Kid Birthday Party Games - Pre-Teens

Pre-teens are no longer wanting to play kiddie games but are not yet teenagers. They will not want to play running games yet are not really ready to just hang out. Here are some ideas for your pre-teen party.

Untie the Knot
Place the guests in two separate circles. Ask them to raise a hand and take hold of someone's hand on the opposite side of their circle. Then, using their free hand, grab the hand of a different person close by. Without letting go they must try unravel themselves. The first team to do so is the winner.

Matching Characters
Identify couples from real life or fiction like Lady Di and Charles, Peter Pan and Wendy or Willie Wonka and Charlie. Place a piece of paper on each persons' back identifying them. Each person then asks 1 question from every other person till they discover who they are. They may only ask questions such as am I male or female, a fictional character or real person, dead or alive, etc. Once they identify themself, they can start looking for their partners. The winners are the first matching couple.

Toilet Paper Game
This is a wonderful ice breaker - especially if the guests don't know each other well. As each guest arrives ask them to take a strip of toilet paper off a roll. When everyone is there get the guests to sit in a circle. Starting with the birthday person, each person must reveal something about themselves equal to the number of squares they tore off. You could also pass a bowl of sweets around. Tell each guest to take a hand full. They must tell a secret for each sweet they took.

Balloon Defense
Tie a balloon to each persons' ankle. The idea is to try stamp on each other's balloons to pop them without having yours burst. Here are tons more wonderful balloon games.

Note for Note
Have a selection of popular CD's (preferably of mixed artists) and a CD player which allows you to fast forward to the middle of a song. Press play anywhere in the middle of a song and play for 2 seconds. Whoever identifies the song first gets a toothpick. The one with the most toothpicks in the end wins. You could have them identify the song or artist.

Questions and Answers
Get each person to write a way-out question on a piece of paper. Fold and place in a bowl. Ask them to write a line from their favorite song on another piece of paper. These are the answers. Pass the questions around and let every one take one. Each person gets a turn to read their question, then take an "answer" from the second bowl and sing it if they know the song. Some really hilarious answers to questions come out! And strange versions to songs too.

Stork the lantern
This game is played best outside at night. One child is "it" and sits with a flashlight or lantern. They must look at the light. The other children move out into the dark. They try get as close to the lantern as possible. The person with the light tries to listen for noises or spot movement. Then they can look up and say something like "I see you with the red shirt". That person then sits down. The child that gets the closest to the lantern wins.

Bubble blowing
No not just any bubbles but big odd shaped bubbles. You will need a good bubble solution and shaped wire to create these huge bubbles.

Use these ideas, they are sure to be a hit.

Blessings from Africa
MissTy (Tania Collins)
I get all my free printable invitations here

Exploring Wedding Reception Games

When planning your wedding ceremony, it is imperative that you also include plans for your wedding reception. While ensuring that you have the right kinds of foods and refreshments, seating arrangements, and music is all very important, you should not forget to include an assortment of wedding reception games. By adding some carefully chosen games to your reception, you are creating a fun and friendly environment in which everyone can relax, open up, and get to know each other. In this article, I will introduce you to an assortment of ideas that you can use to create games for your wedding reception.

When creating wedding reception games, be sure that you have a list of all the people that will be attending your wedding reception. It is important to have a good estimate on the age groups that will be attending as well. This will give you a good idea of what kind of games will be suitable for the audience that will be entertained. With this information, you should them put your imagination to work. The more creative and inspiring your games are the more fun that your guests will experience. However, you may wish to refer to the many traditional games in order to get you started.

One of the best traditional games that you can work into your wedding ceremony is that of musical chairs. Children and adults alike will enjoy this exciting game. However, you can add some new and interesting twists to it. For example, you may have your guests circle the chairs in one direction, and then go in the opposite direction. You may have your guests clap at the same time that they revolve around the chairs, or hop on one foot while they go around the chairs.

You may select funny songs, kids songs, or any number of other types of songs to make this an interesting and engaging game. If you are having a Halloween wedding ceremony, you may to choose to play musical tombs, or if it is a summer wedding, you may choose to play musical beach towels. It is important to try to work in the theme of the wedding when planning wedding reception games.

When planning games for your reception, you may take the idea of a reality television show in order to create a game. One of the most popular reality television shows is American Idol. At your reception, you can host your very own American Idol Talent Show. You can call it American Wedding Idol, or anything that you like. Designate a panel of judges and create cards in which the guests can vote on their favorite Idols. If you wish to have this type of wedding reception game, it is important to have prizes for the individuals that win first, second, and third place based on the votes of your guests. You should also have a DJ and/or a Karaoke machine too.

When creating a wedding reception game, you should consider implementing the game of hot bouquet. All this game requires is a little music, a long list of guests, and a bouquet of flowers. The guests should make a circle. Each guest simply takes the bouquet of flowers and passes it to the next guest. If the bouquet is dropped or is in the hands of a guest when the music stops, that person is out. This game will continue until there is one person left standing. That person will be designated as the winner of the game. You may have small prizes, such as a box of cupcakes, ribbons, or similar novelties to issue as rewards for the winner.

A popular wedding reception game that many adults enjoy is Battle of the Sexes. This game is quite simple. An individual that will not be engaging in the game should come up with a variety of trivia questions. The females will get a chance to respond, and the males will get a chance to respond. You could make one leader among all the sexes who has a whistle. The first to blow their whistle gets the opportunity to answer. The team that answers correctly gets a point. The game continues until all questions have been answered. Once the winning team has been determined, they can choose from a list of things to have the other team do. For example, the losing team may have to make everyone a drink, or clean up after the reception.

There are many wedding reception games that a couple can choose to implement after the wedding ceremony. However, the games should be selected in such a way that everyone who chooses to can get involved and have a good time. The wedding reception is a great time for all members of the guest list to get together, enjoy each other, and have a great time. If you keep that in mind when developing your wedding reception games, your reception is sure to be a success!

Melinda Barton is an Internationally recognized wedding planner and author of the book Wedding Planning Secrets. She has given several TV and radio appearances and is passionate about helping everyone succeed in their desire to have the best wedding through simple and easy to use wedding planning secrets.