If you want to have a birthday party at your house or have birthday party entertainment, make a list of activities that will make your event a success without requiring you to spend extra money on materials. Small children can have a fun birthday party at home by doing things like getting their faces painted, playing a sport, or building a ball pit. If you're going to be the one throwing a birthday party, it's best to make a list of things to do, set a date, make a list of people to invite, and make plans for food, a birthday cake, and other things. If you're going to throw a birthday party, it's best to make a list of what you need to do.

Check out this list of fun birthday party games that won't break the bank and are easy to set up. They can be used by people of all ages, including children, teens, and adults, as long as adjustments are made for each age group.

 

1. Musical Chairs

 

You already know how to do it, right? Set up the play area with one less chair than the number of kids who will be there. When the music starts, everyone gathers around the chairs and walks around them until they hear the music stop. At that point, everyone runs like crazy to get a seat as soon as possible. The person who is standing is the one who loses, and then another chair is taken away. This keeps happening until only one person is left standing.

Getting rid of the chairs and replacing them with a game of musical statues (freeze in place when the music stops, and anyone who is still moving is out) or musical bobs (bob down when the music stops, and the last person to hit the ground is out) is another way to make things easier.

 

2. Pass the Parcel

 

Before the party, go out and buy a small, cheap prize that either fits with the party's theme or is just something you know your child and her friends will enjoy. Then, wrap the prize in as many layers of paper as you can, preferably using recycled wrapping paper or newspaper. For each child, you will need at least one layer. 

To play the game, have the kids sit in a circle while you play some upbeat music and take turns passing the wrapped gift around the circle. As soon as the music stops, the child holding the package will peel off the top layer of paper. Start the music again and keep going until one of the kids pulls off the last piece of paper to reveal the prize they've won.

You could put a small balloon or candy in each layer of the wrap so that each child can take something home at the end of the activity.

 

3. Egg and Spoon Race

Set everyone up in a line and give them each a tablespoon and an egg to balance on top. The players start running to the finish line when the referee says "go." If their egg falls off their spoon, they have to stop what they're doing and put it back where it was before they can continue (or, if you want to be mean, send them back to the beginning every time their egg falls!)

To say it again, hard-boiling your eggs ahead of time will make the final product much cleaner.

 

4. Sack Race

 

For a sack race, you need to give each person a large pillowcase or a bag made of hessian or burlap (you can also play in relay teams to minimize the number of sacks you need). To take part in the race, people will have to stand and put their feet in the bag. 

They will then "go" racing to the finish line (or to their teammate if you are playing relay style). The winner of the competition is either the first person or team to reach the finish line with all of its members jumping.

 

5. Treasure Hunt

 

Treasure hunts, which are also called scavenger hunts, can be set up as simply or as complicatedly as the organizer wants. To make things as easy as possible, you could tell your guests to look for wrapped candies and lollipops and let them keep everything they find. 

For a more difficult treasure hunt, you can hide a series of tokens around the play area for guests to find. At the end of the treasure hunt, the child who found the most tokens gets a gift. The tokens can be anything, like painted rocks, small gemstones of different colors, printed tokens like the ones we used here for a goblin hunt, and so on.