Ten Birthday Party Games
Using Household Items

10 of the best birthday party games that are fun, easy to set up and use items that are already around the house to play!   Choose two or three of your favorite games for your next birthday party or print out the whole list to have on hand.   

Perfect for kids, tweens and teenage parties!  Boys and girls will love these easy to understand games that are fun to play!

1.  Cookie Move
Sandwich cookie or small cookie (any flavor).
The object of the Cookie Move game is for players to be the first one to move the cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands.
Give each player a small sandwich cookie, like an Oreo, and have them put the cookie on their forehead.

The players get one minute to move the cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands. Set a timer for 1 minute for each round.  Whoever is able to accomplish this first within the one minute time limit wins! Play a practice round first so all the players will know how to play.  The prize for the winner could be a box of their favorite cookies! 

2.  Marshmallow Catch
Small paper or plastic cups / small marshmallows

Players try and catch marshmallows in a paper cup that are thrown to them by their teammate.

Pair all of the players into groups of two.

Give one player from each team a small paper cup.

Give the other person on the team a handful of small marshmallows (or a small paper cup full of small marshmallows). 

Have the partners in each team stand five feet away from each other.

The players with the marshmallows have one minute to try and throw all of their marshmallows into their team partner’s cups. The team with the most marshmallows in their cup after the one minute time period wins!

3. Pasta Pickup
Uncooked spaghetti noodles / uncooked penne pasta noodles

The object of the Pasta Pickup game is for players to pick up pieces of penne pasta with a spaghetti noodle without using their hands.

Provide each player with one uncooked piece of spaghetti and six uncooked pieces of penne pasta.

Lay out the penne pasta onto a flat surface, such as a table or kitchen island, in front of each player.

The players must put the piece of spaghetti in their mouth and use it to pick up six pieces of penne pasta within one minute.

The players can not use their hands during this party game.  If the spaghetti noodle breaks they can get another one and keep trying.

The player who has all six pieces of penne pasta on their spaghetti noodle first wins, or the player who has the most penne pasta picked up after the minute timer is over is the winner.
Play several rounds.  Fun party game!

4.  Balloon Stomp
Balloons and string

Players try to pop other players balloons and avoid having their balloon popped.

Blow up one balloon for each player and attach it to a two-foot string.

Tie one string of one balloon onto each player’s ankle.

Put all of the players into the same room in a large circle and and on "go" have them stomp on other’s balloons to pop them while keeping their own balloon from being popped.

The last player to keep his/her balloon from being popped wins!

Fun birthday game!   Have several extra balloons on hand because kids love to play this game and they will want to play several rounds. 

Variation:  Tie one balloon on each ankle of every player for more fast paced fun!

5.  Over, Under, Through
Objects that can be obstacles in an obstacle course.

The object of the game is to see which player has the fastest time going through a fun obstacle course.

Make an obstacle course in the front or backyard using objects like playground sets, trampolines, big boxes, hula hoops, basketball nets, or anything else you have around the property.  Make up the course so that game players will have to go under, over and through the obstacles. 

Explain the obstacle course to all of the players and walk them through the course.  Players could also get one free run through so that they are familiar with the course during the game. 

Use a stopwatch and time the players as they complete the course one at a time.

Give the players multiple chances to complete the course to see if they can beat their own times.

Variation:  To make the obstacle course game more challenging after the players have run through the course a few times have them run the course in different ways such as: walking backwards through the obstacles, starting at the finish line, holding hands with another player, crawling, etc.

Another variation is to play as a relay race with teams.  

6.  Life Size Board Game
Large hard surface playing area / Square box(es) (to make into a large dice / Sidewalk Chalk

Before the party make a large six sided dice from a square box covered with wrapping paper or any kind of paper taped to the outside.  Cut out circles and glue them on the sides of the die to create 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.  

Draw a HUGE board game track with sidewalk chalk on the playing surface so that the spaces are large enough for a person to stand inside.   On the squares inside the game board write instructions on what the player that lands in that space must do while they are in that space until their next turn. 

Some fun examples are: 
Jump forward 2 spaces
Turn in circles
Sing a song
Recite nursery rhyme
Tell jokes
Move back 3 spaces
Change places with another player
Jump up and down
Not all the spaces have contain a command. 

During the game the players themselves are the game pieces.  The first player will roll that large dice and move ahead the number of squares that shows up on the dice.   If they land in a square that has a command then they must continue to do that action until the next turn. 

Have all of the players start at the beginning and roll the dice to determine how and where they move. The first player to reach the finish line wins!

Great game for kids of all ages! 

7.  Spoon Relay Race Game
Plastic spoons / small objects such as marshmallows or cotton balls

This game requires players to race against each other in teams to see which team can complete the course first. 

Divide all players into two teams.

Give each team a plastic spoon and a marshmallow (or another small object).  Have the teams line up in a line.  The first player in line for each team takes the spoon and marshmallow.  They hold the spoon in front of them with the object on the spoon.

The two players that are first in line for each team then race to a designated spot twenty feet away and then back to the starting line and their team.  They then hand off the spoon and object to the next player in line.

Each player takes a turn and the first team to complete the relay wins!

If the object is dropped from the spoon then the player picks up the object, runs back to the starting line and begins again. 

After one or two rounds playing the basic way (above) add some variation and have the kids complete the course while:
walking backward
skipping
turning in circles
hopping on one foot
or any other crazy way that will make the game more difficult and challenging each time. 

8.  Pair Up Game
Fun music and a way to start and stop the music quickly.
This is a fun and unique game that kids love to play!  The players have to stop when the music stops and find a partner to complete the command. 

Have all the players for the game stand in a large circle.

Start to play the music and have all the party guests walk around the circle in a clockwise motion. 

Turn the music off and yell out a command.  When the players hear the command they have to find a partner from across the circle and complete the command. 

The last players to pair up and complete the command are out and the game begins again with the start of the music.

The commands are:

Hand to hand - players must hold hands
Foot to foot - players must place one of their feet together
Elbow to elbow - players must put one elbow together
Head to head - players touch heads
High five - players must high five each other
Dosey Doe - players link arms and spin in a circle
Leap Frog - players must leap frog over each other

The last team to complete the instructions are out, and the final team left wins!

9.  Clothespin Snatch Game
Clothespins
Players try to collect as many clothespins from other players as they can during a time limit.

Give each player three clothespins.  Have them attach the clothespins to their clothing anywhere they want to.

Explain to the game players that the object of the game is to try and collect as many clothespins from other players as they can. 

When a player takes a clothespin from another player they then attach it to their own clothes. 

Set a time limit (5 minutes) and when the game is over, have the players stop and count how many clothespins they have left on their clothing. The player with the most clothespins wins!

It's fun to play several rounds of this party game.   For variation on the rounds have the players walk on their knees or hop up and down on one foot. 

Players can only take one clothespin from another player at a time.  

Birthday Party Ideas 4 Kids recommends planning the birthday party with at least 3 - 4 fun party games for kids.   Plan on only using 2 or 3 of the games, but it is always a good idea to have one or two games that can be set up quickly in case the party guests don't like one of the games or if they are too old / young for the game. 

Also games can move quickly or slowly depending on the interest of the children.  It's a good idea to be flexible when planning a party for boys and girls and let them choose the pace.   Let them keep playing a game if they are having a fun time, or move on to the next game if it doesn't hold their interest.

Birthday Party Ideas 4 Kids ... let's get the party started!!