Party games for ages 2-7?

[Krisrich]

I'm having a low-key, family-only, 1st birthday party for my DD. Her cousins are 2, 4, 5 and 7 years old. I know I don't really have to plan anything formal for them to do, but I do think it would be appreciated if I had one or two activities planned to try to keep them occupied. It would also probably add to the festive atmosphere if we played "party" games! But, I'm at a loss for ideas because the age range is so big. I suppose I could focus on the 4-7 year olds and the 2 year old could participate as able... What do you think? Any suggestions? Thanks!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Pass the parcel is a lot of fun. Directions:


Prepare your parcel. This can be done in three ways, each of which creates a variation of Pass the Parcel:

One (musical): Place a gift at the centre of the parcel. Use a small box if you want an even shape or to make it look larger than it is. Wrap as many layers as players, with some to spare in case more players turn up. The parcel should be large enough for at least a 5 minute game, so add more layers even when you have only a few players; it just means they get more turns.
Two (musical): Place a gift at the centre of the parcel and a smaller gift on every layer of the parcel. This is the best way of preparing the parcel for children ages 3 - 8, as then each child receives a prize no matter who wins the prize wrapped in the middle of the parcel.
Three (descriptive): Place a gift at the centre of the parcel. Only this time, you have extra work to do. Instead of a gift on each layer, you leave a label. The label should state "For the person who...". Add reasons such as: "is wearing green", "has a pink ribbon", "likes penguins", "got an A in math this week" etc. The labels should be more descriptive the better that you know the children and less descriptive for parties where you aren't very familiar with the children. Colors, hairstyles, types of clothing and shoes are always a safe bet.


Sit in a circle. All the players should be seated comfortably and close enough to the person each side of them that they can pass the parcel quickly.
Begin the game (variations one and two):

Select the music-keeper. This person will be responsible for turning the music on and off. It should be someone who is able to keep an eye on the players and stop the music in a fair way that allows everyone a turn at unwrapping. It is a little tricky because the music-keeper must be able to both see the players but at the same time, players should not be able to see the movements of the music-keeper getting ready to stop the music.
The music-keeper plays the music and stops it when least expected.
The player holding the parcel unwraps a layer. If the parcel was midway in the air between exchanges, the parcel goes to the player it was being passed to.
The music-keeper starts the music again. This continues until all the layers have been removed. Continue playing until the last layer is unwrapped. The player who unwraps the last layer keeps the item.


Begin the game (variation three): This game does not require music. Rather, each player reads out the labels and everyone in the group has to guess who the parcel is meant for. The person who made the parcel should act as the umpire if there is any disagreement. Continue until all the layers have been unwrapped. Read "Tips" for how to make this more fun for adults.

http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Pass-the-Parcel
Beth

[WatchingThemGrow]

Same scene here in the past - cousins 2-12. We gave out hulahoops as a favor (outside, of course) and let them have at it. Got some great videos!

[Krisrich]

That sounds great! I especially like the music versions! Thanks!

[american_mama]

I just had a party with a large group of 4-7 year old's, most kids being on the younger end. We played "Survivor Island" which is like musical chairs. Get a square of fabric (bath towel would work for your group, I used a blanket throw), play music, have kids circle the "island." When music stops, everyone hops on to the island and grabs on to each other to keep their balance. Adult judge decides if anyone has fallen off and is thus out. Then fold the fabric up to make it smaller, and repeat, repeat until you have one survivor.

I will say there was a fair amount of pushing at the end, so think about how to handle that in advance. We played some beach party music, which the kids really liked grooving to.

A simpler game, which followed the above, was freeze dancing. Play music, kids dance, music off, kids freeze. If you move, you're out.

I also once did a race with different teams racing with a spoonful of water to try and fill up another container. It was fun, but you need really big spoons (like ladles) and a relatively small container to fill. Remember, you need two identical of each for it to be fair. The kids also tipped our filling containers over as they dumped, so we had to have adults hold them down.

Lastly, I have had a booming success doing different kinds of treasure hunts at 5 year old birthday parties. Once I took digital photos of hiding spots around the yard, printed and then hid the images in the right spot, and they followed each printed clue to the end. At the end, their treasure was their party bag. But they won't work for anyone younger than 4, I'd say. The second time, I tied/taped colored streamers in different spots around the yard and kids simply had to hunt around to find the next colored ribbon. It didn't work as well because the order was less clear and they'd often be able to see multiple colored ribbons at the same time. I could have corrected that, but it would have taken multiple go arounds on my party, moving in different ways, and I ran out of time.

[713abc]

We had a large get together recently with about 6 families, kids ages 2 - 6. I did a coloring activity which was a really big hit.

I used Microsoft Power Point to create a simple sheet for the kids to color. I created a little border which they could color in, added some "power point ready" objects like a star and moon and smiley face. And then I used the "word art" font to write each child's name in the middle which they could color in (the name was big in the middle of the page). I printed two copies for each child.

It didn't take long to create and print, and they were surprised and excited to have something with their names on it to color.

We also played charades after dinner (mostly with animals).

Have fun!
Robin

[infomama]

I would highly recommend sandblast kits. http://www.sandartsupplies.com/ We got these for Dd1's 4th birthday party and everyone had so much fun with them. Looks like you can buy individual kits for $2 each.