So your little one is going to be all of 10 now and surely, you want to celebrate it in the best possible way. But now that your kid is a big boy/girl, it is not just about mommy and daddy anymore. There are 10-year-olds attending the birthday party, so games are an inevitable part of it. No matter what kind of food you decide on, or what theme the party is, you will have to make sure that the games are fun-filled and exciting.
After all, who cares about the food when you are 10? Games are the main event at any birthday party. No party is a party until it’s had a good round of games and prizes. While planning party games for 10-year-olds ensure utmost safety and simplicity. Making a game too complicated can discourage children from participating.
Indoor Party Games
What you Need?
• Cups
• Candy
• Straws
• Dice
How to Play?
• The kids form a circle
• Each kid has a straw and a cup
• A bowl full of small candies like M&Ms is in the center
• Ask a kid to roll the dice
• If he/she gets a six, they start to suck candies with the help of the straw
• If not, they pass the dice to the next kid
• They continue until someone else rolls a six
• The game is over when the bowl is empty and the one with highest number of candies wins
What you Need?
• A few packets of candy (depending on the number of guests)
• A bowl
• A few sheets of paper
• Pencils
How to Play?
• Pour the candy in the bowl.
• Ask the kids to guess the number of candies in the bowl and write it on the paper.
• Then count the number of candies.
• The kid with the closest number wins.
What you Need?
• Two bags of marshmallows
How to Play?
• The kids have to put a marshmallow in their mouth and say ‘chubby bunny’.
• Then put another one and say ‘chubby bunny’, then a third one and so on.
• They repeat this until they can no more say ‘chubby bunny’.
• Note down the score on a board. One with the highest score wins.
Test your Brains
What you Need?
• A rubber ball
How to Play?
• Ask all the kids to make a circle.
• Hand over the ball to one of them.
• Ask the birthday boy to select a category, for example, cities.
• Now ask the kids to throw the ball according to their turn, whilst they name a city each.
• The kid who holds the ball for too long, pauses for too long or repeats a city, loses.
• The kid who remains last, wins.
What’s in my Bag
What you Need?
• 5 bags filled with random items like a mirror, comb, a pair of glasses, a wig, etc.
How to Play?
• Divide the children in teams.
• Ask one kid from each team to pick up one bag.
• Now, ask each team to come up with a 5 minute skit using at least 5 items in the bag.
• Make sure you make a video.
Outdoor Party Games
What you Need?
• A blanket
How to Play?
• Divide the kids in two teams.
• Provide each team with a blanket.
• Ask one player from each team to lay down on the blanket.
• Draw a finish line on the other end.
• Ask the team to drag the blanket.
• The team crossing the finish line first wins.
How to Play?
• Ask all the children to stand in a tight circle, facing each other.
• Now, each kid has to hold hands with the kids standing opposite to him/her.
• Ensure that each kid is holding hands of two different people.
• Try to untangle these knots by turning around, ducking under, etc., without letting go of the hands.
What you Need?
• Plastic cups
• Water
• Jump rope
How to Play?
• Fill all the cups with water.
• Assign two kids to spin the rope.
• Provide the rest of the kids with one cup each.
• One by one, ask them to jump the rope thrice.
• This has to be done spilling as little water as possible.
• The kid with most water left, wins.
Animal Farm Game
What you Need?
• A list of animals
How to Play?
• Choose a kid (maybe the birthday boy/girl) to be the farmer.
• Give the list to the farmer.
• Ask hem/her to assign two kids for each animal on the list.
• The farmer then whispers to each player their animal identity.
• When the game starts, all the players must call out for the one with the same animal identity by making the sound of that particular animal.
• The first ones to find their partner win the game.
Make me Laugh
What you Need?
• Nothing
How to Play?
• Ask all the kids to make a circle and sit down.
• The first player is supposed to say or do something funny to make the next one laugh.
• Once he/she laughs, they make the person next to them laugh, and so on.
• The winner could be the person who does not laugh until the end of the game.
Prize Ideas for Party Game Winners
It is obvious that you will have to give the winners a prize. But make sure that you give the other kids something as well. You sure don’t want any fights, do you? Try to have at least one prize for each kid. Ideas include:
• A board game
• Paper airplane kit
• A packet of chocolates
• Crayons and coloring book
• A colorful story book
• A stationery set
• Lunch boxes
• Water bottles
• Puzzle set
• Package of play dough
A Few Tips
- Prepare everything in advance, you’ll be preoccupied during the party and end up juggling between things. Make a list of the things required, write down the order in which you plan to play them.
- Ensure that you understand all the games beforehand.
- Know how much is too much. Don’t plan too many games for a short time. But keep a few other ideas handy, in case the kids get bored.
- Don’t choose complex games. Choose the ones which are easy to understand as well as fun to play.
- Don’t force any kid to participate. If someone doesn’t want to participate, just give the kid something else to play with. They can also be assigned as timekeepers, referees, etc.
- Make sure no one feels left out.
Planning a birthday party is surely a lot of work. If you are having a hard time, you can always hire a party planner or entertainer to help you out. Wishing you luck to make this day your child’s most memorable one.
