Overcome Obstacles: Create an obstacle course in your home or yard using furniture, fabric tunnels, cardboard boxes, etc., and have party guests navigate it. Or give kids the raw materials and have them design their own course.
Bounce in the House: Rent, borrow, or buy an inflatable jumping structure--kids can never get enough!
Ready, Set, Get Wet: Kids and water are always a fun, active combination. Put out a slip-and-slide, a sprinkler, an array of squirters, or a big tub of water and some buckets (then stand back!).
Traffic Lights: This is a simpler, less competitive version of the classic "Red Light, Green Light." Have the party guests run freely, then call out "red," "yellow," or "green." Players must stop on red, sit on yellow, and go on green. Mix it up by having them perform a different movement (dance, hop, crawl, etc.) for each round.
Find the Pennies: Hide shiny pennies or nickels around your home or yard and challenge kids to find them, alone or in teams. Have them place found coins in a special jar and explain that the birthday child will donate the cash to a favorite charity. Better yet, choose a charity that aligns with the party's theme: an animal shelter for a puppy party, or a soup kitchen for a cooking party.
Animal Antics: Distribute animal stickers or small stuffed animals to each party guest, then challenge them to imitate their designated critter with motions and sounds.
Group Juggle: Start with party guests standing in a tight circle. Give the birthday child a soft, mid-sized ball (one that all the guests can easily throw and catch). The first child tosses the ball across the circle to another player, then that player tosses it back to the child next to the birthday kid, and so on around the circle. (You may need to call out names to help the kids know who's up next.) Practice this pattern several times until everyone's comfortable. Then add another ball, reminding the kids to keep throwing it in the same pattern (to and from the same person). Add up to four balls total to create the very cool illusion that your circle is a giant juggling machine!
Criss-Cross: Designate a goal such as a table, chair, box, or yardstick. Gather all the kids across the room or yard from the goal and have them crawl (or march, etc., as with Traffic Lights) to it, then return to the starting point. At the starting point, give them a penny or piece of wrapped candy to hold, then have them go again--back and forth, as long as they want to keep at it.
Art-y Party: Have guests collaborate on a large banner or mural made with sidewalk chalk or paint (handprints and footprints are especially fun).
