12 indoor kids birthday party games that keep everyone happily entertained

Hosting a birthday party at home or in a small indoor venue can feel a bit “where do I even start?” when you are trying to keep a bunch of excited kids happy, your house in one piece and the schedule on track.

The secret is having a handful of tried and tested indoor kids birthday party games ready to go. Simple games that use easy props, work in a living room or basement and keep everyone busy without you needing to run around like a party entertainer.

This list pulls together my favourite indoor birthday party games for kids of different ages, from toddlers to bigger kids who still secretly love a classic.

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You will find high-energy games for burning off sugar, calmer games for when you need the noise level to dip and low-prep ideas you can set up in minutes.

Most of these indoor kids birthday party games also work brilliantly for school class parties, Christmas parties and rainy-day playdates, so you can reuse them again and again.

Right at the end of the post you will also find a simple one-page Indoor Kids Birthday Party Games Planner you can print and stick on the fridge, so you can map out which games you are using, what you need for each one and the order you want to play them in.

Related: The most fun outdoor party games for kids

12 indoor kids birthday party games that get the party started

1. BALLOON STOMP

I’m starting this list of indoor games with the loudest game of all… balloon stomp. It is so much fun and kids love it because they are so often told to make less noise, not more.

How to play:

Put sweets, ideally sweets in wrappers, inside balloons before blowing the balloons up. You can store all the blown-up balloons in big bin bags to keep them under control until the game begins.

Gather all the party guests together, then free the balloons and challenge the kids to pop them all to find the hidden treasure inside.

2. PASS THE PARCEL

Now is this the ultimate classic kids’ birthday party game or is this the ultimate classic kids party game?!!

How to play:

The traditional way of playing pass the parcel is to have one parcel and one big prize underneath all the layers. All the kids sit in a circle and pass the parcel to music, then when the music stops the child holding the parcel gets to unwrap a layer. The game continues until the winner reveals the central prize.

I suggest you adapt and change things up for today’s generation of kids who are used to a more instant way of life.

There are two ways you can do this. The first is to include a small gift, even just a sweet, between each layer of the parcel.

The second is to have more than one parcel going around. You can decide how many parcels based on the number of kids. I’d say that for ten kids, two parcels work just fine.

3. PASS THE BALLOON/BALL

Although Pass the Parcel is an absolute classic party game, it can be somewhat frustrating when toddlers and really young kids are playing because getting the wrapping off can take ages.

How to play:

The clever alternative to using a parcel is to use a ball or balloon to pass around to music instead. When the music stops, the child holding the ball or balloon wins a prize. Just be careful to make sure every child gets a turn to hold the ball or balloon.

4. SLEEPING LIONS

Sleeping Lions is the ultimate parent-pleasing party game! It is also a great game to use towards the end of a party to bring about a little calm. Plus, it is a super easy kids party game. What’s not to love?!

How to play:

Ask all the kids to lie on the floor and be as still and quiet as possible. Anyone who moves, giggles or talks is out and can help you spot the next wobbly lion.

Keep going until you are down to a few very still lions. Give out prizes or stickers to every child who manages to stay still for the duration of the game.

5. MUSICAL CHAIRS

Now musical chairs is another absolute classic kids’ party game. I can still remember the adrenaline rush of racing for the last free chair!

How to play:

You’ll need your kids party music playlist to hand again. Set up a line of chairs back to back with enough chairs for every child. Play some fun party music as the children move around the chairs.

When the music stops, each child must find a chair to sit down on. Once you’ve done a couple of rounds, you need to remove either one or two chairs, which means that one or two kids will find they have no chairs to sit on and must leave the game.

Give the kids who are out of the game a small prize. The last child left is the overall winner.

If you don’t have enough chairs, you can do a variation of this game using cushions.

6. MUSICAL STATUES

Musical Statues is another super fun classic party game, one that gets all the kids moving and burning off energy. It’s a great game for getting the party games started.

How to play:

You’ll need a fun music playlist and something to play the music on for this game. Start the game by getting everyone up and dancing to the music.

When you stop the music, everyone has to stand as still as possible, like statues.

You can play this game one of two ways… either the first child to stop and stand still gets a small prize and then moves aside.

Or, with older kids, where they enjoy the competitive element, you can play it so that anyone who doesn’t manage to stand as still as a statue has to leave the game. This version of the game has an overall winner, so you’ll need a prize.

7. DUCK DUCK GOOSE

This is a good game of concentration for kids, but it’s also a lot of fun.

How to play:

Get all the kids to sit in a circle.

Get all the kids to sit in a circle. One child stands up and walks around the outside of the circle saying “duck, duck, goose” over and over until they pat someone on the head as they say “goose”.

When a child has been “goosed” they have to jump up and run after the child who “goosed” them to try and catch them.

If the child being chased manages to run around the circle and take the seat of the “goosed” child, then the child who was “goosed” starts the next round of the game.

If not, then the original child goes again. There is no need to have a prize for this game, the fun is in taking part!

8. SIMON SAYS

This is a great game for giving your fellow parents a laugh… as well as hopefully giving the kids a laugh too.

How to play:

“Simon” or whatever name beginning with “S” you fancy using, is the instruction giver and the kids must obey what Simon says… but only if the instruction is given with “Simon says…” at the start of it.

If the instruction does not have “Simon says…” at the start of it, the kids must not obey.

Confused? Well, here’s an example:

For example,

“Simon says wiggle your bottom”

The kids all wiggle their bottoms.

“Touch your nose”

The kids should stay doing the previous activity and NOT touch their noses.

Any kids that get it wrong get given a sticker or small prize and are asked to watch from the sidelines. The game can continue until there is a single winner or until everyone has had enough!

9. PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY

Now this game doesn’t have to involve a donkey, you can adapt it to any animal that has a tail.

How to play:

To play the classic version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, you need to draw a donkey on a large piece of paper. Then you need to draw a tail on a piece of card and cut the tail out. Add a big blob of Blutak to the back of the tail.

You’ll need a scarf or eye mask to blindfold the kids. Each child is blindfolded and takes their turn to pin the tail on where they think it should go on the donkey. You can keep track of the attempts by circling and writing the name of the child where they pinned the tail.

The child who gets closest to where the tail should go wins a prize.

Terrible at drawing, or don’t have the time? Pop over to my Pin the Tail Printables roundup post for five lovely printables you can use if you’re short on time or drawing skills.

10. THE CHOCOLATE EATING GAME

My biggest challenge with the chocolate-eating game is not to eat the game supplies before the game starts. This game is great for slightly older kids and is really for smaller groups of kids.

How to play:

You will need a large bar of chocolate, a plate, a knife and fork, a die, a scarf, a hat and gloves.

Get the children to sit around a plate with a large bar of chocolate on it. Each child takes their turn to roll a die until someone rolls a six.

The child who rolls a six has to put on the hat, scarf and gloves and start to cut and eat the chocolate using the knife and fork.

The rest of the kids continue rolling the die until another six is rolled. Once a six is rolled, the child must stop eating the chocolate, take off the hat, scarf and gloves and hand them over to the child whose turn it is now.

The game ends when the chocolate bar has been entirely eaten.

11. KIM’S GAME

Kim’s Game is a game of memory and can be made more or less hilarious based on what props you use for the kids to memorise.

Interesting fact… it’s called “Kim’s Game” because it comes from the Rudyard Kipling novel Kim, in which Kim, the hero of the novel, plays the game during his training as a spy.

How to play:

You will need to have a small selection of random items, a kitchen tray and a tea towel. Plus, a pen and paper for each child.

Once all the items are on the tray, cover them with the tea towel. Gather all the kids, remove the tea towel and let them look at them for around 30 seconds.

Then cover the items with the tea towel. Each child has to write down what they remember as being on the tray. The child with the most correct items listed is the winner.

You can play just a single round of this game, or you can change up the items on the tray and play several rounds.

12. THE FLOOR IS LAVA CHALLENGE

If your kids love copying challenges from YouTube and TikTok, this is one of the easiest indoor kids birthday party games to set up and it always gets big laughs.

How to play:

Use cushions, folded blankets, spot markers or sheets of paper as “safe spots” and spread them around the room so kids can jump between them. The floor is the “lava”.

Play music while the kids move carefully from safe spot to safe spot. When you pause the music, shout “the floor is lava” and anyone who is not on a safe spot is out.

Remove a couple of safe spots each round to make it trickier. Keep it house friendly by setting clear rules about what they can and cannot jump on and remind them to look where they are landing.

Before you go…

If you want to keep planning simple, create a one page Indoor Kids Birthday Party Games Planner you can print and stick on the fridge. List the games you are using from this post, the props you need for each one and the rough order you want to play them in. Then you can tick things off as you go and know you have enough indoor kids birthday party games to fill the time without any last minute panic.

Want more party game ideas? I’ve got a growing party games section choc full of the best games for kids from toddlers to teens. You can also follow my kids’ party games board on Pinterest for even more ideas curated from around the web.

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