Balloon Bounce
Have a contest to see who can keep the balloon in the air the longest using only their heads. The person who can keep it in the air the longest without using anything but their head is the winner (can also be played in pairs or teams)

Smartie Hunt
Divide into two teams of three or four players. Fill a small bowl with smarties for each team, give each player a straw. Say go! Teams have 60 seconds to suck as many smarties as they can out of the bowl with the straws. The team with the most Smarties wins.

Balloon Pop
Place notes inside un-inflated balloons, one, or two of the notes should indicate that this balloon is a winner. Inflate the balloons and hang them around or hide them around the house or garden. Tell each child to go and find a balloon and then one at a time pop it to see if their note is a winner. Have some small prizes for each winner.

Can You Guess?
Put several small items into a brown paper bag. One person is blindfolded and then given one of the items from the bag, give them a few seconds to guess what the item is. If they are unsuccessful they are out, the last one wins.

Musical Chairs
The old favourite, make sure there is one less chair than children playing, when the music is played, the children run around the outside of the chairs in a circle. When the music stops everyone tries to sit on a chair (only ONE person is allowed per chair) the person who doesn’t find a chair is out of the game. One chair is taken away each time and the game carries on until only one chair and one person is left – that person is the winner!

Musical statues
This is like musical chairs, but when the music stops the players have to keep very still. Anyone who moves wobbles etc is out. The winner is the last one still playing the game.

String Hunt
Great for birthday parties where you want to give each guest a present. For each child you will need a small block of wood wrapped with a very long (several yards) piece of yarn. Make sure each child has a different colour yarn. Just before the party unwrap the yarn by winding it back and forth, over and under and through the furniture in the party room. At the end of each piece of yarn tie a present. As the guests arrive give them their block and let them wind up the yarn as they follow the string to the present.

Chinese Whispers
Sit everyone in a circle and whisper something to the first person. They, in turn whisper what they heard to the next person and so on. The last person announces what they heard.

Find the Treasure
Depending on the weather, this game can be played either indoors or outdoors – either way its great fun! Split the children into teams of four. Before the party make up a list of items inside or outside the house that the children have to collect. Then give them a limited amount of time (depending on how many items you have asked for and their location) to find them. When the time is up, call the teams back in. Whichever team has the most items from the list wins.

Hot Potato
Have all the children sit in a circle, as one child is chosen as the “leader”. Begin passing a potato (or other object) around in a circle, while the “leader” turns his/her head with eyes closed. Everyone must accept the potato, and may not hold it longer than a second. At any point the “leader” can yell, “Hot Potato”, and whoever has the potato is out. Continue to play until there is only one-person left and he or she is the winner.

Memory Game
Place around 10 to 15 small items on a tray (for example elastic band, pencil, watch, brush, shoe lace, toy etc). Cover up with a cloth, everyone sits in a circle and place the tray in the middle of the circle, remove the cloth for about a minute. Everyone has to remember the items. When the time is up cover the items again, each person has a turn to name an item on the tray. The first person that is not able to name an object is out. The tray is then removed and some or all of the objects are then replaced and the game is then restarted with the person following the one who is out. If the game is to easy add more objects or reduce the time.

Pass the Orange
Organise for teams of 6 – 8 to stand in a line, one behind the other. Each team is given an orange, which the first person tucks under their chin. This should be passed to the person behind without touching it with their hands. When the orange gets to the last person, they come to the front of the line and start again. The winning team is the one who gets their starting player to the front again.

Pass the Parcel
Wrap a bar of chocolate (or some other gift), in a layer of paper, now in another layer and repeat until you have about 10 layers, finally wrap in gift paper so it looks nice. Sit everyone in a circle and play a short snippet of music. When the music stops, the person holding the parcel removes ONE layer of paper until the last layer has been removed. The winner keeps the present.

Mummies
Split the partygoers into teams of three and give each team a toilet roll. Two persons then wrap the third in the toilet roll so that they look like an Egyptian Mummy. The winning team is the one who in a set time (say 2 minutes) have the neatest and most covered Mummy.

Sleeping Pirate
All the children (except one - The Pirate) sit Cross Legged on the floor in a circle. The pirate sits Cross-legged in the middle of the circle, blindfolded, with a large bunch of keys on the floor in front of him.
A child is nominated to creep up and take the keys and then return to their place, without the pirate hearing them. The Pirate has three goes to point to where he thinks the raider is. If he is successful, the raider becomes the Pirate.

Stuck in the Mud
One person is 'IT' and has to run round touching as many people as they can. When they have touched someone, that person has to stop and stand with their legs apart and their hands outstretched, until someone crawls through their legs. If you've been caught three times, then you are out. The game ends when everyone left is standing still.

Zombie
Two pairs participate in this game. Each pair stands hand in hand with their adjoining hands tied together. With their free hands (one with the right hand and other with the left one) they must wrap up the package, bind the rope round it and tie it a bow. The pair, which finishes the task the first, is the winner.

Pass a Hat
The players are in 2 circles: inner one and outer one. One player in each circle has a hat on his/her head. The object is to pass the hat round the circle. But the players mustn't use their hands while passing the hat from head to head. The team, which passes the hat round the circle the first, wins the game.

Spoon
Put a stool upside down. At each leg of the stool stands a player. The players are blindfolded. Each of them holds a spoon in his/her hand. At the leader's command the players make 3 steps forward, turn around and try to place the spoon on the leg of the stool as soon as possible. Two players who place their spoons the first win the game.

Score a Goal
Give 2 balloons to each player - a round and a long one. Using the long balloon as a bat the players must drive the round balloon into the box, which is put on one side. The player whose balloon is driven into the box the first is the winner. It's easier to judge about the winner if the balloons of the players are of different colours.

Putting a Shot
Put a ping-pong ball on the edge of the table. The player is blindfolded. He/she stands with his/her back to the table. At the command he/she makes 5 steps forwards, turns around 3 times, comes back to the table and blows the ball off the table. Very often after the turning around the players lose their orientation. Then it's very funny to watch the player who tries to blow the ball off the place the ball has never been.

Chain
In a fixed time the player must make a chain of the paper clips. The player whose chain is the longest wins the game.

With the Eyes Closed
With a pair of thick mittens/gloves on your hands try to guess what object you hold.

Wind up the Cord
Make a knot in the middle of the long cord. Attach a pencil to each end of the cord. Two players wind up the cord on their pencils. The fastest player becomes the winner. Instead of cord you may take thick string.

The Fastest
The players are divided into 2 teams. Each team is given a sack with a shirt, a cap, a pair of boots and trousers. At the command the first player of each team runs to the sack, puts on all enumerated pieces of clothes, says "I'm the fastest", takes off the clothes, puts them back into the sack and runs to his team. The next player of each team does the same. The team, which finishes the game the first, is the winner.

Butterfly
Each of the 2 participants takes a big butter-fly-net and a balloon. The object of each player is to catch the rival's balloon with the net as soon as possible; trying not "to loose" his/her own balloon.

Do the Opposite
Have a list of things for the players to do e.g. walk, run, sit down, hop on left foot, wave your right hand, quiet, noisy, stand still, jump up and down, scream, dance etc. The game is to do the exact opposite to what you are saying. Gradually remove all those players who get it wrong, the last player remaining is the winner

Musical Bumps
All the players have to run, jump, skip, hop, dance etc. while the music plays; when the music stops they have to sit on the floor as quickly as possible. The last one to sit down is out. Continue the music until you have a winner.

Hoopla
Make a cardboard hoop ring that can easily fit over large cold drink bottles. Paint or decorate the hoops and the empty bottles, 3 hoops for each player. Put 3 bottles on the floor, and mark a throwing line on the floor with chalk or stick tape. Each player takes turns to throw the hoops onto the bottles the one with the highest score is the winner. In case of tie, a re-match between the players decides the winner.

Land & Water
This is a game, which calls for attention and is real fun to play. On hearing the word "land" the players jump forward, on hearing the word "water" backward. Then the word "land" can be suddenly changed into "bank". The actions of the players must be the same as after the word "land" i.e. jump forward. The word "water" may be changed into "sea", "lake", "river", etc. The player who gets it wrong is out.

Spoon Race
Each player must run a certain distance, holding a spoon with a big potato on. The players run in turn. If the potato falls down, the player must put it in the spoon again and continue to run. To run without a potato in the spoon means to break the rules. The player who covered the distance in the shortest time is the winner. Instead of a potato you can even try a lemon.

Aiming
On cardboard draw or paint a simple dartboard with rings and points. Give each player 3 balls made from plastacine, put a tape on the floor for the throwing line or draw the line with chalk. The players take turns throwing to the dartboard, aiming for the centre (Bulls eye) the player with the highest score is the winner.

Dessert Islands
This is a variation on the theme of musical chairs but played with pieces of paper placed on the floor, one less piece of paper to the number of players. When the music stops the children have to stand on a free piece of paper, the one not standing on a desert island is out. Always have one less desert island than players. The paper (islands) should be brightly coloured and not too small.

Where is the Clock
All the players are blindfolded. The leader hides the alarm clock somewhere in the room. The players (not more than 4) stand along the wall. They listen to the ticking of the clock and cautiously walk in the direction of the ticking. The leader noiselessly changes the location of the clock 2-3 times. The player who comes to the clock nearer than 1m gets a point. The player who has the greatest number of points wins.

Draw a Cat
The blindfolded players must draw a cat. At first they draw the body, then the eyes, then stop and pause, and then draw the nose, then stop and pause, then draw the eyes etc it's funny to see what you end up with.

How much am I
The players are given glass jars. The jars are closed. In the jars there is loose change 1p, 2p, 5p. The task of the players is to count the sum of the coins without opening the jar.

Cinderella
Mix some peas, beans, lentils, sultanas (not more than 3-4 kinds at a time). "Cinderella's" has to sort out the mixture being blindfolded. The player who manages to sort this mix in the shortest period of time becomes the winner.

Hummock
Ask 3-6 persons to participate in this game. Each of them is given 2 paper (plastic) glasses filled with water. In front of each player on the floor there are 5 cardboard circles, which are situated at the equal distance from each other. The players' task is to get to the finish line jumping from one circle to another. The player who has water in his/her glasses at the end of the game is the winner. To be more accurate and to make the game funnier you may measure the water in the glasses by the measuring glass.

Kangaroo
Each player must cover a certain distance jumping with a small box or tennis ball between his or her knees. If the ball or the small box falls down, the player places it between their knees again and continues to jump. The player who covers the distance in the shortest time is the winner.

Guess the Word
Choose about 5 or 6 different 4, 5, or 6 letter words (difficulty depends on age) write each letter of each word on a separate postcard sized piece of paper or card. Using one word at a time, put all the letters of that word into a bag, the children then shout out letters of the alphabet, when a letter is shouted out that is in the bag you take that letter out, display the letter. Continue until there are no more letters left, the children then have to guess what the word is. Repeat with your other words.