| Planning a birthday party for your preschooler? | | | | Also ask that the location, date, and time that the |
| Party games are a great way to keep young | | | | balloon is found be written on the postcard by the |
| children entertained and engaged in the party. | | | | person who finds the balloon and that the person |
| Make sure every child gets a prize of some kind | | | | drop the postcard in the mail. Place the postcards |
| so child every goes home a winner! | | | | in ziploc bags and attach them to the balloons. Set |
| Bean in Your Shoe | | | | a date for when the contest ends, and launch the |
| One player goes out of the room. A dried bean is | | | | balloons! |
| given to one of the players to put in his or her | | | | Farm Animals |
| shoe. Play some music and have all the players | | | | Secretly give the name of a farm animal to each |
| dance, each child pretending to have a bean in | | | | player. The leader yells "Go!" and each player acts |
| their shoe. The player that left the room comes | | | | out their animal at the same time. At the end of |
| back and tries to guess who has the bean in their | | | | 2 minutes, each player calls out as many of the |
| shoe. If they guess right, the person with the | | | | animal names as they can remember. The player |
| bean in their shoe gets to guess next. If they | | | | that remembers the most animal names correctly |
| guess wrong, they get to leave the room again | | | | wins the game. |
| and try again. If they guess wrong a second time, | | | | Dog Bone |
| they get to choose who gets to leave the room | | | | All players are seated in a group. One player is |
| next. | | | | selected to be the dog. The dog sits with his back |
| Hot and Cold | | | | to the rest of the players. A bone (eraser, ball, or |
| Have the players hide an object while one player | | | | some other object) is placed on the floor behind |
| leaves the room. When the object has been | | | | the dog's back. One at a time, each player tries |
| hidden, the player that left returns to the room | | | | to sneak up behind the dog and steal his bone. If |
| and guesses where the object has been hidden. | | | | the dog hears a sound from the player trying to |
| This player must move around one step at a | | | | sneak up behind him, he "barks" and the other |
| time while the other players call out "Warm!" or | | | | player returns to their seat. If someone is |
| "Cold!" or "Colder!" or "Warmer!" or "Boiling!" until | | | | successful in stealing the bone, that player returns |
| the player finds the object. The closer they get, | | | | to their seat and hides the bone. All of the players |
| the "warmer" they are. The further away they | | | | then say, "Dog, Dog, where's your bone?" The |
| get, the "colder" they are. | | | | dog has three chances to guess who stole his |
| Lucky Number | | | | bone. The person who stole the bone gets to be |
| Give each child five buttons. The players go from | | | | dog next. |
| player to player, exchanging buttons with each | | | | Break the Balloon |
| other. They can give away as many or few as | | | | Each child receives a balloon. The first child to |
| they want, but they cannot refuse buttons from | | | | blow up their balloon and pop it wins (show the |
| other players. After approximately 2 minutes the | | | | children how to tie the balloons before the game |
| leader calls "Stop!" The leader then calls out a | | | | begins). |
| "lucky number" between one and twenty. | | | | Blind Man's Bluff |
| Whoever has that number of buttons wins. | | | | Choose one child to be blindfolded. Let the child |
| Cat and Rat | | | | wander around the room until they touch another |
| This game is best for 10 or more players. The | | | | child. The blindfolded child tries to guess who they |
| players hold hands in a circle. One player is the rat | | | | have touched. If they are correct, the other child |
| on the inside of the circle, and one player is the | | | | gets to blindfolded next. If they are wrong, they |
| cat on the outside of the circle. The cat tries to | | | | get to be blindfolded one more time. If they are |
| break through the circle to get to the rat. The | | | | wrong a second time, they get to choose who |
| players in the circle try to prevent the cat from | | | | gets to be blindfolded next. |
| getting to the rat. When the cat succeeds in | | | | Penny Dropping |
| breaking through the circle, the players the cat | | | | Give each player 5 pennies. Place a jar on the |
| broke between are the next cat and rat. | | | | floor behind a chair. Have the players take turns |
| Balloon Race | | | | kneeling on the chair and trying to drop their |
| Give each child a self-addressed postcard. Have | | | | pennies into the jar. Their hand should not go |
| the children dictate to an adult notes to write on | | | | lower than the top of the back of the chair. |
| their postcard that state they are having a | | | | Whoever gets the most pennies in the jar wins |
| contest to see whose balloon travels the farthest. | | | | the game. |