Games, Games and More Games!

Finding party games can be a challenge, so I've made the work a little easier. Here are a few FRUGAL ideas for games. (that's the great part of games - most ARE frugal!) LOL
For 100's more, check out that e-book I mentioned yesterday!

I love more traditional games, so that's what I'm sharing!

PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY
Change the donkey and the tail to match your theme!
Examples:
- Pin the petal on the flower
- Pin the handle on the teapot
- Pin the tail on the T-Rex
- Pin the wheel on the truck
You get the idea. Then each child is blindfolded and gets a try at placing the tail as close as possible to where it supposed to go. The closest is the winner.

LIMBO
Fun for kids of all ages! Set up a bar that can be raised or lowered, we usually have two people hold the bar, but it has posed a problem before because sometimes they like to move it down "too soon". Play some music in the background and have everyone take a turn going under the bar. You go under the bar facing forward and leaning back! The person who can go the lowest is the winner!

MUSICAL CHAIRS
A traditional favorite! Set up a line of chairs, one less than the number of players and start the music. Everyone walks around the chairs and sits down once the music stops. Whoever is left standing is "out" and we usually have a "booby" prize for them. Take away one chair and start the music again. This continues until there is only one chair. The final two people begin to walk around the chair. Whoever sits when the music stops is the winner!

CAKE-WALK
Set up a bunch of numbers on the floor. Traditionally it's a circle, but we play around with it sometimes and make them zizag and other funny methods. Begin playing music and have everyone walk from one number to the next. Stop the music and allow everyone to get fixed on their number. Draw a number from a hat and then call out the number. Whoever is standing on that number when the music stops is the winner! Obviously at school carnivals and such, the winner usually get's a cake or other goodie, but, you can give away something different.

SIMON SAYS
Get everyone to stand at one end of a large room or out in the yard (yards work better). Simon stands at the other end. Simon gives commands starting with "Simon Says" - "Simon Says take two giant steps forward". "Simon Says pat your head". "Simon Says Sit Down". Affter a few of these you command them to do something without saying "Simon Says" and anyone who does it is out. Whoever follows only Simon's orders and is left at the end of the game wins!

Theme It - What's the BIG IDEA?

Are you having trouble coming up with a theme for your child's party? Well, that's the problem! Unless it's a surprise party, it shouldn't be YOUR BIG IDEA! It should be left to the child to decide. Encourage your child to use their interests, hobbies or collections to guide them.
An example, my daughter LOVES to scrapbook. So we made a scrapbook themed party, took tons of digital photos, printed them out for the kids and they made a mini-scrapbook while they were at the party. Our goody bags were little gift bags filled with stickers, die cut shapes (I raided my own stash), gel pens and each child received a paper punch. (The latter two were found at the dollar store!)
We also learned through trial and error that the smaller the party, often the more fun it is! You can do more with less kids!

Here are some themes to get your BIG IDEAS rolling, just be sure to read them to your kids so it can be their final BIG IDEA! (there's nothing wrong with giving them a list to choose from of say maybe 10 different themes and letting them choose one - sometimes you can even combine them)

Our GIANT list of themes: (collected from everywhere for our e-book!)

Airplane Party
Alphabet Party
American Girl Party
Angel Party
Animal Party
Aquarium Party
Army Party
Around the World Party
Arts & Crafts Party
Astrological Party
Back To School Party
Backwards Party
Barbie Party
Barnyard Party
Baseball Party
Basketball Party
Batman Party
Beach Party
Birthday Parade
Blues Clues Party
Book Party
Bowling Party
Bratz Party
Breakfast Party
Bug Party
Butterfly Party
Buzz Lightyear Party
Camping Party
Candyland Party
Care Bears Party
Carnival Party
Cartoon Characters Party
Casino Party
Cat Party
Christmas Party
Christmas Cookie Party
Cinderella Party
Circus Party
Clifford the Big Red Dog Party
Clown Party
Color Party
Construction Party
Cooking Party
Cowboy Party
Cowgirl Party
Curious George Party
Dalmatian Party
Dance Party
Dance Star Party
Dinosaur Party
Disney Princess Party
Dog Party
Dora the Explorer Party
Dress-Up Party
Elmo Party
Egyptian Party
Fairy Party
Farm Party
Fear Factor Party
Fiesta Party
Fifties Party
Firehouse Party
Fire Truck Party
Fishing Party
Football Party
Frog Party
Garden Party
Golf Party
Gymnastics Party
Halloween Party
Harry Potter Party
Hoe Down Party
Hollywood Premier Party
Ice Cream Party
Ice Skating Party
Jungle Party
Karaoke Party
Knights of the Round Table Party
Ladybug Party
Laser Tag Party
Lego Party
Lilo & Stitch Party
Luau Party
Madeline Party
Makeover Party
Mall Party
Mermaid Party
Miniature Golf Party
Movie Theater Party
Mystery Party
Olympics Party
Oscar Party
Peter Pan Party
Pharaoh Party
Pirate Party
Pirates of the Caribbean Party
Pizza Party
Playdoh Party
Play Party
Pokemon Party
Pony Party
Pooh - Winnie the Pooh Party
Pool Party
Princess Party
Racing Party
Rescue Heroes Party
Restaurant Party
Rock Star Party
Rock Climbing Party
Rodeo Party
Roller Skating Party
Rubber Ducky Party
Safari Party
Salon Party
Scooby Doo Party
Scavenger Hunt Party
Science Party
Scrapbook Party
Sesame Street Party
Sixties Party
Sleep Over Party
Snow White Party
Spa Party
Space Party
Spiderman Party
Splash in the Backyard Party
SpongeBob Squarepants Party
Sports Party
Sprinkler Party
Spy Party
Star Wars Party
Strawberry Shortcake Party
Surprise Party
Survivor Party
Sweet 16 Party
Tea Party
Teddy Bear Party
Thomas the Tank Engine Party
Tie Dye Party
Toy Story Party
Train Party
Under the Sea Party
Western Style Party
Wiggles Party
Willy Wonka Party
Wizard of Oz Party
Zoo Party
Zorro Party
50s and 60s Party

For more party ideas (over 200 MORE themes and IDEAS for each theme) contact me for information about my e-book! It's only $10.00 (no shipping because it's an E-BOOK!) It has way more themes, ideas for each theme, party favors, gift ideas, decorations, craft ideas, recipes and more games than you'll know what to do with! And by the way, it's not just for birthday parties, it's for ANY party - no matter the season or occasion! And many of my own business parties have come right out of this book - are you in a party plan business? This book will help you out tremendously! It comes in .pdf format. When contacting me, put "The Ultimate Party Planner" in your subject field. Thanks!