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The following set of activities can be incorporated into a birthday party, a play date, or even organized into a set of competitive events to celebrate a larger theme, like the Olympics.- Spoon That Ball: Divide into equal teams. Give each team a spoon and a ball. Keep in mind that the larger and lighter, the better for small children. The first team whose players roll the ball down and back first wins.
- Mr. Potato Head Shuffle: The more players you have participating, the more Mr. Potato Head pieces you will need. Before the activity, sort the Mr. Potato Head pieces according to type. Create three to four groups of items. Group 1: noses and lips. Group 2: hats, eyes, glasses, and ears. Group 3: arms, legs, and other accessories. Place the grouped items in three separate locations on the floor or lawn. Give each child a bare head and divide them among the three groups. When the music goes on, they will begin assembling, and when the music goes off, they will rotate to the next location. After they have rotated through all three locations, bring the kids together in one large circle to share their Mr. Potato Head creations.
- The Noodle Torch: You will need a pool noodle and one bean bag for this activity. Players will attempt to balance the bean bag on top of the noodle. The noodle will act as a torch and the bean bag will symbolize its light. When the bag falls off, the torch will extinguish. You can play this as a relay or set to Red Light, Green Light. It is very adaptable. You may consider cutting the noodles down a little for smaller players.
- Bat the Balloon: Who can keep the balloon afloat the longest? Use a plastic bat or other safe hitting object to keep the balloon in the air the longest. Play until one player is remaining. Or set a time limit and the person whose balloon hits the ground the fewest times wins the round. Playing this way will allow all players to continue playing without the feeling of being left out and also give them the opportunity to get better each time.
- Charades with a Twist: For this activity you will need a Twister board and prepared strips of paper. On each piece of paper write an animal action like "waddle like a duck." On the opposite side write or illustrate one Twister direction like "right hand red." Each child will draw a strip of paper out of a bag and perform the action in front of the other players. The players will attempt to guess what animal he/she is by the action he/she is performing. Each player will take the paper back to join the group. Once all players have actively participated, give directions for finding their Twister board starting locations. Play Twister according to its directions once all players are set and ready.
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