11 Birthday Party Games That Win Every Time

Kelly R:  Gather up the supplies for a variety of Minute to Win It games for an exciting and inexpensive kids birthday party theme! These games are silly, easy to learn, cheap, and so much fun for kids to play together. This was a hit with my son and his friends in elementary school!

Kelly R:  My tween went to a Survivor-themed birthday party and had a blast. The kids were divided into teams and had to compete in a variety of party games, like a trivia challenge and being the first to put on a frozen t-shirt. They got to take home their team color bandana and a tiki cup as party favors.

Kelly R:  This was always my favorite birthday party game when I was a tween and started having at-home parties with a smaller number of friends. Write out a series of clues leading the group to seek out various locations in and around the house, and have a treasure prize (or party favors) to discover at the end. If you've got a bigger group, you can split the kids into teams with two different sets of clues and have them race to the treasure.

Kelly R:  Write out a bunch of clues on strips of paper, and kids take turns randomly picking and acting them out for the group to guess. Divide into 2 teams for a competitive spin. It's fun to match the clues with your party theme if you can.

Kelly R:  One of the best birthday party games for an outdoor party, get creative setting up an obstacle course for the kids to race through. You can use pool noodles, cones, hula hoops, and even existing playground equipment for obstacle challenges. Time each kid individually or do it relay style with teams! This is a fun one for older siblings to help set up and test.

Kelly R:  Here's a great party game for warmer weather. Pair up the kids and have them play water balloon toss to see which team can go the longest without a burst balloon. For more of a challenge, have them take a step backward after every successful catch.

Kelly R:  Freeze dance is a crowd pleaser, and an especially good active party game for kindergartners and younger kids. With a parent or big kid helper serving as DJ, play a song and have all of the kids start dancing. Pause the song and all kids "freeze." Anyone who moves is out, and the game continues until there's one remaining. This is a good excuse to make a fun party playlist!

Kelly R:  Have the kids compete in a hula hoop contest to see who can keep going the longest! If you've got expert hula hoopers, try a variety of challenges like arms, ankle skipping, walking, etc. The hula hoops will make fun party favors for the kids to take home, too.

Kelly R:  You can try different variations on the spoon race for quick and easy party game ideas. Use water balloons, ping pong balls or hard-boiled eggs depending on the age of the kids and whether you're playing inside or outside. Each kid balances the object on a big spoon and tries to race to a finish line without it falling off.

Kelly R:  My son's friends have done birthday party games where each kid brings their own Nerf blasters and ammo and they all go to town in the yard. My advice is to label your kid's gear so it's easier to identify during cleanup. We've lost a lot of Nerf bullets this way, but the kids do love it!

Alexandra F.:  This super fun birthday party game is one we had never heard of until we saw it on Bluey (our favorite cartoon to watch together!), and now my kids want to play it ALL the time. Similar to Hot Potato, kids pass around a wrapped gift while music is playing. When the music stops, whoever is holding the gift gets to unwrap it. According to the Bluey episode, the original way to play is to wrap a single gift in various layers of wrapping paper, so you go through several rounds before a child actually opens the gift, which they get to keep. Another version of the game includes small prizes within each layer of paper, and strategically stopping the music to make sure every child gets a prize.