Things to do at a kids' party
63 challenges and 8 games for a kids' party, with the rules written out and what each one needs. Take what suits, leave the rest, and change the wording of anything you keep.
Nothing at all · 43
The Partner Quiz
Questions answered by the birthday kid's partner in advance. The birthday kid guesses what they said.
Nothing at allThe birthday kid's Choice
At the end, the birthday kid awards points for the single funniest contribution to the party.
Nothing at allGuess Who Said It
Everybody submits one thing about themselves nobody here knows. Sealed until the room is ready, then read out one at a time while everybody guesses who.
Nothing at allThe Doppelgänger
Find something nearby that looks oddly like the birthday kid and photograph the two of them together.
Nothing at allThe Recital
The best performance on whatever instrument the venue has. Everyone votes on the last night.
Nothing at allThe Small Table
A round the children can win and the adults cannot, judged by the children, with no appeal.
Nothing at allThe Team Photograph
Each team recreates a famous photograph using only what is in the building. Twenty minutes.
Nothing at allThe Toast
Thirty seconds each, standing up, to the birthday kid. The room marks it.
Nothing at allThe birthday kid vs Everyone
Once an evening the birthday kid faces a nominated challenger at something quick — a putt, a cut of the cards, a trivia question, a coin.
Nothing at allAdvice for the Road
Everybody writes one line of advice for the birthday kid. Sealed until the last meal, then read out one at a time.
Nothing at allAlbum Cover
The best accidental band-photo of the party.
Nothing at allBad Dance-Off
Head-to-head, deliberately terrible dancing. Applause decides it.
Nothing at allCalled Shot
Call the ball and the pocket, then sink it. Five attempts.
Nothing at allConfidently Wrong
Convince somebody, for five minutes, of something about where you are that is completely untrue.
Nothing at allFirst Light
Be the first out with a coffee on any morning.
Nothing at allGolden Hour
The best sunset photograph of the party, with at least three of everyone in it.
Nothing at allGolden Hour at the Water's Edge
The best sunset photograph taken from the water, with at least three of everyone in it.
Nothing at allHydration Hero
Most visibly committed to water, and to keeping everybody else fed.
Nothing at allNames by Dinner
Half of everyone have never met. Know every name, and one true thing about every person, by the first dinner.
Nothing at allNo Phone Zone
The longest agreed stretch with phones away, photographs and emergencies aside.
Nothing at allOne Memory Each
Everybody puts up one memory of the birthday kid that they do not know anybody remembers.
Nothing at allOne-Finger Wonder
Play a tune everyone can actually name, using one finger only.
Nothing at allOne-Word Movie
Describe a film using one-word clues. Each teammate gets one guess per clue.
Nothing at allPoster Recreation
A photograph recreating a famous film poster using only what is lying around where you are staying.
Nothing at allQuestion Master
Get three different people to answer a question you asked, while Question Master rules are running.
Nothing at allQuote Board
Collect the funniest out-of-context quote of the party. Everyone votes on the last day.
Nothing at allSing What You Say
For fifteen minutes, everything you say has to be sung.
Nothing at allStory Roulette
Each person adds exactly one sentence to an improvised story. No hesitating past five seconds.
Nothing at allThe Coach Quiz
A quiz for the journey. Everybody puts in one question and nobody is allowed to look anything up.
Nothing at allThe Introduction
Pair up across the room, three minutes each way, then introduce the person you were paired with — including one thing you have made up.
Nothing at allThe Quiet Hour
One agreed hour with no phones, no work and nothing about the wedding, the job or the plan. Everybody gets it or nobody does.
Nothing at allThe Quiz Nobody Wrote
Everybody puts in one question they know the answer to. That is the quiz, and nobody had to write it.
Nothing at allThe Round Table
Everybody says one true thing about the birthday kid that nobody else in the room knew. The room votes on the best one.
Nothing at allThe Rover
The birthday kid shouts for a thing, and everybody goes and gets it. First one back takes it.
Nothing at allThe Sealed Prediction
On the first day, one written prediction about the party. It goes in sealed and nobody reads a word of it until the last night.
Nothing at allThe Summit
Chair a serious debate on a completely stupid motion, until the room agrees a winner.
Nothing at allTwo Truths and a Lie: The birthday kid
Everybody submits two true stories about the birthday kid and one invented one. The room guesses the lie.
Nothing at allWildlife Photographer
The best photograph of genuinely interesting local wildlife, taken from a respectful distance.
Nothing at allWrong Hand Hour
Use only your non-dominant hand for harmless tasks, for one hour.
Nothing at allThe birthday kid's Table
The birthday kid can call any person over for ten minutes at any point. Both of you score it, and they cannot call the same person twice.
Nothing at allHuman Tripod
Be in three group photographs holding exactly the same pose.
Nothing at allLocal Colour
Work two words of local slang naturally into the same sentence, five times over the party.
Nothing at allResident DJ
Hold the music for a full hour without a single complaint.
A phone · 5
How Well Do You Know The birthday kid?
A quiz about the birthday kid: childhood, habits, stories, and a few questions their partner signed off on.
A phoneThe Anthem
Write and record the official anthem of the party. Words, tune and production all count.
A phoneFive in Ten
Name five things in a category inside ten seconds. Run it as a knockout.
A phoneName That Tune: Humming Only
Hum songs, no lyrics. Teams race to name the artist and the title.
A phoneOne Song Each
Everybody puts one song on the list and says in one line why. The room votes on the best reason, not the best song.
Something around the house · 9
The Long Flight
Launch a paper plane from the edge. The furthest flight out over the water takes it.
Something around the houseCharades: The birthday kid
Act out people, places and incidents from the birthday kid's life.
Something around the housePaper Plane Regatta
Build paper planes from identical paper. Longest valid flight wins.
Something around the houseSay It, Draw It
One of you describes a photograph nobody else can see, the other draws it. Neither may ask a question.
Something around the houseSock Basketball
Three shooting spots, five rolled socks each, one laundry basket.
Something around the houseTelephone Pictionary
Write a line, pass it on, draw what you were given, pass that on. Nobody sees more than the page before theirs.
Something around the houseThe 60-Second Speech
Draw a ridiculous topic and speak confidently about it for sixty seconds without stopping.
Something around the houseThe Longest Putt
An improvised putting challenge with a soft ball and whatever will do as a target.
Something around the houseUnlikely Expert
A convincing ninety-second lecture on a topic drawn out of a bowl.
A few pounds in a supermarket · 3
The Signature Drink
Invent the drink of the party. It has to be one agreed colour. Named, mixed and presented to the room — alcohol entirely optional, the colour is the brief.
A few pounds in a supermarketMinute to Win It: Cup Stack
Build and collapse a cup pyramid against the clock.
A few pounds in a supermarketThe Hand-Me-Down
Wear something ridiculous but safe, chosen by everyone, until somebody else earns it by losing a challenge.
Something bought · 3
Blind Taste Test
Blindfolded, name the sauce, the soft drink or the crisps.
Something boughtLawn Game Cup
Whatever lawn game the venue already has — ladder toss, washers, boules, cornhole — run as a doubles round robin.
Something boughtMarshmallow Master
Produce a perfectly golden marshmallow. Burnt is a forfeit; raw is worse.
Games · 8
Nothing here needs a box. A deck of cards at worst, and most of them not even that.
Hands Out
A co-op round where everybody can see every hand but their own, and the only help you can give is a hint.
A deck of cardsPlaying Cards
The standard deck, for whatever the table fancies that is not already in the bag.
A deck of cardsPress Your Luck
Turn cards one at a time and stop before the one that ruins it. Nobody ever stops in time.
A deck of cardsThe Quest
The room invents a disaster, one person at a time, and the cards decide whether it worked.
Something around the houseThe Drop
Everybody holding something, one caller, and whatever hits the floor costs you.
Nothing at allIn Order
Everybody gets a secret number and one thing to say. Put the room in order without saying a number.
Nothing at allOne Syllable
Get the room to say the word, using nothing but words of one syllable.
A phoneGuess the Song
First few seconds of a track off somebody's phone. First to shout the title takes the point; artist as a tiebreak.
Put it in your own event
Fayla runs the weekend around whatever you pick: the scoreboard, the secret missions, the forfeits, the plan and the shopping list, from one link in the group chat.