cushion and stands in the middle.
- Spin the one in the middle round 3 times,
- They then go round the circle, sit on one of the others laps and says "squeek squeek", the other player must "squeek squeek" like a piggy, if they guess whose lap they are sitting on the one sitting goes into the middle.
- Make sure that each time someone new goes into the middle everyone moves places.

Centipedes

- Make sure that you have a large enough room or best played outdoors, you can arrange a centipedes race.
- The players file up in 2 lines with their hands on the waists of the players in front of them. Near the opposite wall there stands a chair or a flag.
- On hearing the signal of the leader the teams run round the chair or the flag and return back.
- While running no one can take their hands off the waist of the person in front of them.
- If the chain is broken the team looses the game.

Fun Painter

The players must draw any picture with the brush, having boxing-gloves or mittens on their hands.

Pop the Balloon

- All the children gather in a circle, holding hands.
- Everyone moves into the center and on the birthday child's mark begins blowing.
- The circle expands getting larger and larger until you can no longer hold hands and "POP" everyone falls down laughing.
- Toddlers and young children love it! Have each child grab a balloon at the same time and try to pop it. (make sure to carefully clean up the balloon remains as they are choke hazards for young children).

Treasure Hunt

-Gear the clues to the age group. For example very young children might like picture clues, whereas older children may like riddles.
- Make sure the treasure hunt follows a clearly planned route, so that children have to find and solve each clue in the proper sequence
- Be around to help with extra clues and hints
- Make sure the treasure is something everyone can share and enjoy
- The treasure hunt party game is perfect for a pirate party and if there are boys and girls a pirate and princess party. - There is loads of great party prizes available, including gold coins, gem rings and bracelets. The "treasure" can be hidden in buckets filled with sand

We would love to hear your thoughts on our Party Games ideas, did they make the party go with a 'swing' along with your own special party games - sales@partiestoyourdoor.co.uk. Let's Party!