Birthday party games for kids, sorted by age

Games for ages 3 to 5

For the youngest group, pick games with a rule you can say in one sentence and that finish quickly:

• Dance to music and freeze like a statue when it stops
• Find a hidden object in the room or garden, one per child
• Blow soap bubbles and chase them
• Pass a light ball around a circle while music plays
• Musical chairs, where a child who is out swaps over to start and stop the music

Little ones tire of a game quickly, so a few minutes each is plenty. If a game is not working, move on to the next one.

Games for ages 6 to 9

Older children usually like teams, points and a small challenge:

• Dragon and snake (rồng rắn lên mây) or blind man's bluff, two familiar Vietnamese playground games
• A relay with a passed ball, or sack races in the yard
• Tug of war in two teams
• Charades, with each team sending one child to act
• A treasure hunt with clues you write beforehand

Balance the teams between bigger and smaller children, and keep score simply, for example with stars on a big sheet of paper.

When the party is indoors and space is tight

A small house or apartment still works if you choose games played sitting or standing in place:

• Charades and guess-the-object from a cloth bag
• Musical chairs, if you can set the chairs in a tidy ring
• Statues: when the music stops, everyone freezes
• A hidden-object hunt, but only in corners you have cleared
• Team puzzles or building blocks at a low table

Before the party, put away anything fragile and keep drinks away from the play area. If you are using an apartment function room, ask the management whether running games are allowed.

Mixing games with a face painting table

Painting takes a few minutes per child, so some children will wait. As an estimate, each artist paints about 10 to 15 faces per hour, depending on the design, so for a bigger group plan for a queue.

A simple way to mix: put the painting table in one corner and a craft or colouring table next to it for children who are waiting, like the picture in our photo gallery of children crafting around a table on a lawn. Call children over in small groups. A child who has just been painted goes off to a gentle game while the next one sits down. The painting spot needs 1 table and 2 chairs, and a shaded spot if you are outdoors.

If you would like something for the children to watch, we have partner teams for circus and magic at 800,000₫ per hour, described on the circus and magic show page. Face painting is 500,000₫ for 1 hour and 900,000₫ for 2 hours.

What to avoid straight after painting

A fresh design smudges easily. Right after painting, skip these:

• Blindfold games, since the cloth rubs across the face and smears the design
• Water, powder or soap bubbles flying straight at faces
• Rolling, crawling and wrestling games that make children rub their faces
• Eating games without hands, and games with hats or masks

Offer gentle standing or sitting games instead, like statues or charades. Ask the artist on the day which designs smudge most easily, and order your games to suit. If your child has sensitive skin, tell us when you book, because we cannot promise every colour suits every child.

FAQ: games at a birthday party

Should games come before or after the face painting? You can open the painting table once most guests have arrived and let children who are waiting play something gentle. Play the running games before the painting, so designs stay tidy.

Are the games part of your service? No. We offer face painting, hand painting and partner teams for circus, magic and bubble shows. The games here are ideas for parents to run.

See also: Kids' birthday face painting, or read our face painting ideas for kids' birthday parties. To ask about a date, message us on Zalo at 0908 980 603.