Children's Parties are becoming a big commodity for personal trainers and
group fitness teachers. Here are some simple party ideas that work well
for birthday and holiday gatherings.

Recently, I helped in my neighborhood block party with the children's
games. Instead of organizing the typical block party games, I searched the
web and came up with some different games with a few fun twists.

Tag Games

Man Hunt
Establish two separate teams with an equal number of players. Have one team
be it and have the other team hide. The team that is it must find and
capture all the members of the hiding team and secure them in one place.
When the game is over, teams switch sides.

Hen and Chicks
Have two safe points like a pair of trees some distance apart. One person
stands in the middle of the safe points and acts as the Hen trying to round
up her chicks. When she calls for her chicks, all the ¡§chicks¡¨ run from
one
point to the other while the mother hen tries to catch them. If they are
caught, they have to stay in the middle and help mother hen. The last chick
caught is the hen for the next round.

Human Chain
Two people start the game. They hold hands and chase the others; when the
others are caught, they join the chain by linking hands. When others join
the chain they can either stay together or spilt into a pair (they must
split in even numbers). These pairs of chasers can link themselves together
at will. This game is played until all players are caught.

Refrigerator Tag
This game is for five or more players and should is played outside or in an
open area.To play, pick four objects to be bases and give each base a
name: "Don't like it," "Love it," it's OK," "Never tried it.¡¨ You can make
signs for each base if you like.

Pick someone to be it. He stands in the middle and players stand on any
base they want. It calls out the name of a food and players then have to
run to the base that describes how they feel about that food. It tries to
tag a player before he or she reaches the base. The player tagged then
becomes it.


Relays

Bobbity-Balloon-Relay

Divide up into teams and give one balloon for each team. Half of each team
is at opposite ends of the room. The first player of each team must keep
the balloon in the air while racing down to the other end. She passes the
balloon off to the first player of her team at that end who races back, and
passes it off to the next, etc. To be declared the winning team, all
members of the team must have successfully raced with the balloon in the air.


Bean Relay

Players race to the turn back line, pick up one bean, run back to the egg
carton, and put it in the carton. In one version, players simply fill the
carton (usually 12 eggs) with one bean per cup. In a second version, you
write a number from one to five in the bottom of each cup and players must
fill each cup of beans so that it matches the number written in the cup.

Heart Relay

Divide the kids into two groups (if not even, have one child go twice).
Give each team a small stuffed valentine heart. Have one child from each
team place the heart between their legs and hop to the end of the room and
back. They then give the heart to next child in line and this repeats until
all children have had their turn. The first team done is the winner.

Rript Relay

To play, form two even teams. The first players from each team get into
frog position, squatting with their hands on the ground. While making frog
sounds, they then have to "frog hop" to the end of the playing field and
back. Then the next person on each team goes. The winning team is the
group that finishes first.

Clean Up Your Own Backyard

To play, you need many balled up socks. You will also need a way to divide
the playing field in half. Divide into two teams, A and B. One side of the
playing field is Team A's backyard; the other side is Team B's backyard.
Players all get down on their hands and knees and on the signal, they have
one minute to throw as many socks as they can into the other team's yard.
The team with the fewest socks in their backyard after one minute is the
winner.

Rejects from the Garage Sale Games

Fashion Madness

First, get a bag full of different funny clothes: hats, shirts, swimsuits,
boxers, skirts, coats etc. Then have all players sit in a circle. With
music playing, they pass the bag around until the music stops. When the
music stops, the player with the bag has to close their eyes and reach into
the bag. Whatever they pull out, they have to wear. When the bag is empty,
everyone votes to determine funniest outfit.

Hats and Shoes Games

Put an equal number of different items into a bag: a shirt, hat, pants,
socks, and shoes. Each player will receive a bag. On the signal, they have
to put on the items in the bag, the one to put all the items on first is the
winner

Musical Chairs with a Twist

Wet Ground

This is a variation on musical chairs. Instead of chairs, you use newspaper
spread randomly on the ground. The idea is that the children are campers,
and the newspaper represents dry ground. As the music plays, the campers
move around the newspaper„obeing careful not to step on the paper. When the
music stops, they rush to dry ground to keep their feet dry. Count slowly
to five to give the children a chance to step onto the newspaper. After
each round, remove sheets of newspaper until, after several rounds, only one
sheet is left. You will all have some fun as many children try to fit onto
the one sheet of paper.

Frog Land

This game is a lot like musical chairs but when the music starts, players
have to hop around like frogs. While players are hopping, the referee takes
away a lily pad and then stops the music. When the music stops, the frogs
have to find a lily pad. The frog left without a lily pad is out and the
last frog on a lily pad is the winner.

Advanced Musical Chairs

This fun variation of musical chairs is set up just like normal musical
chairs but with additional fun thrown in. Start the music and have the
children walk in a circle around the chairs until you stop the music. When
the music stops, each participant tries to sit in one of the chairs. The
player left standing must pull the name of an animal, written on a piece of
paper, out of a hat. Then, they must act it out while the other guests try
to guess it. Start the music again and repeat the game until the hat of
animals is empty.

Thanksgiving Grateful Game

Put chairs in a circle with one less chair than there are players. One
person says, "I'm grateful for people with blue eyes.¡¨ Everyone with blue
eyes stands up and changes places. While everyone's scurrying for a chair,
a parent takes one away. The person left standing is out and the last
person to sit down goes next, saying something like, "I'm grateful for
everyone wearing tennis shoes.¡¨ Repeat. These are just a few starters.
Try your local library and the web for more ideas. You will be glad you did!
References

Indiana Child Games
http://www.indianchild.com/outdoor_games.htm

Kid's Domain Birthday Party Games
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/birthday/party.html

Kid's Party Games
http://www.kids-party.com/games.shtml#

Napa Games
http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/7458/valgames.htm

Night Net Games
http://www.night.net/halloween/party-games.html-ssi

Party 411
http://www.party411.com/index.html