Games, Activities, and Dances

Below is a list of great games and dances that can make any party a hit. No matter what age you are playing games and having follow along dances will put a smile on your guests face and will definitely make the party a success. So here's to being young and having a ball in life!

 Follow-Along Dances (optional) 

Party  Games

Gone Fishin
You will need a helper for this children's activity. Tie a string across the room and lay a sheet over it so no one can see what is on the other side. Use an old fishing pole, or tie a string around a stick or broom handle. Tie a clothespin on the end of the fishing pole's string. Let each guest take a turn "casting" their line over the sheet. Have your helper stand on the other side and attach small gifts, favors, or treats to the clothespin. When they're done, the helper gives a slight tug on the line. When the kids "reel" in their lines, they'll be delighted to see what they've caught!

Pass The Box
This is really fun, Take a small gift or toy that all kids would enjoy, then gift wrap it, but keep wrapping it with different layers of giftwrap. Play some music while passing the present around, when the music stops, the guest left holding it unwraps the first layer of wrapping paper, then the music starts again and the box is passed, then every time the music stops, another layer is removed until someone finally unwraps the very last layer,,,,, and that is the winner. It is kind of like Hot Potato, but this is an item that everyone wants to hold on to!

Statues
Played to music, all the players move round while the music is playing, when the music stops the players have to stand like statues, anyone who moves is out, start the music again and repeat as many times as you want.

Hats and Shoes
This can be played with just hats and shoes or an assortment of different clothes.

Put an equal number of different items into a bag a shirt, a hat , pants, socks, shoes. Each player will receive a bag. On the word Go they have to put on the items in the bag, the one to put all the items on first is the winner.

(Adult or larger clothes than the children work best so they can be put on over their own clothes)

Musical Chairs
Line up alternate facing chairs, one less than the number of children playing. The players move round the chairs while the music is playing. When the music stops they have to sit down on a free chair, the player without a chair is out, take away one chair each time, repeat until you have 2 players and 1 chair the one to sit down first is the winner.

Advanced Musical Chairs
This fun variation of musical chairs is set up just like normal musical chairs but with additional fun thrown in. Start the music and have the children walk in a circle around the chairs, until you stop the music. When the music stops, each participant tries to sit in one of the chairs. The player left standing must pull the name of an animal, written on a piece of paper, out of a hat. Then, they must act it out while the other guests try to guess what the animal is. Start the music again and repeat the game until all the animals in the hat have been acted out.

Upset the Fruit Basket - Musical Chairs variation
It's a variation of musical chairs and works well with large groups 10 or more. Get a group of people to put their chairs in a ring. Just like musical chairs. Give each person is placed into a fruit group, for example you could have 4 apples, 4 oranges and 4 bananas (you can add more types of fruit if you have quite a few people). Each group of fruit should be 4 or 5 people is good, add more fruit names if needed. Then everyone sits in their chair and you call out apples and only the apples have to stand up and walk around the circle. While they are walking you remove one chair and at some point you call out apples again and all the apples scramble for a chair. The fruit left standing
is out of the game. Then next you call out either a banana or orange. But if you say "upset the fruit basket" then everyone has to get up and walk around the circle. The winner of course is the last fruit in the basket.
Red Light, Green Light
Before the game, lay two lengths of rope, or crepe paper, about 25 feet apart in your play area to make start and finish lines. The birthday child stands in front of the finish line (they're the Police Officer), while the others stand behind the start line. The game begins when the Police Officer turns his/her back on the other players and shouts, "Green Light!" He/she then turns around and counts to five.

While the Police Officer is counting, the other players try to run or walk quickly toward the finish line. When the Police Officer has finished counting to five he/she shouts, "Red Light!" and turns around quickly. The other players must freeze instantly. If the Police Officer catches anyone moving, that player must return to the starting line. Play continues until one of the participants crosses the line while the Police Officer's back is turned. That player then becomes the Police Officer.

Egg and Spoon race
If you are indoors, you may want to use hard boiled eggs, small potatoes or ping pong balls, if outside you can use regular eggs. You'll need to decide on a starting point and a finish line or a second line for a relay race.

You can be this game with each guest being a contestant or you can play is as a team (as a relay). Place an egg on the spoon, the child must walk from the starting line to the finish line without dropping the egg or ball. The first one to cross the line with the egg still on the spoon wins.

If you play teams, divide the guests into 2 teams. Then split the teams so that half of the team is at the starting point and the other is at the finish line, if needed one child can go twice. To start each team has one spoon and egg/ball, other play from each team starts the race by walking the course (or to where a the finish line is) and giving the spoon to the next team member who goes back to the starting point this continues until all the players have completed the race. The team to complete the process first, wins.

Note: During the relay race, if the egg or ball is dropped then the team member can pick it up but must go back to their starting point. Make more complex by making contestant walk around

Toothpick - Lifesaver Race
First divide your group into 2 teams, each team will need to be lined up facing the forward. Then take a bunch of toothpicks, give each person a tooth pick and then the person at the beginning of the line gets the lifesaver. Before you begin everybody puts the toothpicks into their mouth and then the captain (first person in line) puts a lifesaver on the toothpick. the object is to pass the lifesaver from team member to team member using only the toothpick, no hands! The first team to pass it down to the end end of the line wins.
If the lifesaver falls on the floor then you must start at the beginning again. (Another variation that it is easier is straws and pretzels)

Balloon Stuff Game (to the music “Eat It” by Wierd Al Yankovich )
Teams are made by dividing the party guests (more than two teams will
work fine). Each team is handed a few bags of balloons and a bag that
contains a large shirt and pair of pants.

Each team chooses a person in their group to put on the clothes, the
rest of the team will be blowing up the balloons. When the
"facilitator" says "GO !" each team begins to blow up the balloons and
the designated person/volunteer pulls on the large clothes. When the
person is "dressed", teammates begin to stuff the inflated balloons in
the shirt and pants as fast as they can. Some balloons will pop.
After a predetermined period of time has expired, everyone must stop
stuffing balloons in the shirt and pants.

The winning team is the one that has the most balloons stuffed into
their "volunteer's" clothing. No need to pull the balloons out from
underneath the clothing...you simply use a long hat pin to pop each one
while everyone counts. When I have played this with adults, some
balloons in the shirts aren't popped until last. Your volunteer goes
from looking like the Michelin Man to a well developed Barbie doll.
(One warning, the volunteer should have clothing that covers most of
their skin because when the balloons are popped it can sting bare
skin.) I have played this game with 4th grade children, however, the
balloons were inflated for them and poured all over the floor.

Sock Game
Do you have a lot of single socks, well this game is for you.
Get two plastic storage containers, empty boxes, or laundry baskets and
place a bunch of socks in each basket, split your kids up into two groups.
One group for one basket and the other group for the second basket, have the same number of socks in each basket.

You'll need to have one player from each team as contestants. Set up a starting line a few feet from the basket and when you are ready say "Go." The kids will then rgo to the basket and put on as more socks as they can in 60 seconds. At the end of 60 seconds, you'll need to count how many socks they are wearing, you have the rest of the kids help you count socks as the kids take them off, doing one kid at a time. The kid with the most socks on wins! Then you let the next two kids go, until all the kids have had a turn.
 

Sock Game Relay
Take the sock game premise. In this game, you place an even amount of socks in each basket, let's say 6. The group is split into teams, example 4 each, and 3 team members are put at the starting end and 1 at the other. The distance can be 10 - 15 feet between the team members.

The first player must run to the basket and put on all of the socks and then run back to the starting line, take them off, and then the next team member must put them on. After the second team member puts them on the must go to the member by the basket and take the socks off, etc... - the winning team is the one that has the last team member put on all the socks and then cross the fininh line.

 Yarn Twist
*Works good with a lot of players
You can play this game at just about anytime, especially birthday parties after everyone has had cake and is really hyper! Get everyone into a circle facing inward and give everyone a ball of yarn. Have them throw their ball to everybody while holding onto the end (Example: Sarah throws her ball to Taylor while Taylor so throwing his to Erin) Now see if you can undo the knot!!! We just made it worse!

Whistling Game
Okay, noise group? This will keep them quite for a little bit. Have a group of children sit on the floor and give each child 5 or 6 saltine crackers. Object of
game is for the kids to eat the crackers as fast as possible (with no
water), and the first person to be able to whistle after eating the crackers win.

Balloon Burst - Activity
Blow up lots of big sized balloons and before putting a knot in them, push a small wrapped candy inside (small tootsie rolls, individually wrapped lifesavers, dum-dum lollipops work well, or pieces of paper that name prizes). Spread all the balloons around the floor at the party and let guests go wild sitting on them and popping them. Obviously once popped, they can have the treat that's inside. This can be great fun for young children.
 

Gift Grab - Card Game
The idea is to have 2 decks of cards, pass out one deck of cards to everyone at the party circling around giving everyone one at a time until all the cards are gone. Hopefully everyone will come out with an even number of cards.. Have a bunch of nice little gifts wrapped 5 or 10 depending on the amount of guests.. Put the gifts in the center of the room..

Then with the second Deck of Cards have someone call out each card, the person that has the card that is called gets up and picks a prize, when all the prizes are taken from the table, everyone can steal the gifts from each other, when the whole deck has been called out the people with the prizes on their laps keep them..

This game is fun because everyone likes to pick a certain prize that looks interesting and they try to steal it back and forth and other people try not to let you remember they have a prize, but of course they have to keep them in the open....
 
NAME THAT TUNE
You'll need a CD player and some compact discs with compilations of songs related to your theme (Luau, 50's, retro) or just some good favorites of an era appropriate for your party guests. Play the first few bars, and see which guest can name that tune the fastest. Keep track of points and award the winner a music CD. If your group is large, play a variation on this game. Using famous songs, list song titles on one side of a page, and the original Artists or songwriters on the other side. Make enough copies for all guests. Challenge guests to match as many as possible.

Hula Hoopla
Hula hooping isn't just for kids or 50's Sock Hops, but it will make grown-ups feel young again! Purchase or borrow a couple of hula-hoops. They are available at discount chains for about $3.99 each. Let guests know that at a specified time there will be a "hula" contest, and encourage them to practice during the party if the mood strikes.

Limbo
The young and the young at heart always enjoy the classic beach game of "limbo". Try using a string of twinkle l item to match your theme for your limbo stick. For a fun variation on the game, make it a little more challenging by adding a "Super Stomach" to guests as they take their turn. Have a couple of oversized shirts, and some fluffy pillows on hand. ights, a strand of sparkly garland, a bamboo pole, a flashlight (lights out), or any

Who's the Murderer: Good for teens, groups of 5-8 people
All except the detective sit in a circle while the detective waits outside. One person from the circle is elected to be the murderer, and then the Detective is called back to stand in the circle. When he is ready, the Murderer winks at people in the circle. Anyone who sees that they have been winked at lets out a blood-curdling scream and dies. The Detective has three attempts to guess the murderer.

Cotton Ball Game
Supplies:
Bag of cotton balls, two large bowls, a blindfold and a wooden spoon.
The goal is to move as many cotton balls as possible with three "scoops"
of the wooden spoon, from one bowl to the other - - blindfolded. The person that moves the most cotton balls into the other bowl wins. Cotton balls that fall on the ground don't count. In case of a tie, go additional rounds.
Another Cotton Ball Game
This can be teams or against one another, depending on size of room and
number of guests. Have players hold a plastic spoon in their mouths. While on their knees, and hands behind the back, the players must scoop up cotton balls from a bowl and race to the other end of the room trying to carry the cotton balls and placing them in the bowl at the opposite end of the room. Player or team that tranfers the most cotton balls within 1 minute is the winner.

Scavenger Hunt - This is an old party favorite! The DJ chooses a few items that one or more of the adult guests might have (I don’t recommend choosing, ahem, personal products, if you know what I mean!). For example, lipstick, a credit card ending in "9", a wintergreen LifeSaver, etc. Choose at least 10 items, and make them difficult, yet not impossible. Whoever gathers the most items in a preset amount of time wins. I usually will only do this one if I have already done the other eight, as it can be time consuming. These games are very easy to execute, and can be spread out throughout the evening. Some may even be done twice without fear of boredom. Whatever you do, don’t do any two games consecutively, that is, throw some dance time in there. And don’t forget about the adults, too! They also want to party, so make sure that they don’t spend the entire evening watching the kids carry on. Even if they say they would enjoy as such, believe me, they won’t, and will be ready to leave.

Once again, make sure you are compensated for any extra expenditure on prizes. You don’t want to spend your entire wad on prizes!

Hopefully, this has been a tremendous asset to those jocks getting into the Mitzvah business for the first time. You need not be afraid of games, after all, they are your friends. Indeed, even though they’re teenagers, 13-year-olds like to, well, be kids, so don’t be afraid of letting your hair down, and taking that jacket off. Be a "kid" yourself, and never take yourself too seriously; this way, the kids will take you in as "one of them". Have fun!

Mummy Wrap - This is a potentially messy one, but I have a way around that! (to the music “Monster Mash” by Bobby Boris Pickett)

Kids team up in pairs, and each team is given a roll of toilet paper (unused, of course!). One child is the "mummy", and the object is for the other child to wrap up the "mummy" as fast as they can without breaking the toilet paper! If they break it, the team is out. The first team to successfully be wrapped up in unbroken paper is the winner. If no team successfully does this, the last remaining team is the winner. As for clean-up, let the kids play the game, and, at the end of the game, offer a small prize to everyone who helps clean up. Bring a large trash bag with you to the game; the resort will love you for it! Do not start other dancing until all of the toilet paper is cleaned up, and do not expect the resort to clean it up for you.

Huggy Bear (to the music “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge) - Everyone is on the dance floor. Play a song and have everyone dance. Yell out a number and the people must get into groups of that number. Anyone not in a group of that number is out. Good activity for all ages.

Dance contest - Just as the name suggests, this contest works best when you have volunteers in advance. Nothing is more embarrassing then starting a dance competition, and having no one out there! Usually the mention of prizes breaks the ice. It is a good idea to have the adults judge the competition by their applause, because they tend to be the most unbiased.

Coke & Pepsi - This is a relay race, mainly for kids, and usually goes throughout the length of the dance floor. It is suggested that this game be played on a surface that is not smooth to avoid slipping. The object of the game is for the kids to choose partners, with each partner going to opposite sides of the floor. One side is nicknamed "Coke"; the other is called "Pepsi". Similar to "Simon Says", it is a command-oriented game. The DJ alternates calling out either "Coke" or "Pepsi", and the children on that side of the dance floor run to the other side, ultimately sitting on their partner’s knee. For instance, if I called "Coke", the children on the "Coke" side would run across the floor, and sit on their "Pepsi" partner’s knee. The last child to successfully do this is out. That duo leaves the dance floor, and the game continues in this manner. To mix things up, the DJ will occasionally call out another soft drink, such as "root beer" or "Sprite". If any children move, they are out When “Seven Up” is called out both lines run to the middle and “High-Five” their partner. When “Star Trek” is called out, everyone raises their right hand up and yells "Beam me up, Scotty!” When the name of the Bar/Bat Mitzva Boy/Girl is called out, everyone points at him/her, and yells, “You’re the greatest!” Good activity for all ages.  (similar to Simon Says). The last duo remaining is the winner, and prizes can be given to these children. Obviously, because of the physicality of the game, this game is best played by the 13-year-olds.

Simon Says - Everyone has played Simon Says some time in his or her life, and this standard works well at any Mitzvah. The only prop it requires is for the DJ to have the gift of gab (something, I’m sure, most of us already have!). For those unfamiliar with the game, the kids or adults are on the floor facing the DJ. You have the guests react to your commands by saying, for instance, "Simon Says, right hand up". Guests continue reacting to your commands when you preface them with "Simon Says". To disqualify guests, effectively removing them from the dance floor, you issue a command without prefacing it with "Simon Says". If they react, they are disqualified. For example, if you said, "right hand down", and anyone obeys your command, they are out. The winner is the last guest remaining, and a prize can be give to this individual. This game works well after dinner, because there is not a lot of physicality, and it will not interrupt the adults still eating.

Balloon Race (to the music “Wipe Out” by The Surfaris) - Teams are made, each with two lines of team members facing each other. The first two partners facing each other on each team put a balloon between them wherever the DJ calls, i.e. hips, shoulders, stomach, etc. Holding the balloon between that point on their bodies, they race to the end of the line. The balloon is then passed back to the head of the line and the next two partners on each team go. The fastest team for each race gets a point. The balloon must never be touched by either hands or arms. If a balloon drops, the partners must pick it up, go back to the head of the line and start again. The team with the most points wins.

Balloon Pass (to the music “Walk Don’t Run” by The Ventures) - Teams are made and stand in line facing the front of the room. The starting person at the head of the line on each team passes a balloon over their head to the person behind them, who then passes the balloon under their legs to the next person in line, who passes the balloon over their head to the next person, who passes the balloon under their legs, and so on. When the balloon gets to the end, that person runs to the front of the line and it starts all over. The first team that gets their “starting person” all the way to the back wins.

Musical Men/ Women (to the music “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” by The Andrews Sisters) - Have as many men or women sit on chairs in a circle. Then, have one less person going around the circle as people that are sitting. When the music stops, all must find a lap to sit on, the odd person is out. Remove one chair and continue. The last couple wins

Marshmallow Run (to the music of “Sanford and Son”) - Teams are made up and stand in a line on one side of the dance floor facing a large glass on the other side. Each team member has a straw. One at a time, they use their straw to suck up a marshmallow, carry it across the dance floor and deposit it into the glass. They then run back and slap the hand of the next person in line who repeats the process. The first team to deposit one marshmallow for each player, wins.

Indoor Volley Ball (to a mix of Techno Music) - A volley ball game with a long net set up on the on the dance floor, using a large beach ball instead of a hard volley ball. Good activity for all ages

Chicken Pops (to the music "Chicken Head" by 36 Mafia) Make some beaks out of party hats with a pin at the end. Then take a Balloon Bouquet of about 20 balloons for each team and place at one end of the room. Next, have the teams at the other end, when you say go, they have to walk like a chicken to the balloons and "peck" out a balloon and then return. Then the next player on the team does the same. This continues until all of the teams balloons are popped. If a player pops more than one balloon, they get a penalty point for each additional balloon they pop. The team that finishes first and has the fewest penalty points wins.

Balloon Soccer (to the music "Hey Song") All players sit in rows evenly spaced throughout the room. Two goalies sit at opposite corners of the room in a chair. Both goalies have pushpins that will pop balloons. The rest of the group is divided into two teams. To begin, drop some (as many as you want) air-inflated balloons in the center of the room. Each team tries to get the balloons to its goalie, by kicking them. They may never touch a ballon with their hands. The goalie who gets a balloon and pops it scores a point for the team. The goalie must remain seated and cannot leave the chair to catch and pop a balloon. The team that pops the most balloons wins

Balloon Sock Hop (to the music "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley) Balloon Sock Hop is a great game, but it requires lots of room and lots of balloons. For a 30 second game you'll need about 10 balloons for each player. To play, divide the players evenly into teams and assign a balloon color to each team. Then scatter an even number of different colors of balloons around the room. Have the players take off there shoes and start playing the music. The players have to stomp their color of balloons to pop them. After 30 seconds, stop the music, and count up the remaining balloons. Whichever team has the fewest balloons left of their color wins.

Twenty-One (to the music of "Soul Bossa Nova" by Quincy Jones) Teams of 5 people each, form a line on one side of the dance floor. On the opposite side for each team there are 21 large plastic or Styrofoam cups. In the middle of the dance floor, taped in front of each team is an “X.” One at a time, a player from each team races to their cups, carries one to the “X” and forms a pyramid (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). When a player has placed their cup, they go to the end of their line and the next player does the same thing. If the pyramid falls down during the building process, the team member on the dance floor has to set up the whole thing before their team can proceed. The team that finishes their pyramid first, wins.

Movie Soundtrack Trivia-This tests the audio recall-association knowledge of everyone who wants to participate. In English, it means guess which movie the song I'm playing comes from. 

All participants are cleared off the dance floor, noting that anyone stepping on the dance floor before the track is played will be disqualified. A mature volunteer is asked to hold a bell and a microphone in front of the DJ area as players who recognize soundtracks are instructed to be the first to ring in. The volunteer is in charge of choosing who, in his opinion, rung the bell first and who gets the chance to answer. If anyone that is not chosen who yells out the correct answer before the volunteer's selected contestant does, all players are disqualified for that song and then we move on to the next. A prize is handed (or thrown) out for each correct answer.

Lip-Sync Contest - Not exactly Karaoke; This game requires that you pretend to know and sing a song. Participants are put into teams as the guest of honor (plus a friend) is made to be the judge while each group will come up and attempt to 'mouth' to a song that I have secretly chosen. The fun part tends to be which song I might choose. The  tune may be conventional, or it could be bizarre. Either way, the squad that best represents the selection wins.

Mystery Songs - Kind of like 'Name That Tune'. The first few moments of a popular song is played so that players can name the tune. Each correct answer gets a prize. For the young ones, the songs will be whatever's currently playing on the radio. You would be amazed at how keen and attune kids are as they knock down each title like flies just from the opening notes.

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