Classic Games for Children's Birthday Parties

If you're celebrating your child's birthday with a big party at home, don't forget the games! Birthday cupcakes, cupcake toppers, and party favors are important, but the kids will really love the chance to play together and be active.

Here are some great classic games you might have played at birthday parties when you were growing up.

Musical Chairs

For this game you need one less chair than you have children and a CD player or iPod to start and stop the music. Start with every child moving around the chairs while the music is playing. When the music stops, all the kids should try to find a seat. The child left standing after all the others are seated is eliminated from the game.

For the second round, remove one more chair and repeat the process. Keep doing this until only one child remains. This game is fun on its own, or you could award a small door prize or even a paper crown to the winning child.

Pin the Tail on the Donkey

This is a simple but well-loved favorite. One at a time, each child is blindfolded and given a paper tail. He or she is then spun around a few times before trying to pin the tail in the appropriate spot on the picture of a donkey. The child who comes closest wins.

Fruit Basket Upset

For this game, each child needs to be assigned to a group. Traditionally, fruits like apples, oranges, and bananas have been used—but you could change it up to match your party theme if you want. If the party is all about dinosaurs, you could have a group of triceratops, a group of T-Rexes, and a group of pterodactyls, for example. Assign groups before you start.

Next, form a circle with one less chair than you have children. The child without a seat will stand in the center and call out one of the group names. All of the children in that group must move to a new chair, and the child in the middle will join them in trying to take one of the open seats. The next child left without a seat takes the center spot for a turn at calling out a group.

At any point in the game, a child could call out, "Fruit Basket Upset!" and all of the children my find a new seat. The game ends when all the kids are exhausted!

What fun birthday party games did you play when you were a kid?