14 Mar 6 Balloon Party Fun Games

Dianne Krissansen lets the humble balloon become her party entertainer!

Fortunes:

Provide a balloon for each guest. Pour confetti into each deflated balloon. Write a ‘fortune’ or message on a small strip of paper and roll it up so it fits through the funnel too. Blow the balloons up and tie them off, writing a name on each (don’t forget to make one for the birthday child and any siblings).

Hang them from a window or door- frame until the end of the party then have them all pop their balloons together before they leave, to discover their ‘fortunes’.

Goody Bag Pop:

Instead of filling up goody bags to hand out at the end of your child’s birthday party, try this fun idea. Decide how many goodies each child will have. Let’s say you choose five. Multiply this by the number of guests you have (don’t forget to include the birthday child and siblings). This is how many balloons you will need. You will also need to supply a named goody bag for each child.

Before inflating the balloons, slip a small piece of coloured paper into each one. The colour will determine which goody bowl the child will choose from. (Blue paper means they choose their goody from the blue bowl). Don’t worry if you don’t have coloured bowls – just stick pieces of coloured paper on the front of ice-cream containers.

Fill each bowl/container with a variety of goodies for children to choose from. Throughout the party – every half an hour or so – blow a loud whistle. When the children hear the whistle, they run and choose a balloon, and pop it to find out which bowl they can choose their goody from. All goodies are placed in their bags, ready to be collected when the child leaves the party.

Portraits:

You will need an inflated balloon and some permanent markers. For just one child, you might like to provide a mirror so they can look at their features before drawing a self-portrait on their balloon. If you have more than one child, provide a balloon for each child, and sit them in pairs so they can draw portraits of each other.

 Stomp:

You will need two or more players for this game. Each player has two balloons. Tie a length of string to each balloon (about 50cm) and tie them loosely around each ankle. The object of the game is to pop the other players’ balloons while protecting your own. Have plenty of spare balloons on hand to prevent tears and tantrums. Play this game with bare feet; it is harder to pop the balloons, but much less painful when a misguided stomp lands on a player’s toes.

Tennis:

Balloon tennis is a safe indoor game, perfect for wet days. To make the ‘racquets’ have your child decorate two paper plates, then staple them to empty cardboard tubes. Now all you need is an inflated balloon and let the games begin.

Volleyball:

Lay a broom across two chairs and play balloon volleyball. Young children will enjoy just trying to keep the balloon up in the air and returning it to the other side. You can increase the challenge for older children by introducing a second balloon.