We all like to say we throw a good party, whether it’s for kids or for adults, and this handy guide should help you do just that!
If the weather plays ball, there are many games and things to do outside, but if you’re stuck inside, you can still use up some energy with these indoor game ideas. Elephant skittles involves two tennis balls, two pairs of stockings and an even number of plastic bottles. Pour some water into the bottles (more water means they're more difficult to knock over), and drop a tennis ball in the toe of the stocking. Put the stocking over your head, line up the bottles, and two people go head to head to knock down their skittles. A less energetic game of skittles uses lighter bottles and Nerf gun darts. Kipper racing is another good game to get kids in a flap and burn extra energy. Cut a fish shape from a newspaper or thin craft paper (the thinner the kipper, the quicker it’ll swim), then personalise it. Line up your kippers and give each player a rolled-up newspaper. Smack the floor to flap your kipper over the finish line first. Alternatively, a good game of Twister will tire out anyone!
Traditional board games like Monopoly, Risk, and Hungry Hippos limit the number of players you can have at one table, but if you do have a roomful of keen gamers, set up a few tables and have them try their hand at different games.
For older kids and adults, a game of wink murder is tremendous fun, and all you need is a deck of cards. Everyone should be in the same room, not necessarily around a table but within sight of each other. Count out as many cards as there are people, and make sure the ace of spades is in the deck. Shuffle and deal one to each person. The person who gets the ace of spades is the murderer, and they have to “murder” people with, yes, you guessed it, a wink. If the murderer winks at you, you must die dramatically, but if you’re not done in, you must keep your eyes open and discover who the murderer is!
Games like charades and consequences have been played for years, but new ones have also hit the shelves more recently. Pictionary has become a fast favourite for kids and adults alike, and you play the game on a bigger scale with a chalkboard or get messy with sheets of A3 card or paper and paint brushes and get people to draw with their feet! Forgotten how to play consequences? Give each person a piece of paper. Everyone draws a head, folds over the paper and passes it to the next player. Everyone draws a neck, then a body and finally the legs before unravelling the paper and seeing what creatures have been created!
For adults, you write a story based on who did what, to whom, where, and the consequences. Again, write one part, fold and pass it on. They all get read out in the end.
What’s in the bag? is another good homemade party game. Get a selection of household items (from a clothes peg to a toy car, a key to a dice) and pop them in a bag you can’t see through. One by one the kids identify what’s in the bag using one hand.
