1st Birthday Party Games

Fun Party games for 1st Birthdays

Fun games for 1 year olds that are age appropriate for 1st birthday parties.   
In addition to these games for one year olds see our page on  first birthday ideas for more ideas on how to make the first birthday special.  First birthday ideas that include activities, keeping memories, tips and advice.

Bubble Games - Keep the one year olds busy with bubbles!  Blow bubbles and see if they can pop the bubbles before they hit the floor.  Then see who can catch bubbles on their wand. If you have older children attending the party see who can blow the biggest or smallest bubble.   Extra .... print out large labels with your child's picture and "Thank you for sharing my 1st birthday!" stick them on large candy bars, candy tubes or bubble containers and give them out as party favors. 

Treasure Hunt Games - Choose large plastic eggs, balls, party favors or any item from your birthday party theme* and hide around the living room, backyard or park while the children aren't looking.  Hold up one item like the ones  you have hidden and tell them to search and find the items.  The one who finds the most items gets to help hide the objects for the next round.  Have children return the items to a basket and hide the items again... and again.   
Extra ... after the games divide the treasure hunt items equally and send them home as party favors.  

Hokey Pokey - Children love this simple game and it is fun to play at a birthday party.  Have children stand in a circle.  The leader begins the song and have everyone join in.  Leader puts their right arm in the circle and sings "You put your right arm in ... you take your right arm out ... you put your right arm in and you shake it all about .. you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around and that's what it's all about! While singing the song put your right arm in the circle, take your right arm out, put your right arm in and then shake it up and down, then have your index fingers point to the sky while turning yourself in a circle, clap the last line of the song ... That's what it's all about! 

Color Poster Boards - Write children's names on the top of the poster board and let them use markers, paints 
and/or crayons to color all over the paper.  Tape the paper to the top of a table, or if it is nice outside make a
easel by  taping the poster board to a fence. 

Dancing - One year olds love to dance.  Play music and let them freestyle dance.  Or you can play

Freeze Dance Game and have everyone freeze when you say "Freeze!".  Then say "Unfreeze" and have them dance again.

Duck Duck Goose Game - fun game to play if you have some older children to help and show the younger kids what to do.  Children sit in a circle on the floor. The birthday child (patter) starts by walking around the outside of the circle and patting the head of each child. Every time they pat a head they call out "duck". Then they choose one person to be the goose and yell "GOOSE!" when they pat their head.   The “patter” then runs clockwise around the circle and tries to sit down in the place of the goose before the goose tags them.  If the goose tags the patter then the goose sits back down and the patter starts again. If the goose doesn’t tag the patter then the goose becomes the patter and the game starts again. Game Variation: Use your birthday party theme with this game: Buzz, Buzz, Sting for a Bug Party; Tick, Tick, Tock for a Pirate Party.

 Pass bean bags to music - make or buy bean bags in bright colors.  Have children sit in a circle and pass the bean bags to each other while the music plays.  If there are older children at the party you can play foxand hen with the bean bags. 

Fox and Hen Game - Have children sit on the floor in a circle.  Give two bean bags to two children that are opposite each other in the circle.  Name one of the bean bags the "Hen" and the other the "Fox".  Children pass the bean bags clockwise around the circle to see if the fox can catch the hen.   

Bean bag toss - set up 3 - 5 buckets or colorful containers in a straight line or triangle shape and let the children take turns tossing the beanbags into the containers.  Or cut several holes out of a poster board or large box and decorate with your theme.  Have children throw the beanbags through the holes. 

Duck Pond Grab Game - Birthday party guests pick rubber ducks out of a wading pool - they win a prize according to the number on the bottom of the duck. Write the numbers 1 - 5 (repeat numbers according to how many ducks you have) on the bottom of the ducks and place in pool. In back of the pool have 5 baskets with different prizes and number the baskets 1 through 5.  Party guests pick up a duck to see what number is on the bottom then win the prize that corresponds to that number.   If the birthday party guest picks up a duck with a number 4 on the bottom, they get a prize from the number 4 basket. It’s a simple game, but children love it!   Tip: Instead of ducks use  floating objects that relate to your birthday party theme.  The more ducks the better.  Extra ...  give the ducks away as favors after the birthday party. 

Ball Pit - Make your own ball pit with a blowup swimming pool and plastic balls that you can buy at the toy or discount store (the plastic balls like at McDonalds).  Let kids climb in and out and play inside of it.

Sidewalk Chalk - Give children large sticks of chalk and let them draw on the sidewalk, porch or driveway.