Party Games: Picking Up Chicks

This past Saturday, we hosted Easter Dinner for a group of our family and friends. We had 18 people to entertain and I was so excited to come up with some games for the big crowd. We played two games and they both went super well. I'm taking about one of the games today and I will post about the other one next week.

This game is called picking up chicks and yes, part of the appeal was the name. We were a little apprehensive about the mess this game could create, but it was surprisingly easy to clean up and didn't actually that much of a mess. Here is my suggestions about mess - if you're playing with young kids, play outside. We played inside with adults (and some older kids) and the mess was manageable.

Party Game: Human Bingo

I've shared many, many party games on my blog and while I love them all, most of them are catered to smaller party groups. I'm so used to organizing events for 10-15 people, so most of my games are best suited for that size of group. That being said, I really love animating a larger crowd (potentially why I love teaching so much!) and I have a few games that I save for when I entertaining a large group!

Today, I'm talking Human Bingo. If I could animate this game at every party I plan, I would. I love it so much! I love explaining the game and then watching the room transform into sheer chaos! This game is my all time favorite ice breaker because it's so darn easy and it works! Human Bingo is definitely best suited to a large group of people (think 20-25 or more) and it is especially useful when there are party guests who haven't met before. It's great to get your guests talking and mingling!

Here is the Human Bingo Card I used at my Dad's 50th birthday:

Party Games: Personalized Jeopardy

Today, I'm sharing a party game that is well loved in my house - Jeopardy. But not just any old game of jeopardy; we like to personalize it! This game requires a little more effort to prep, but it is so easy to animate! It's great to have on hand and really gets the whole room engaged!

Many of the party games I've shared so far are best suited to a smaller group of people. This game is the total opposite, the more people the better! We have played this game with varying numbers of people, but it is especially entertaining for a large group (think 30 or more!). I will explain when and where I have used this game along with how I prepare for it.

I think this jeopardy game works best with big crowds, because I section off the party guests in groups. It is definitely easiest if you let your guests put themselves in teams. I recommend deciding beforehand how many groups of how many people you want and then just letting people know. So, for example, I might say "I need 5 groups of 6." If you are in an informal setting (ie. no tables) ask people to gather in their groups and keep track of who is on their team. If your guests are seated at tables, this is all so much easier - whoever they are sitting with composes their team.

We played this game at our Christmas party one year and it was a little tougher to have uniform groups. Especially because we invite family friends and kid friends. In this case, I recommend reading your crowd. If no one seems to mind that the teams are a little lopsided, just go with the flow. In this case, it totally worked out! If your teams aren't exactly uniform, the game can still work - it is all about fun after all! You don't even have to keep track of points!

A Tea Party Game

When I posted about the Bean's tea party back in March, I shared the details about the decor and the food in one post, then I talked about the games in a separate post. Most all of the games are ones that I had posted about before, so I was able to link to a detailed description. But, one game was a new one that we found just for this party! We called it the -tea game and used words that end with the 'tea' sound (even though most of them actually end with -ty).

To prep for this game before the party, all you'll need is a list of words that end with the 'tea' sound. I printed out a list and kept it organized with all of other party games. I will share the set of words that I used, but note that I used these words with 13-14 year old girls, you might need to choose some different words depending on your audience! All I did was Google words that end with 'ty' then I chose a bunch of words from that list and noted them along with their definition. I tried to choose words that were age appropriate, but I also tried to choose definitions that were age appropriate! I wasn't searching through the Oxford dictionary for these definitions! Heck, I even used the Urban dictionary for one definition!

Below is the list of words that I used. Feel free to use this list exactly or make adjustments as you see fit!

The Bean's Tea Party - The Games!

Last weekend, the Bean had her tea party and if I do say so myself, it was fabulous! I shared all about the tea party last week. You can read that post HERE. Today, I'm talking about the games I used at the party. Some of them, I've shared as a post and some of them are new. If I have posted about them, I will link to them. If I have not posted them, I will give a quick little recap and post about them in the future if they need further expanding. Make sense? As always, if you have questions, let me know!

Party Games: The Game of Phones

Today, I'm sharing a party game. This is something that I started doing very early on with my blog (I think a party game may have even been my first post!). I love planning parties and one of my favorite parts of planning is picking the games! Depending on the theme of the Bean's birthday, I try to plan games that fit the theme. When she had a candy party; it was easy! It was candy everything! This year, she is having a tea party. I don't think games are typically played at traditional tea parties. However, since her friends will be in dresses, I'm trying to plan games that are a little more easy going. You know, no jumping or climbing! This game totally fits the bill. All you need is a list of requirements (I'll detail that below) and a group of guests who all have phones! Here is how you play...

Party Games: The Name Game

I am starting to get moving on a few of the details for the Bean's party. I find that after Christmas, everything moves so fast! The Bean's birthday is a little under 2 months away, so yes, I still have ample time to plan, but I'm starting to get things moving! Her invites are done... maybe I'll share those if I figure out how to blur out all of the personal info! I started working on the place cards, menu and game list yesterday. I will gradually continue to pull the party together over the next couple of weeks - I can;t wait to share it all with you!

Party Games: Song Synonyms

Happy Tuesday! I have to admit - I spent way too long looking at the title of this post! And I'm still not sure it's spelled right! The name song synonyms has way too much going on for me to keep up with! It is much easier to say the name of this game than it is to spell it and I promise, you will have a blast playing!!

Party Game: Psychiatrist

Let me begin by saying - I am not crazy about the name of this game! It is a ridiculously fun & funny game, but I don't love its name! Bearing in mind that the name is all in good fun, and totally not intending to mock, here is how you play:

Pancakes & Pajamas Party - The Games

I have been promising a post about the Bean's party since last week and it is finally here! Today, I'm sharing the games we played and tomorrow all be talking all about the food!

The girls arrived at 11:00 for brunch. once they were through with the pancake bar, we played the lap game. This is my third time animating the lap game and it is just as good every time. The girls get a kick out of it and it is so funny to watch too! You can find a more detailed description of how I do the lap game HERE.

Party Game: Newspaper Fashion Show

The first time I played this game was at my sweet sixteen & I thought it was a little strange at first. My mom asked all of my guests to split into groups and then handed each group a stack of newspaper and a roll of tape. She then instructed us to pick a model and make an outfit for them because there was going to be a fashion show in 20 minutes. I thought this was all too weird, but people got into it!

Okay, old picture time! This is what I looked like after my friends got me ready for the fashion show:

Party Games: Blindfolded Scavenger Hunt

This game has been part of my family's party game repertoire for a long, long time. And not only is it fun at parties but it is great for team building, so this game could be used at office parties or in classrooms to promote effective communication among colleagues/classmates!

To begin, every guest needs to pair up - depending on the kiddos at the party I may choose to pair them up to avoid conflict, but older kids are usually able to pair off without much help. Once they are paired off, their pairing becomes their 'team.' One member of the team is gets blindfolded and the other will be providing directions.

Party Games: Christmas Edition

The holidays are quickly approaching, which means you likely have some holiday parties coming up. I thought it was about time I share some of my favorite Christmas party games that my family has used at various Christmas parties over the years. My family calls this game 'Twas the Night Right Before Christmas Present Pass and here is how we play:

Party Games: 2 Minute to Win it Games

 

These are 2 great games to use a 'in-between' games at a party. I typically use them in between dinner and cake or in between cake and presents because they are so quick but you can play them a couple of times to stall until the next activity!

Party Games: Celebrity Pairs

This game is a great way to start a party, because it gets people talking and it is a great way to get party guests in pairs for future games. Here is how I do Celebrity Pairs:

Party Games: Pop Songs Mad Libs

I loved Mad Libs as a kid & I still do, I love making stories with blanks for my sister to fill out. Well, my love for Mad Libs kind of evolved into this fun party game! If you are not familiar with the original Mad Libs, this is what they look like:

They are so fun and a little book of these make great stocking stuffers for kiddos at Christmas time!

I make Mad Libs a party game by taking popular songs off the radio (I try to pick songs that every one has heard even if it may not be everyone's favorite song) and removing nouns/verbs/adjectives... from them. At my sister's latest birthday, I used Steal my Girl by One Direction and Blank Space by Taylor Swift. You can print & use the exact sheets I used here!

When I animate this game, I split the party guests into 2 groups and give each group sheet 1 of the printable (the sheet that just says 1. verb:_________/2. noun:_________...) and a pen. Depending on the age of the group, you could just leave them to fill out the sheet on their own or you could have an animator help them fill out the sheet - I usually assign an animator to each group to help the group come to decisions peacefully :). It's important that they fill out the sheet 1 without seeing sheet 2, so that their words are as random as possible. When I hand out the first sheet, I don't even tell the party guests what song they have, so to not sway their word choices!

Once they have filled out sheet 1, they get sheet 2 (the paper that has the song lyrics on it with numbered blanks throughout the song) and they fill in the blanks with the words from sheet 1. After both groups have filled in their blanks, we have a little sing-off! Each group goes to the front of the room to sing their silly song for the other group.

Here is an example using Row Your Boat...
The groups each get sheet one, which looks like this:

 They fill in sheet 1, so it looks like this:

Once they've filled out sheet 1, they get sheet 2 which looks like this:

And they fill in the blanks on sheet 2, based on the words they chose on sheet 1, like this:

Then they sing their songs for the group, silly words and all!

Party Game: The Hoop Game

This is a game I found very recently (like last month!) I used it at a sixth birthday party I was animating and it worked out great! I would recommend using this game as a transition game, like while you are waiting for all the party guests to arrive or as guests are starting to get picked up.


What you'll need...
A hula hoop or 2 (that's it!!)

What to do...
Gather the party guests into a large circle and have them hold hands, as they are grabbing hands put the hula hoop on one of the party guests arms and leave it there for now. Explain to the kiddos that the bond they have created by holding hands cannot be broken during this game but they have to try to find a way to get all the kids in the circle though the hoop. When the hoop goes around the circle once, the animator can add in a 2nd hoop to increase the challange.

This is a game that easily fills a couple of minutes at a party and that is SO easy to set up! I was also thinking how fun this would be to play at a family reunion - you could get the whole family playing this one!

Enjoy,
Kenzie

Party Games: The Lap Game

This is my very favorite party game. It is easy to set up and so fun to play!

You'll need:
-enough chairs for every child at the party
-a list of statements for the animator to read. You can find my list here!

When you are ready to play the game, ask the kids to each sit in a chair (make sure there are no empty chairs!). When all of the kids are seated, the animator should explain that they he/she read a list of statements, and the kids who the statements is true for will move one seat to the left.

Example:
the animator reads: "move one seat to the left if you are wearing socks"

The green check marks represent children that are wearing socks and the red exes represent children that are not wearing socks. The kids that are green checks (they are wearing socks) will move one seat to the left and as a result some of the kids who are not wearing socks will end up with another party guest on their lap. I have prepared a list of statements that I have used at parties, you can find that printable here! 

This is a great get to know you game that is guaranteed to get quite a few laughs!
Kenzie

Party Games: Blindfolded Drawing

This is another one of my favorite party games because it is just so easy to animate but it's a blast to play! I start by having all of the party guests sit in a circle on the floor and blindfolding them with handkerchiefs. Once everyone is blindfolded, I give each child a marker and a 8 1/2 by 11 blank piece of paper. Giving blindfolded children markers might sound like a terrible idea, but I am always careful to use washable markers, and we play on a hardwood floor so if there is any marker that gets on the floor, it wipes off easily! Depending on the age of the kids and/or to avoid getting marker everywhere you could use wax crayons or colored pencils or you could put scrap newspaper down under the drawing surface.

Once all the children are blindfolded and ready to draw, I describe a scene for them to scene. For instance, I ask them to draw a house with a tree outside and some birds in the sky. I always ask them to include a drawing of themselves in the picture and maybe the other party guests. I tend to stick to simple descriptions because they are blindfolded. I also always ask the kids to sign their names at the bottom of the picture!

Once they are done drawing, they take their blindfolds off and I ask them to describe what they have drawn to the group. It's always funny to see them try to remember what they drew and where it is on the page! Once we are done playing this game, I fold up the drawings and stick them in the kids loot bags for them to take home!

Let me know if you have any questions!
Kenzie

Party Games: The Best Game Ever

The name of this game really does not lie, it might just be the best game ever! :) To begin this game, split your party guests into 2 teams. It's important to have an even number of kids on each team. To better explain this game, I will use 2 made up teams: team red and team blue. Have your teams sit in separate areas of the room - maybe one team on each end of the room with the animator in the middle.

Here is a free printable that I've created for parties, note this sheet was created for a party with 10 guests (5 on each team). If you have more party guests, you will need to come up with a few more categories. The animator should explain that he/she will read out a category (like who has the longest hair) and each team sends up a representative who they think can win the category. It is important to mention that each player can only represent their team twice during the game so they must think strategically as they choose their representatives.

Depending on the age of the children, it can be helpful to have a helper with each team, to guide the kids in their decisions and ease any conflicts. Once team red and team blue have chosen a representative, the representatives will come to the middle, with the animator and complete the task or evaluate if they really are the best in that category. If team blue's player is the best at the given category, team blue is awarded a point and vice versa. The game continues like this until every player has represented their team twice and the team with the most points wins!

Recap:
1. Print out my free printable of categories. (NOTE: if your party has more than 10 guests you will need to come up with more categories. The number of categories = the number of party guests!)
2. Split your party guests into 2 teams.
3. Explain that you will read out a task/category and each team will have to send up a player that they think can best perform in that category, however every player can only represent their team twice throughout the game.
4. Once each team sends up a representative, evaluate which player really is the best in the category and award a point to the team of the winning player.
5. The team with the most points wins!

See you tomorrow!
Kenzie