Do you have any children's birthday party games ideas?  

A pinata sounds like a lot of fun, but it isn't very cost effective for my budget. The ones I"ve seen at local stores (like Walmart) are about $20 each, and then there's the cost to fill it with goodies as well.

As for the dance-a-thon, that does sound like fun, but I'm not thinking most of the boys would be interested (there are only 2 girls invited).

I'm starting to think that having a bunch of free play time is what will happen. lol. Maybe even have a movie going on in the background too.

Well I will tell you I made my pinata!!!!It was really fun I did it with my daughters but ai would have done it over more time. I did it the day before and it didn't dry so well. And the goodies are easy...DOLLAR STORE or even really big bags from wal mart they are usually priced good plus if you have a bulk barn that would work too. But just type in pinata in a google search and all kinds of recipes will come up.....Now I'm not saying mine looked like one from wal mart but the kids were so impressed that I made it for my daughter and it took awhile to break!!!!!Try it. It was loads of fun!!!

I don't want the trouble of making one to be honest. Cheap and easy is what I aim for. Oh, and fun. ;) Maybe for my older son's birthday on May 29th I can consider it. That way it could likely be done outside. I don't like having a lot of clean up either. lol.

I like the guessing game idea... I have TONS of paper bags in my craft section in the basement.

Pin the tail on the donkey, and pin the nose on the clown are two games I have in my party bin. I'm bored with that game, but I'll ask the boys if it's one they would like to play again at this year's party.

I have done a variation of your relay race suggestion at previous parties. I'd make the kids put on a pair of those wacky big sunglasses, and they'd have to balance a ping pong ball on a spoon to a mini pylon at the other end of the room, walk around it, and then come back again. They they would trade off their stuff to the next person. First team to get through would win a prize.

I don't have any other adults helping me with this year's party, and I found from previous attempts at that game, it is really difficult without another adult helper.

The balloon one is a maybe. I'll have to ask my boys if they like the idea of that one... we can try it out ourselves to see how it goes.

The majority of the kids coming are 6 years old, so games involving writing things down won't work. Maybe next year though. I like that singing or barking one... lol.. that sounds hilarious! I do a game like that where I wrap a gift numerous times, and when the music stops, the person holding the gift unwraps it. Of course, there are numerous layers of wrapping, so you never know how many rounds each gift goes. lol.

The treasure hunt sounds good too, but again b/c of reading and writing abilities, I'm not sure this year is a good time for that. I also don't relish the thought of a bunch of kids running throughout the entire house. hahaha!

Dear Canadagal,
Regarding the treasure hunt, you could just scatter goodies or small toys all around the place where you organize the party and give each of the little guests a cover with their name written on it, they could collect as many as possible in their cover and after the game they have to place it on the table and can take it home. This way they wont compare as to what the have got and what not.

Yes, of course I need to ask them. :) I just want to present to them some new game ideas as well, and instead of doing an online search for games, I think it's best to talk to others who have tried and tested these games, so I know whether or not they work. :)

Good luck to you,and hope that your whole family will happy forever

One thing I did when my daughter turned 7 was let the children decorate and eat their own cupcakes...It was time consuming but they really got into it with icing, sprinkles, etc.. I can tell you how to get a pinata for a good price, you walk into a party supply store with your adoring twins and ask if they offer birthday discounts..Many do but won't openly advertise it..Our pinata and all the decorations, including sombreros, maracas, and goodies was $50 all because the store we went to offered specials for birthday kids..You just never know till you ask...But for us, La Fiesta was the way to go! You sing Happy Birthday in Spanish, the kids get to learn a little about Spanish customs, and all the games were found doing a Google search on fiestas...Ya know, chocolate originated in Spanish cultures so all the sweets were chocolate...There's just endless possibilities!

We did the self decorating cupcake idea last year, and the kids had a blast! I even had them decorate an extra cupcake or two to bring home. This year, I've ordered a cake. It is a Pirates of the Caribbean cake... and looks uber cool! :D

Hahahha... what a great idea to go to a store WITH the kids and ask about discount supplies. Too funny! The problem is, my twins aren't as adorable anymore, and they don't even look like twins anymore (they were born 2 minutes apart, but there is about 6 inches and 30 lbs between them).

Hehe! Sounds like you already have your theme then. You could come with an idea for building a ship, boxes work well..Everyone will need an eye patch and they could build their own swords using cardboard and aluminum foil...Gotta have a blank for them to walk for some reason or another...hmmmm...brain storming....Do you think they'd go for the pirate theme?

Oh, I wouldn't say it's a theme party at all. I wasn't planning on that.. mostly because it tends to cost more that way. ;) The invites were spiderman, and now the cake is Pirates. Maybe if there IS a theme, it should just be "cool movies"? ;)

Building a ship sounds so cool! Hmmm... I DO want to do a craft other than them just decorating their own prize bags, but I also know I don't want to do any painting. I don't see a mass project like that working for me this time. I was actually going to start another topic thread on easy craft ideas... I'm going to go do that now... so keep on brainstorming! :D

The doughnut game sounds like fun, but I can't think of where I could actually do that in my house that would allow enough room, easy clean up, and somewhere to attach a cord to hang the doughnuts from.

lmao! I have the booze already stocked up. Baileys chocolate mint, Baileys caramel, and a fruity wine drink in a blackberry merlot flavour. Those are my favs.

I will not have any helpers, so I can keep the booze all to myself. :D

Thank you for the link, I will see if there's anything of interest. However, I was looking more for experience gamers that can say whether or not something worked well for them.

Actually I've seen the movie idea work pretty well..They didn't have a huge TV but regular sized one sitting up and the room had chairs set up like a theater..Then there was a concession stand with popcorn, drinks, and an assortment of mini candies to choose from..The screen needs to be elevated so everyone can see, it needs to be kept darker in the room, and those $1 stick on lights work well for "track lighting" ...Also another fun thing is to pass out cheap disposable cameras and let the kids just free play and take funny pics....The kid's take their cameras home and pay for the developing on their own...A cheaper version of this would to be using your digi cam to take all kinds of silly pics, maybe have props and costumes set up, and then have your printer full of ink and let the kids take home a pic of themselves at the party....