Chinese whispers

Sit everyone in a circle. Whisper a word or phrase to one person. They, in turn, whisper what they heard to the next person, and so on. The last person announces what they heard.

Pass the Parcel

Wrap a gift in a layer of paper. Now wrap it in another layer wit a small treat and repeat until you have enough layers for each child to have a turn. ( I know it's cheeky to ensure each child has a turn, but it really stops tears and tantrums!). Finally wrap it 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 wrapping. Repeat until the last layer of wrapping has been removed.

Pass the Parcel with forfeits

As above but every layer contains a forfeit (e.g Sing a song, Eat half a teaspoon of Marmite, do a dance to some music.) Remember some shy children may not like the idea of this, so don't force anyone to join in!

The Chocolate (or Jelly) Game

Sit everyone in a circle and place a tray in the middle with a hat, scarf, gloves, knife and fork, die and a wrapper bar of chocolate.
In turn, players throw the die. If they throw a SIX, they must put on the Hat, Scarf and Gloves before they start to unwrap the chocolate with the knife and fork, and then start to eat it. They continue to attempt to eat the chocolate with the knife anf fork while the others continue to roll the dice in turn.
To speed up the game add a second die and require a Double SIX.
The Jelly Variation is to turn out a set jelly onto a plate and eat it with the knife and fork. This game is better for older children as younger children wont be able to do it. Warning- this game often causes fits of giggles! The game ends when the chocolate is gone.

Musical Chairs

The old favourite. With one fewer chairs than people, a short snippet of music is played while the people move around the room. When the music stops everyone tries to sit on a vacant chair. (Only ONE person per chair) The person who doesn't find a chair is out. One chair is taken away and the game continues until only one person (The Winner) is left.The winner gets a small prize.

Memory Game

On a tray, place about 10 to 15 small items (e.g. pencil, watch, comb, shoe lace, spoon, toy car, etc.) and cover with a cloth.
Sit everyone in a circle.
Place the tray in the middle of the circle and remove the cloth for 60 seconds. Everyone has to remember the objects. When the time is up, replace the cloth.
In turn, each person has to name an object on the tray. The first person to fail to name an object, repeat an object or name something not on the tray is out. The tray is then removed and some or all of the objects replaced, and the game re-started with the person following the one who is out. If the game is too easy for the group, add more objects or reduce the time.the winner gets a prize.

Musical Statues

This is like Musical Chairs, but when the music stops, the players have to keep still. Anyone who moves, quivers, shakes etc is out. The winner is the last one still playing. The winner gets a prize.

Listen and Move

Place party shapes on the floor in a circle. For example if your theme is Knights the shapes could be shields, swords, and castles. Children walk around circle while listening to music. If the music is loud the children move fast. If the music is quiet the children move slow. If the music stops, the children stop on the closest shape. To make it more challenging for older children have one less shape than the number of children. Continue to remove shapes as the children are 'out'.

Port and Starboard

On the command (from the list below) the children have to do the appropriate action. After a while, start removing the last player to comply, until only one remains.

• Port (Run to one side of the area)

• Starboard (run to the other side)

• Captains Coming Aboard (Stand to attention and Salute)

• Submarines (Lie on the floor)

• Hoist the Mainsail (run on the spot - like climbing the rigging)

• Mess Deck (Sit cross legged on the floor - ready for lunch)

• Davey Jones (Climb a tree, stand on a chair - anything so that you are not on the floor)

• Up Periscope (Stand up straight and old hands to eyes as though looking through binoculars)

Mummies

Split the party goers into teams of three and give each team a toilet roll. The children in each team take it in turns on each whistle blow, to wrap their 'mummy'. The team who wrap their child up in the toilet paper first, like an Egyptian mummy, are the winners! The winning team get a prize.

Stations

Everyone stands a circle (except one who is standing in the middle) and has been told to remember a different station name. The person in the middle calls out two names. The stations have to change places quickly, before the person in the middle can get to one of the empty spaces. Who ever is left without a place is the person in the middle for the next game.

Pass the Orange

Arrange for teams of about 8 to stand in a line, one behind the other. Give each team an orange which the first person should tuck under his chin. This should be passed to the person behind. When the orange gets to the last person, they come to the front of the line and start again. The winnnig team is the first one which gets their starting person to the front again.

Sleeping Pirate

All the children (except one - The Pirate) sit Cross Legged on the floor in a circle. The pirate sites Cross-legged in the middle of the circle, blind-folded, 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.

Balloon Pop

Place notes inside uninflated balloons,1 or 2 of the notes should indicate that this balloon is a winner. Inflate the balloons and hang them around. Let each child pick a balloon then pop it to see if their note is a winner. The child who finds the winning ballon gets a prize.

Balloon Relay

Divide the children into 2 or more equal teams and stand them in a line. Give each team ten balloons in a basket. The first in each line takes a balloon and runs to the other side of the room/yard/area and sits or stomps on the balloon to pop it. After popping the balloon they run back to the line and tag the next person who does the same thing. The game goes on until one team has popped all of their balloons. The winning team gets a prize.

Can You Guess

Put several small items into a brown paper bag. Blindfold one person and hand them one of the items in the bag. Give them a few seconds to guess what the item is. If they are unsuccessful they are out. The last one wins.

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.

Ducky Ducky

Everyone sits in a circle except one who is given a pillow and blind-fold. They then go and place the pillow on a persons lap, sit on it and say ducky ducky. The person should say"quack quack" this can be done only 3 times. If the blind person guesses the name the person, they should now be given the blind fold and the game run over again - after everyone has changed their places.