These classic party games are great alternatives for your child’s next party. Kids will not only have a great time, they’ll burn off all that party energy!

 

Musical chairs

Place in a circle several chairs, but one less chair than you have for each child (if there are 10 children, use nine chairs). Play some music, periodically turning it off. When the music stops, the children must sit in the closest chair. The child left without a chair is out of the game. Each time a child is removed from the game, a chair is removed as well until one child wins.

Make great party invitations!

Scavenger hunt

Splits the kids into teams, who must work together to find all the items on the list. If you have a large yard, this could be a good time for the kids to burn off some energy.

Relay race

There are a lot of options with this game: racing with an egg on a spoon, taking a flower from a bucket at one end and filling a vase at the other end with flowers, or digging dirt from one area and dumping it into a bucket somewhere else.

Hot potato

You can use virtually any item for the “potato” for this old favorite. If you’re having a character parties use a stuffed toy of the character. Gather your guests in a circle, standing or sitting, and pass around the "hot potato" to music.  The one who is holding the item when the music stops gets to sit in the circle, or wins a small prize.  As the circle gets smaller, the excitement builds.