Five Party Games that every Guest will Love

People often place high expectations on themselves when it comes to hosting birthday parties. It’s often all about the venue, decorations, cake and food but I have always found that key to a successful party is a steady flow of planned experiences or games balanced with free play.

Check out five of my favourite party games and experiences.

Doughnut game

The doughnut game has got to be my all time favourite party game. It will provide you all with loads of laughter.

What you need:
-Doughnuts with a hole, (I use cinnamon doughnuts)
-String
-Clothes line, pergola, or some sort of structure to hang them from, (if you do not have something that you can hang them from, you can use a broom stick and hold it up during the experience.)

What to do:
Hang the doughnuts from a chosen structure at different lengths to suit each guests height. (Doughnuts should line up with each guests mouth.)

Idea of the game:
Guests must hold their hands behind their back whilst trying to eat the doughnut which hangs from a string. The first to eat all of their doughnut is the winner.

Hints and tips:
Play this game quite early in the party because if you leave it too late, they will have filled up on all of the party food.

Cotton ball game

I love the cotton ball game as it seems like such a simple task but once blindfolded, you have no idea if you actually have any cotton balls on the spoon.

What you need:
-Bowls

-Soup spoons

-Cotton balls

-Blind folds

What to do:
Give each guest one bowl filled with cotton balls and one empty bowl. Blind fold the guest and pass them a spoon.

Idea of the game:
Each player needs to transfer the cotton balls from one bowl to another bowl using a soup spoon whilst blind folded. The person who transfers the most within 1 min is the winner.

Hints and tips:
Have several people playing at the same time so that the guests don’t have to wait to long for their turn.

Piñata

Piñatas are always a winner at children’s parties as whacking something with a stick is a great outlet of energy and being rewarded with lollies is just a bonus.

What you need:
-Piñata
-String
-Stick
-Lollies
-Clothes line, pergola, or some sort of structure to hang them from, (if you do not have something that you can hang them from, you can use a broom stick and hold it up during the experience.)

What to do:
Fill piñata with lollies or party treats and hang from a chosen structure

Idea of the game:
Each guest hits the piñata three times whilst blind folded until the lollies or party treats come out.
*To add extra excitement, spin each guest around a few times before they have their turn

Hints and tips:
Give each guest a paper bag so that when the lollies or party treats come out of the piñata, they have something to put them in.

Decorating cupcakes

Decorating cupcakes always goes down a treat as it not only gives each guest a sense of belonging but is easy and fun.

What you need:
-Cupcakes
-Icing mixture in different colours, (at least 3-4 bowls)
-Toppings such as candy balls, hundreds and thousands, smarties etc
-Two spoons per person
-A large piece of paper with the all of guests names on it so that the guests can put their cupcake creations over their name to keep track of which cupcake belongs to which person.

What to do:
Place all of the toppings on the table and give each guest a cupcake and two spoons, (one for the icing mixture and one for the other toppings)

Hints and tips:
Do this experience in between eating and the cake. The guest can then choose to eat their own cupcake instead of the cake or take it home with their party bag.

Pass the parcel:

Pass the parcel is an oldie but a goodie, it has stood the test of time and as a child was always my favourite thing to do at parties.

What you need:
-A prize
-Party treats or candy
-Wrapping paper
-Sticky tape
-Music

What to do:
Set aside the prize and one party treat for each guest. Wrap the prize in a distinct wrapping paper so that you know it’s the last one of the game and place a party treat on top and wrap this layer. Repeat this over and over until each layer has been wrapped.

Idea of game:
Hand the parcel to a random guest and when the music starts, they must pass the parcel to the person next to them. Each guest should continue to pass the parcel around the circle until the music stops. The person who is holding the parcel when the music stops can unwrap one layer and receives their treat. This continues until each guest has unwrapped a layer.

Hints and Tips:
Use newspaper as wrapping paper for a more sustainable approach and have a bag or box ready to collect paper for recycling to avoid the mess.

If these games and experiences don’t tickle your fancy then other great games include

Limbo, freeze, musical chairs and treasure hunt.