You can help your birthday guest of honor, and friends, enjoy celebrating the big day with fun party games. Here at The Official Birthday Blog, we know that one of the keys to having more birthdays is staying well by keeping active. Here are some fun party game ideas to get your guests moving:

• Skee Ball: Tape together plastic flower pot containers in several rows (3 in the first row, 2 in the second row and 1 in the last row). Have the children throw a Nerf ball into the containers. Win big points for getting the ball into the containers – 10 for the first row, 20 for the second, and 30 points for the top container.

• Dress-Up Race: Place an oversized T-shirt, shorts, and a pair of rubber gloves on 2 chairs at 1 end of the room or yard. Divide the children into 2 groups. The race begins by having the first kids in line hop to the chair, put on the clothes, and hop back to the starting line. The child then takes off the clothes and gives them to the next child, who puts them on, hops to the chair where they take off the clothes, and then hop back to the starting line. The winning team is the one that can get all members back to the starting line first.

• Bean bag toss: Each child takes a turn throwing a beanbag into a basket. Use masking tape to draw lines on the floor marking varying distances. Assign points to each line and set a time (1 point for the closest line and 4 points for the farthest). Each child must throw 2 beanbags from each line. Have other children retrieve bean bags and record points. The child with the most points wins a prize. (Bean bags can be made by filling old socks with dried beans or rice. Tie and secure carefully).

• “Donkey”: In groups of 3 or 4, children stand in single file approximately 3 or more feet away from a wall. Leave plenty of space between people. The first person underhand tosses a small playground ball against the wall and does a stride jump over the ball before it bounces when it returns, then moves to the end of the line. The next person in line catches the ball and repeats the above and so on continuously down the line. If a player misses the ball, they collect letters of the word “DONKEY”. Challenge players to make up their own rules to add challenge and fun to the activity.

• Gold Rush: Number children from 1 to 4 (or more). Place 1 (yellow) beanbag underneath the parachute. On a signal, the children inflate the parachute while the parent calls 1 of the numbers. Those players run clockwise around the parachute until they get to the space where they started. The players run through their space underneath the parachute, put their foot on the “gold” then return to their spot before the parachute hits the ground. Repeat, calling a new number each time. Remind the children to keep their heads up and to watch out for other runners.

These are just a few ideas to get your guests moving. Expecting a more mature crowd? Try planning your celebration around an action-oriented activity. Go swimming, play a sport, or have a dance party! By planning healthy parties that include keeping guests on the go, you’re helping to create a world with more birthdays! Thanks for everything you do. And for more information on how you can help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays, visit morebirthdays.com.