Games are a must for every child's birthday party, especially for pre-teen children between the ages of five and ten. You should have two to three games ready to go, keeping the third in reserve if you find you have extra time on your hands before the party is scheduled to end. Plan to play games before you gather the children together for opening presents and sitting down to cake and ice cream. After playing a few fast games they will be more ready to sit still for a few minutes.
You don't want to have to spend a fortune on childrens' birthday party games. It will cost enough to provide some small prizes, and a small goody bag if that's the custom in your area. We'd like to see the goody bags go away, but in most areas that's a "fat chance" dream.
Here are two games you can set up easily either indoors or out, so you don't have to worry about bad weather. Whenever possible, of course, plan to play outside where there's plenty of room to run off excess energy and fewer breakable objects.
Drop the Penny
You will need: 1) for each child one or two pennies, poker chips, or any other flat token that is fairly small and easy to carry, 2) four identical plastic bowls that will not tip over easily, 3) a strip of tape to mark the starting line for each team.
Place a bowl close to each team's starting line, and two bowls a straight-line distance away. You can place them further apart if you are playing outdoors. Fill the "distant" bowl for each team with your pennies or other tokens.
Divide the children into two teams, lined up behind each other at the starting line. When you call "GO," the first player on each team runs to the team's distant bowl and picks up two tokens, one in each hand. She runs back to her team's bowl at the starting line and tries to drop one item into the bowl without letting her hand drop below her waist. She then turns and drops the item in her other hand into the bowl in the same way and taps the next player in line, who then does the same.
When every player has had a turn, the team with the most pennies or other items in their bowl wins.
For younger children, use large bowls to catch the dropped items. The older the children, the smaller you can make the bowls, within reason, of course. Try this yourself - it's not easy to drop something accurately with your "other" hand!
Sweep/Bat the Ball
This is another easy relay race that works for any age group:
You will need: 1) two lightweight brooms or bats to sweep with, one for each team - croquet mallets also work well outdoors; 2) two lightweight rubber balls, the bigger the better; 2) Tape for marking start and finish lines.
Line the children up into two teams. Avoid letting anyone choose teams, as this rapidly deteriorates into a popularity contest. Give the first child in each line a broom or a bat.
The object of the game is to sweep or bat the ball along the ground from the starting line to the finish line. The ball may not be touched in any way except by the broom or bat until after it has crossed the target line. The ball must move along the ground, not in the air. If the ball leaves the ground the child must return to the starting line and begin again. This rule prevents any clever athletic type from destroying your indoor furnishings or losing the ball over a fence outdoors.
Place a ball on the starting line in front of each team. When you say "GO," the first child on each team sweeps or bats their ball to the finish line. When the ball crosses the finish line the child picks up the ball and runs the ball and the broom or bat back to the next person in line. The next child places the ball on the ground without stepping over the starting line and does the same. The first team to finish wins.
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