Fun Birthday Party Games

Fun Birthday Party Games

Fun games for ages 2, 3 and 4

Fun birthday party games to play at parties for 2, 3 and 4 year olds. These fun games are age appropriate and have been tested by 2, 3 and 4 year olds and have been given their approval. Scroll down to see all the games. Mix and match or print the whole list of games to keep on hand at the birthday party.
For fun themes and ideas - kids party ideas - activities and icebreaker games Party Invitation Ideas

*Be safe! Make sure any prizes or party favors can fit through a paper towel or toilet paper tube to avoid any choking hazards.

Prize Walk Birthday Game
Have a birthday prize walk instead of a cakewalk. Place
numbers on the ground in a circle or oval. Start the music
and the birthday party kids walk around the circle until the
music stops. Pick a number out of a hat or roll a dice to
decide which number wins a prize. The child that is standing
on the number that is picked gets to choose a small toy
from the birthday games prize table.

Bean Bag Toss Game
Cut several circles out of a piece of cardboard, or a large box. Decorate the cardboard with things from your birthday party
theme. Use beanbags or socks (filled with beans and tied) to
throw into the holes. Give small prizes if they make it in the
holes.

Pin the tail on the Donkey Games
Place a poster on the wall and put a piece of tape on the back of each object the children will be pinning on the
poster. Blindfold children, spin them around, and point them toward the poster. The child who pins their object
closest to the designated spot, is the winner! Tip: Use a poster from your birthday party theme for this game.
Examples: Pin the spider on the web, tutu on the ballerina, nose on the clown, X on a treasure map etc.

Limbo Game
Two older kids or adults hold a pole or broomstick at child's height. Start the music and have the children bend backwards and walk under the pole without touching it. After each round lower the pole an inch or two. If a player touches the pole, they are out. Game Variation: Instead of a pole use something from your birthday party theme:
Pirate Limbo - hold a play sword; Fairy Party - hold a magic wand.

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 - give them away as favors after the birthday party.

Mystery Fishing Game
For the "water" use a large appliance box, hang a sheet across a doorway, or cover a table so that the "fish"
(and the person in the water) are hidden from view. Tie a string to a stick and attach a clothespin on the end
of the string. Birthday party guests take turns "casting" the line into the "water". The person in the "water"
puts small gifts, favors or candy on the clothespin and then tugs the string to signal that there is a "fish" on
the line. Then kids pull up the line and retrieve their prize. This is a simple but fantastic birthday party game
that kids adore! Have lots of prizes because they will all want to do this birthday party game again and again.

Bubbles
Kids love 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. Give away bubbles as party favors - print out large labels with your child's picture and
"Thank you for sharing my ___ birthday!"

Treasure Hunt Game
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.

Ring around the rosy
Children stand in a circle holding hands and walk around in a circle while they sing "Ring around the rosy, a pocket
full of posies, ashes, ashes we all ... fall ... down!" After singing "all fall down", children fall to the ground.
Then repeat!

Parade
Kids turning 2, 3 and 4 love parades. Make your own birthday party parade by giving children musical instruments - drums, shakers, horns, etc. and have them follow you around the house or yard playing their "birthday song".
Or have the children follow you with streamers or ribbons and have a dance parade. If the children all have doll
strollers or wagons let them parade with their dolls and stuffed animals.

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 at the birthday party.

Freeze Dance Game
Play fast music and let the kids dance. Then stop the music (or call our "Freeze!") and everyone must stop dancing
and "freeze" in that position until you say "Unfreeze". Then start over and have them dance again.

Duck Duck Goose Game
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

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.

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

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