Party Activities for Kids

Try to see who can figure it out when it comes to this guessing game that uses more than your sense of sight.

What You'll Need:

How to Play Figure It Out:

Step 1: Put all three objects into the hat. In a separate room, have each player reach into the hat (without looking) and try to guess what each object is.

Step 2: After everyone has had a try, meet together in a room and have everyone write down the mystery objects. The winners are those who guess correctly.

Keep reading to learn how to play another fun party game.

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This pencil me in game is tougher than you think -- for even more fun round up some friends to challenge each other.

What You'll Need:

How to Play Pencil Me In:

Step 1: Scatter the pencils on a tabletop, with several lying across each other. The object of the game is to remove one pencil at a time without making any of the other pencils move.

Step 2: The game ends when a pencil moves. Hint: You can use a pencil that's already been removed to try to push or flip out a pencil that's still in the pile. This is great fun to play alone, but it is also lots of fun with friends.

Keep reading to learn how to outfox your friends with a fun game.

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Gather up a bunch of your friend to play fox and hounds, and find out who will outfox whom.

What You'll Need:

How to Play Fox and Hounds:

Step 1: Have everyone sit in a circle. Remove all the face cards from a deck of cards except for one joker.

Step 2: Choose a person to be the game leader. Count out as many cards as there are people playing, except for the game leader, making sure to include the joker. The game leader deals out the cards face down to the other players. Whoever gets the joker is the fox.

Step 3: After the cards have been passed out, collect them again. Now the game leader instructs the group, or "hounds," to "fall asleep" by bowing their heads and closing their eyes. Only the fox stays "awake" so the game leader can identify him or her.

Step 4: The game leader calls for the hounds to "awaken." The group plays the game in rounds, eliminating one person from the game at a time.

Step 5: When the hounds "awaken," the players stare closely at each others' eyes and suggest one or more people they believe to be the fox. When they decide on a person to question, he or she must tell the group why he or she couldn't be the fox. If the group believes that person, they choose another until they find a person they decide to eliminate.

Step 6: While everyone is staring at each other, the fox carefully winks at someone (without being seen by the others) and eliminates them. That person waits a few seconds, and then announces, "I've just been outfoxed."

Step 7: The game leader calls for the hounds to "fall asleep" again, and everyone except the fox and the eliminated players bow their heads and close their eyes.

Step 8: Once someone is eliminated, they can remain and watch the rest of the game, but they may not speak at any time or give clues about the fox's identity.

Step 9: Play continues until one person is left--either the fox or a hound. The hounds win the game if they manage to find the fox in this manner before he or she outfoxes them.

Need another game to play for a large group of people? Keep reading to learn how to play a get-to-know-you game.

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Roadblock is a fun game with a room full of people, and is a great way to get to know each other.

What You'll Need:

How to Play Roadblock:

Step 1: One person stands in the middle of the group and tells one thing about himself or herself, such as "My name begins with A." Then everyone for whom that statement is true -- in this case, anyone else whose name begins with A -- jumps up and dashes for a different empty seat (including the person in the middle). It can't be right next to the seat you just had.

Step 2: If only one other person jumps up, they are next to stand in the middle. If no one jumps up, the same person must tell something new about himself or herself.

Step 3: Here's the tricky part -- no item can ever be repeated. If you can't think of something new, yell, "Roadblock!" Then everyone must jump up, grab another seat, and avoid being the person left standing.

Keep reading to learn how to challenge each other by drawing pictures with your feet.

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It's hard to say which is more fun: trying to master foot drawing yourself or watching someone else try it.

What You'll Need:

How to Play Foot Drawing:

Step 1: Have everyone sit in a chair, and place a large piece of paper by the foot of each chair.

Step 2: Give everyone a marker to draw with. Don't let them hold the marker in their hands -- instead they have to hold the marker between their toes.

Step 3: Now everyone can start drawing. Have them start by trying to write their name, then have them draw a picture. When everyone's done, compare their foot drawings. Save the drawings as souvenirs from your party.

Keep reading to learn how to treat your guests like royalty with their own personalized party plates.

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Make all your guests feel like the guest of honor with these personalized party plates.

What You'll Need:

How to Make Personalized Party Plates:

Step 1: Draw a special picture on each paper plate for your guests. If you want to use the plates as place cards, write each guest's name on it. For each plate, cut a circle of clear plastic wrap the same size as the plate.

Step 2: Apply a ring of glue around the rim of one plate. Add a dot of glue to the center of the plate.

Step 3: Cover the plate with a circle of plastic wrap to seal your picture. Repeat for the remaining plates. You can use these plates to serve anything that doesn't need to be cut with a knife. Ice cream and cake, cookies, or cheese and crackers all work just fine.

Who do you think knows your family the best? Keep reading to learn how to find out that answer with a family facts game.

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Play this timed family facts game to figure out who has the best memory in your family.

What You'll Need:

How to Play Family Facts:

Step 1: Gather up Mom, Dad, and all the kids to play this fun family trivia game. Divide family members into two teams. Each team then writes down 20 short descriptions of experiences or facts related to the family, such as "Ben's high school graduation" or "Nick hates carrots" on index cards.

Step 2: Teams trade their stacks of index cards but can't look at them.

Step 3: Players on each team take turns choosing an index card from their stack and trying to draw it so the rest of the team members can guess what the card says before the timer goes off.

Step 4: Decide as a group how long you want to set the timer for. Remember, you want to give people enough time to draw and make guesses, but you also want to keep the game exciting.

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ABOUT THE GAME DESIGNERS

Family Facts by Lisa Lerner and Kersten Hamilton