Party Games That Young and Old Can Agree On

NAME THAT TUNE

You'll need a CD player and some compact discs with an assortment of songs related to your theme (Big Band, 50's, retro) or just some good favorites of an era appropriate for your party guests. Play the first few bars and see which guest can name that tune the fastest. Keep track of points and award the winner a music CD. If your group is large try playing with a twist on this game. Using famous songs, list song titles on one side of a page and the original Artists or songwriters on the other side. Make enough copies for all guests. Challenge guests to match as many as possible.

BALLOON POPPING CONTEST

Divide guests into two equal groups. About 25 yards away place two bags of inflated balloons in colors to match your theme. Make sure these balloons are over-inflated (they will never pop if under inflated)to make popping easier. At the sound of a ringing bell or whistle, the first two relay contestants, one from each team, run to the bag, and remove one balloon. Each must sit on it until it pops. (too funny when grandpa does it) Once the balloon pops, the players run back to the starting line and tag the next player in line. The first team to complete the course wins. Not a quiet game, but a guaranteed favorite among the young and the old!

GENEALOGY GAME

This can be fun and interesting for young children while teaching them about the history of your family. This takes some time and energy but is most definitely very rewarding. Basically you are creating cards so the kids can play the Memory Game. The goal is to create cards of people in your family and give a brief history of who they are, where they are employed and relationship in the family. If you have a computer, you can scan in the pictures then resize them, add text and print out.

Example: Get a photo of Bob Hudson. Resize the photo if needed to try to get them all the same size. Under the photo place his name, Bob Hudson and the next few lines mention that here is a Banker who was born in 1931 to Walter and Lillian Hudson. You can print these cards out on your computer or go to a copy center and have them printed out on card stock. If the paper is thin, tape to a piece of card stock and laminate for added protection. 2 cards per person.
Once you have 10 or more people in your deck you arrange the cards face down. The kids take turns flipping one card over at a time and then flipping another over. If they match, remove those two cards and that player gets to go again. If they don’t match the cards are turned face down and the next player goes. This continues until all the cards have been cleared from the game. Then the person with the most sets wins that game.

This game is at it's best when adults are present and you can take time to learn and share stories about the person on the card. Remember adults love this game too and enjoy passing on the “big fish” stories to the youngsters.

Copyright 2007 Nikki Wilson.

Nikki Wilson is a party planner and event organizer who specializes in treasure hunts and scavenger hunts. After planning successful events for the past 15 years, she now provides a web based service for party and event planners with her detailed treasure hunt party game plans available online. She also has a book of scavenger hunt plans to suit all ages, locations and occasions. Planning your own party, and want a party game that will be memorable and fun? Take a look at Nikki’s treasure hunt planners at www.TreasureHuntBook.com

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