Children won’t dance for an entire party – believe me! So, I use games to help to keep them amused during the party.
A typical party will consist of a couple of songs, followed by a game, and repeat.
The games are matched on the day to the ages and abilities of the guests in attendance. I really can’t say in advance what games will be used on the day because every party has guests of different abilities.
Party planning tip!
Some of the games you can expect to see at one of my parties are:
For the 5 year olds:
The children in this age group tend to be a little shy and involvement from any parents who stay for the party will help them to take part with a lot more confidence!
- Limbo (always a popular option)
- Musical chairs
- Musical statues/bumps
- Captain Chaos says
- Balloon bursting relay (noisy and LOTS of fun for a five year old!)
- Hide the hedgehog (hit the ground when the music stops and someone will be covered with a blanket – can you name who’s missing?)
- Classic “action” dances (YMCA, Cha Cha Slide, Macarena, Superman, The Hokey Cokey….all led by me to make sure they’re doing them right but parental assistance really DOES help!)
For the 6-8 year olds:
- Limbo (always a popular option)
- Wipeout (stand in a circle and jump the rope as it spins)
- Space-hopper racing (it’s always a LOT of fun and ends up with live commentary similar to horse racing!)
- Hula-Hoopla (two teams in a line holding hands must get a small hula-hoop from one end of the team and back again without letting go of each other’s hands!)
- Red Light Green Light (no…not THAT version! nobody get’s hurt at my parties! The concept’s the same…the children line up at the end of the room, when I say green light they move, when I say red light they have to freeze and anyone caught moving is out)
- Balloon and spoon relay (like egg and spoon – but a lot harder, especially if there’s a breeze in the room!)
- Musical Clumps (when the music stops….get into “clumps” of children of the right number)
- Hoops – get into the correctly coloured hoop when the music stops.
- Lava floor (the floor is molten lava – can you get from one side of the room to the other without touching the floor?)
- Corners – when the music stops, choose your colour carefully or you’re out!
- Classic “action” dances (Cha Cha Slide, Macarena, Superman, The Hokey Cokey….all led by me to make sure they’re doing them right!)
For the 9-10 year olds:
These parties are more about the music and dancing than the games, but where possible and where the guests aren’t “too cool for school”, I’ll still try to fit in some games for them such as:
- Limbo (always a popular option)
- Wipeout (stand in a circle and jump the rope as it spins)
- Space-hopper racing (it’s always a LOT of fun and ends up with live commentary similar to horse racing!)
- Balloon and spoon relay (like egg and spoon – but a lot harder, especially if there’s a breeze in the room!)
- Red RUN – two teams, two packs of shuffled cards. If the card that’s revealed is red, you run! If it’s black, you go to the back!
