Fun games for children's party | For every age + fun themes

by Joost Nusselder Updated on: September 12, 2023

Playing games during a children's party will create a cozy atmosphere among the little partygoers.

How you organize a children's party and which games are best to choose depends on the age of your child and the location of the party.

In addition, it is of course also very important that you take into account the interests of your child and his or her boyfriends and girlfriends.

There are fun and suitable games for every children's party, whether you celebrate it indoors or outdoors.

In this article we will discuss all kinds of fun games for children, for every age and with various themes.

We are sure that every children's party with these games will be a great success!

In any case, keep in mind that it is better to prepare too many games than too few.

This way you prevent the kids from getting bored.

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Children's party games for 5 year olds?

A five-year-old really doesn't need much to have a forgotten day. So keep it nice and simple.

We will give you some ideas that may have even occurred to you.

• Cookie bites
• Balloon pricks
• Musical chairs

Cookie bites you can play both indoors and outdoors and requires little preparation.

All you need is gingerbread and a string to hang the slices from.

'Balloon pricks'is very exciting!

Put candies or assignments in the balloons and let the kids pop the balloons one by one.

The assignments can be, for example, doing a somersault, hopping on one leg (they can do it from this age), and so on.

The crazier the assignment, the more fun. It will be a lot of fun!

The musical chairs you can also go outside if the weather is nice. Everyone knows how the game works!

Children's party games for 6 year olds?

Is your little one turning 6 years old and throwing a children's party?

Then you might need some inspiration.

We will give you some ideas of activities or games that you can let the kids do or play.

• Bakken
• Who am I?
• Blind tasting

Have a nice time ground with your 6-year-old's birthday party!

You can choose to bake cookies or bread at home, but it is of course even more fun to celebrate the children's party in a real bakery!

Most of us know the board game 'how am I ?'. But you can just as easily play the game with sticky notes!

Think of familiar people the children may know in advance, print out their photos and stick them on paper.

The child whose turn it is to receive such a memo pasted on his or her forehead and must find out who he or she 'is' by asking yes and no.

The third option is to blind tasting.

Prepare things like jam, soy sauce, lemon, peanut butter, yogurt and let kids guess what they taste blindfolded.

It's a very simple game, but children often get very excited about it!

Children's party games for 7 year olds?

Your son or daughter is already 7 years old, and that is of course reason for a fantastic party!

Curious which games are interesting for children of that age?

We list a few below.

• Treasure hunt with a hidden treasure
• Three legged race
• Depict

How about an exciting one scavenger hunt through the woods?

In the forest, you indicate the route with arrows or piles of stones, for example.

You can then add a command or a letter to each arrow or indication that they should write down. All the letters that the kids collect during the walk together form the answer to the place where the treasure is!

The treasure can be treats and drinks, or a small gift for each child.

If the weather is nice outside and you have the space, then you can '3 leg race' to do.

How does it work?

Make groups of two kids and tie one leg of each child to his or her buddy's (using a rope).

The children are now racing against each other. That will make for a lot of fun scenarios!

The game 'portray'is always a success.

One of the children is instructed to act out something for the rest of the group. This can be a profession, an act or a person.

The child who answers correctly wins.

Children's party games for 8 year olds?

When your child reaches the age of 8, that is of course very special!

That should be celebrated with the family, but certainly also with the friends.

Curious about our games tips? Then read on!

• Children's escape room
• Survival scavenger hunt
• Forehead ball

If you want to celebrate the party on location, you can, for example, opt for a 'children's escape room'.

By following certain clues and solving puzzles, the goal is for the kids to escape from the room within a certain time.

There are a lot of these escape rooms with different themes.

Take into account the age and the maximum number of people.

If your little one is especially very adventurous, you can think of one survival scavenger hunt.

Have the kids use catapults and make a campfire.

You can also build a raft with the kids (check in advance if you know someone who can help you with this). Take the kids to the other side of the ditch to find treasure.

You can also let children crawl under a net and we see the fastest is.

You can also organize a survival quiz.

Did you ever like 'forehead ball' heard?

In this game, children are supposed to race in pairs with a ball between their foreheads.

If the ball falls, the team must start over.

Is the game too easy? Then use a book (or an egg!).

Children's party games for outside?

There are so many fun outdoor games to think of.

Depending on the age of your child, some games are of course more fun and challenging than the other.

We give you some nice examples.

• Bowling
• Sack racing
• Bottle football

Bowling: Provide ten bottles and fill them with water or different types of lemonade. Put them in a V shape.

The children now have to take turns trying to knock over as many 'pins' (bottles) with a ball.

Whoever knocks over the most bottles wins!

The old fashioned game 'sack race', little is needed for that. Just some jute sacks and a trail.

Let the kids race against each other in the burlap sacks. Whoever has completed the course fastest has won!

Also 'bottle football'is an easy to organize game.

You are supposed to kick the bottle of your opponent with a ball until it is empty.

Whoever gets an empty bottle first has lost.

Children's party games for indoors?

Do you dread entertaining a whole group of children at home?

That's not necessary!

Because there are a lot of games out there that are easy to organize and do well indoors.

The kids will have a lot of fun, that's guaranteed!

• Musical chairs
• Bump dance
• Dress up bag game

Who does not know him, the musical chairs! Arrange as many chairs as the number of children in a circle.

Turn on the music and let your kids dance around the seats. You remove a chair and stop the music.

The child who cannot sit in a chair quickly enough must leave the game.

Continue like this until there is one chair and two children left.

A variation of musical chairs is'thump dance'.

Children dance to the music and as soon as the music stops, they should sit on the floor as soon as possible.

The child who sits down last is finished.

It 'dress up bag game'will make for crazy situations!

Fill a bag with crazy clothes (big underpants, a bra, overalls, etc).

Turn on the music and let the children pass the bag to each other.

When the music stops, the child holding the bag has to pull out a piece of clothing with their eyes closed and then put it on.

The game continues until everyone is wearing something.

Then you can let the kids dance to the music, still wearing the crazy clothes of course!

Fun water games for a children's party?

Is your son or daughter's birthday in the summer?

Then it is fun to play water games.

Curious about some nice examples?

• Water race
• Toy cars race
• Water chairs

Do you know the old fashioned potato race?

You have to run across the street with a spoon with a potato on it.

With the 'water race' game you do not need potatoes, but you do need large (serving) spoons and two buckets of water.

You place these buckets at the start line and at the finish you place two empty buckets.

Two children race against each other. Whoever gets the water from one bucket with a spoon into another first wins!

For the 'toy cars race'you need a number of toy cars and water guns.

Each child gets one of each and starts at the starting line.

Children have to get the cars to the finish line by aiming at them with their pistols.

Place a bucket of water so the kids can always refill their water guns.

At the game 'water chairs'you need: two buckets of water, chairs (one for each child) and balloons.

Line up the chairs one behind the other. There is a balloon filled with water on each chair.

The intention is for the children to sit on the chairs and try to break the balloon without using their hands.

If that succeeds, it is the turn of the next of the team. The team that sits first on all seats has won.

Nice unicorn games for a theme party?

Does your child love unicorns and therefore want to throw a unicorn party?

Then of course that includes unicorn games!

Above all, with a lot of color and cheerfulness.

• Donutappen
• Unicorn piñata
• Unicorn bingo

You probably know cookie bites!

If you replace the gingerbread with donuts, it gets a unicorn theme. Thread a string through the donuts and let the kids get to work!

A Piñata of a unicorn, how cool!

Have the kids hit the piñata blindfolded one by one.

You can buy the pinata online, but you can also craft one yourself.

What do you need for that?

A box or balloon, toilet rolls and toilet paper, newspapers, crepe paper, wallpaper glue and paint.

When it's done, make a hole at the top. Put confetti and candies in here and let the winner distribute the candies that have fallen from the doll among the kids.

'Unicorn bingo'! Bingo with a unicorn theme.

Print out unicorn pictures or anything related to them (rainbows, wings, glitter, etc.) and turn them into bingo cards.

Fun princess games for a children's party?

If your child talks about nothing but princesses, then a princess children's party is definitely in order!

We give you three fun games that you can let the kids play at the party.

• Princesses scavenger hunt
• Crafting a crown
• Glass slipper

A scavenger hunt organizing does not have to be difficult.

Come up with a story asking the kids to help the princess find her crown or slipper.

You can indicate the route with chalk, arrows or threads of wool. In between you can also let the kids play games.

At the end of the trip, the kids will of course find the slipper or crown.

Princesses are not princesses without a crown! Have fun with the kids crafts crowns.

You will need: cardboard (for example in gold and / or silver), elastic, glitter, a hole punch, glue, some children's scissors and decoration.

You can give the kids a helping hand by drawing the crowns on the cardboard with a pencil, so that they only have to cut along the lines.

You can also make holes on the sides and help the kids pull the elastic through them.

For 'glass slipper' game you need: left shoes and one right shoe that matches one of the left shoes.

Hide all left shoes around the house. The right shoe is the hardest to hide.

Now you tell the story of Cinderella and show the left shoe of which the right one is so well hidden.

Whoever finds this right shoe wins.

Fun children's party candy games?

Candy should of course not be missing at a children's party!

Besides putting candies and other tasty things on the table, you can also play candy games. A candy tastes much better when it is deserved!

• Memory
• Candy bites
• taste

For 'memory' game you need about 20 of the same cups (for example plastic cups) and ten times two kinds of candy.

Always put two of the same candies under two cups and put them upside down on the table.

Each child may, in turn, pick and lift two cups. If the child sees the same candy twice, he or she can eat it and it gets a point.

This continues until all cups are out of play.

'Candy bites'is an old Dutch game. Take a large bowl of water and throw wrapped candies in it.

With their hands behind their backs, each child may, in turn, try to take the candy out of the water by mouth.

Does this work? Then the candy can of course be eaten.

When trial game You are supposed to blindfold the kids and let them taste various sweet things, such as candies and chocolate (or other things such as pickles and sausages).

Fun mermaid games for kids party?

Does the children's party have a mermaid theme?

Then you probably also want to base the games on this theme.

We list some fun mermaid games.

• Painting seashells
• Looking for a pearl
• Shark tag

If you are using shells want to paint, make sure you have your own shells at home.

Or if you live close to the beach, go and find shells with the kids first.

Get different types of paint and maybe glitter and other decorations.

'Searching for pearls': hide beautiful pearls (possibly marbles) in the house or in the garden.

The children then have to look for these pearls. Reward the one with the most pearls.

'Shark tag'is actually just tag, but in this case the ticker is dressed as a shark!

To make it easy, you can cut a shark fin from cardboard and attach it to the ticker's head using a clip.

Even better, of course, is if you get a real shark suit at home!

Fun superhero kids party games?

It's a common theme for a children's party: 'superheroes'!

Curious which games go well with this heroic theme?

• Spiderman spider game
• Obstacle course
• Shooting practice

For the 'Spiderman spider game'you need some fake spiders.

The intention is that the superheroes must come to the other side blindfolded, without hitting spiders!

Split the group in two. One of the heroes walks blindfolded across the grass and follows the directions of the other kids in his group.

The hero must hit as few spiders as possible (or preferably none).

For the obstacle course you also split the group in two.

Plot a course with pawns. The hero's turn receives a water balloon.

Whoever has completed the course first without dropping the balloon wins.

Target practice is designed to test how well the heroes can aim.

For this game, stack seven cans on a table. The superheroes have to shoot over as many blocks as possible with a water gun (approximately two meters away).

Gift games?

In addition to letting the friends give their present to the birthday boy in a very traditional way, gift games can also be played.

That makes receiving and unwrapping presents much more exciting!

• Prick balloon
• Dice game
• Stop dance

For the game 'pop a balloon', make a name card for each child.

You put each ticket in a balloon and then blow it up. If necessary, add confetti, that gives it an extra nice effect.

The birthday boy or girl keeps popping a balloon and reads the name on the card.

That person may then give his or her present to the birthday boy or girl. This continues until everyone has given their present.

It 'dice game'goes like this: all the children sit in a circle with their presents.

Let the kids take turns rolling the dice and check the activity sheet to see what the corresponding assignment is.

You make the activity sheet yourself.

For example, if 1 is rolled, all presents must be passed to the left, and if 5 is rolled, the person must exchange his or her present with another.

The birthday boy or girl does not have to throw.

Bee 'stop dance'let the kids sit in a circle again and pass the presents while the music plays.

As soon as the music stops, the birthday boy or girl may unwrap the present in their hands.

Play continues until the presents are unwrapped.

Fun children's party disco games?

Will there be a disco children's party this year?

Read on to find out which games go well with that!

• Who dances best?
• Limbo dancing
• Dance until the music stops

Who of the kids dances best on disco music?

You can determine the winner by voting.

Limbo dancing everyone likes! Two people hold a bar or a stick at the same height.

The participants line up and take turns going under the stick, bending their knees and leaning back.

If someone touches the stick, that person is finished.

When everyone has been, the game is made more difficult by lowering the stick slightly.

Be sure to put on swinging music during this game!

The game 'dance until the music stops'works like this: put on a good song and let everyone dance!

But the children have to pay attention: as soon as the music stops, everyone has to stop.

The one who stops last is finished.

Fun scary games for an exciting children's party?

At a scary party it is nice if you let the children come dressed up!

And if you also organize the following games, the party will not go wrong!

• Fright or candy
• Scary scavenger hunt
• Creepy feelers

The game 'fright or candy'works like this: Write CANDY on five notes and SCARE on twenty notes.

Under each word SCARE you also write an assignment related to the horror theme.

For example: 'walk like a mummy'.

The children sit in a circle and in the middle you stand as a parent with a witch hat in which you put the notes. Every child is allowed to fish a note.

When CANDY is fished, the child may take a piece of candy.

When a child takes FRIGHT, it has to perform the corresponding command and can then also take a candy.

A scary quest: give the children a lantern or a flashlight and make a route with lights.

Make sure it doesn't get too scary (and not too long) and ask a number of adults along.

You can hang a ghost on the place where an assignment has to be carried out.

Assignments can be: singing witch songs, 'spin bites', etc. When they have reached the end of the route, the kids will receive a prize.

It 'creepy feelersworks like this: blindfold the children and let them feel 'scary' or 'dirty' things.

For example, think of spaghetti (worms), peanut butter, making slime, olives (eyes), a glove filled with flour (severed hand), etc.

Are children's party games always indoors?

Children's party games are not always indoors. The choice of indoor or outdoor games depends on several factors, including the weather, available space and personal preferences. For many children's parties, both indoor and outdoor games are considered, depending on the circumstances.

It may be useful to to have many indoor activities for when the weather is bad or when there is not much outdoor space available. Outdoor games are great when the weather is favorable and there is plenty of space to play. The most important thing is that the games match the age and interests of the children and the available facilities.

What are fun toys to give as party gifts?

When choosing small gifts for party favors or prizes, it's important to think of items that are both fun and affordable. Popular choices include soft toys, sticker sets, key rings, notebooks, pencils, bubble blowers, small puzzles and brainteasers, toy cars and much more.

These gifts can make children enthusiastic and are suitable for various age groups.

Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.