kids party ideas

[jt25]

my 5 year old is having a sponge bob birthday party.We have already gotten all of the stuff for the party. my problem is, i am having problems finding games for the kids to play.What games do yall play at your kids birthday parties?We have pin the tail on the donkey and we are getting a piata. other than that i am blank .help please....

[Jolie Rouge]

Scavenger hunt !

[Widgetsx3]

Found this at: http://www.nickjr.com/grownups/parties/finders/games/

2 pineapples
2 pairs of oven mitts


1. Teach the partygoers the Krabby Walk: Kids should walk on their hands and feet, with their bodies facing up and their arms stretched down behind their feet, just like in gym class, when you were a kid! Give your kids a demonstration (warning: expect giggles!).

2. Place the pineapples on either end of the space (living room, backyard, etc.) you’ll be using for the race.

3. Divide the group into two teams and have the teams stand on either side of one of the pineapples.

4. Have the first player from each team do the Krabby Walk from one pineapple to the other, and then back again.

6. When the first player returns to the team, the next player can go.

7. Continue the relays until all players have a chance to do the Krabby Walk. The team that finishes first wins!

[Widgetsx3]

Off the Wall
Tape a giant mural-sized piece of craft paper down onto the floor, and hand out buckets full of markers, stickers, and crayons. Trace the outline of each child, and have them all fill in their silhouettes. When the "wall" is dry, hang it up so everyone can see it, and don't forget to take a Polaroid or photo of each child standing next to his or her "shadow." For a variation, let kids loose all over a playground or driveway with big sticks of colorful chalk. Trace their outlines and have them fill them in. You can also moisten some of the chalk to change the colors into more electric hues. (Ages 3 to 5)

We Built This City

On the floor, put out blocks, Duplos, Legos, Matchbox cars, trains, and train tracks so that kids can work together to build their own city. Hang up postcards and photos of famous cities and monuments as inspiration: the Twin Towers, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal. Don't forget nature: Add trees, bushes, and rivers, using everything from construction paper cut-outs to small twigs and flowers. Raid the cabinets for unusual building materials, like new sponges; small, unopened cans of fruit; and wrapped bars of soap. (See Maurice Sendak's picture book In the Night Kitchen for more ideas.) If children are younger and more apt to enjoy parallel play than a group project, you can give each child an empty cereal or shoe box and ask them to paint and decorate their "building" with pre-cutout paper squares and circles for windows and doors. When the party's over, they'll have a neat keepsake to take home. Before dismantling the city, take a group shot of all the kids in front of their creations so that their everyone can remember how hard they worked and what their utopia looked like. (Ages 3 to 7)

Recording Studio

You'll need two tape recorders or a tape recorder and a CD player. First play the song, so everyone knows the tune. The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" is a good choice. Then hand out the lyrics to the song, with some of the words blanked out. Ask kids to sing the lyrics and supply the missing words: "We all live in a yellow _______." Record the results. Don't feel you have to get only perfect takes down on tape. In fact, it's funnier if you don't. Kids will quickly get over their self-consciousness and you'll have a hilarious soundtrack or laugh track. (Ages 6 to 9) For kids who can't yet read, play the song and ask them to jam along on kazoos, rattles, xylophones, and pots and pans. Record the group effort and play it back.

Obstacle Course

This is probably one of the few times when children will love to take orders from you, but you have to tell them exactly what to do. You'll need lots of space and will need to set up the course beforehand. With two obstacle courses, you can divide the party into two relay teams. Otherwise, use a stopwatch to time individual results. Here's some fun challenges for children (Ages 4 to 8):

Crawl under furniture or through a tunnel (you can make one by taping together large cardboard boxes)
Walk 13 steps in Dad's oversize shoes
Throw a ball or beanie baby backwards into a basket
Push a baby stroller with a doll inside it around a tree or chair
Put on a shower cap and bathrobe and croon the line "Rubber Duckie, you're the one!"
Hit all the notes on a xylophone
Stack a column of books
Jump into a pile of pillows
Roll down a hill or across a rug
Ice Cream Shop
Why just let them eat cake; when you can set up a dessert bar where kids can concoct and name their own sundaes and creations? Stock it with cake, ice cream, sprinkles, whipped cream, fruit, and anything else you think they would fancy. For a thirst-quenching variation, ask them to mix their own drinks from various juices, sodas, sorbets, and slices of fruit. To whip up more dramatic effects, have an adult mix the ingredients the kids choose in a blender. And don't forget the twirly straws. (Ages 5 to 10)

Make Make-Believe Real

Take inspiration from one of your child's favorite books, videos, or TV shows for a new twist on an old, favorite activity.


Transform a treasure hunt into a game of Blue's Clues. To play "Blue has hidden his snack. Can you help him find it?" tape blue construction paper cut-outs of Blue's paw prints in three spots around the house or backyard, leading to the final hiding place. Hand out handy-dandy notebooks to each one of the kids, so they can write or draw the clue. Each clue should lead to the next. Encourage the kids to yell "A clue! A clue!" each time they see one. The clues can lead to a birthday cake in the refrigerator. (Ages 2 to 4)

A game of telephone can become so much quidditch for Harry Potter fans. Have kids sit in a circle. The first child whispers a tongue-twisting sentence like "Dinky Duddydums was a Dursley muggle" or "He was skittish at quidditch, but fond of the wand" into the next child's ear, and the sentence gets repeated around the circle, until the last person has to say it out loud. (Ages 7 to 10)

For aspiring Knights of the Round Table, ask kids to design their own crest or shield with the qualities they admire: Courage, Integrity, Strength, Loyalty, Honesty, Friendship. Cut out giant shields from cardboard or posterboard beforehand. Then give the kids lots of gold, silver, and glitter paint to decorate their shields. Purple, blue, and red are especially good for a royal effect. For a Wizard of Oz party, decorate cardboard cutouts of ruby slippers. (Ages 6 to 10)
Instant Party Favors

Polaroids make great instant party favors, but sometimes the funnest take-home goodies are the ones kids make themselves. Before the party, put your own budding artist to work by asking him or her to draw outlines of things to color, using a black felt-tip pen or dark magic marker on white paper. Label the pictures: "mermaid," "pirate ship," "me." Then photocopy the pictures and staple the pages together to make a unique coloring book. Add a small box of crayons and your gifts are good to go. (Ages 4 to 7)

Kids can also decorate their own goody bags as an arts and crafts project. Hand out paper shopping bags, along with construction paper, magazines, scissors, stickers, and glue sticks. Encourage them to make collages. Younger children can use pre-cut shapes or letters, if they can't handle scissors. To fill the bags, you can have them search for candy hidden around the house, or throw small candies like Hershey's kisses up in the air and watch them scoop up the treats in delight. (Ages 4 to 10)

[Widgetsx3]

Grand Finale

An awards ceremony is a wonderful way to close the festivities. At the end of the party, call out each child's name, and announce their title as you hand them their award, which could be a small medal, necklace, or feathery pen. Since you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, you should come up with plenty of fun distinctions ahead of time and make sure there's an honor for each child. Some examples of winning titles for 2-year-olds: Best Wiggler, Tickliest Tummy, Giggliest Grin. For 8-year-olds, you could try Most Enchanting Smile, Poetic Pen, Miss Vivacious, or Sir Laughs-A-Lot. The point is not to make it competitive but to cheer loudly and make every kid go home feeling like a winner.