Active Boy's Birthday Party Games

Watch a group of boys at play. Indoors and out, active games of athletic skill or dramatic conflict feed their young imaginations. In quieter moments, boys gravitate to the gross and the messy if choosing a table game or craft. When it's time to plan a birthday party at your home for a boy and his crew, keep in mind the things that boys like to do to occupy their time.

Water Games

Fill at least 50 balloons with water and tie them off at the ends. Use two colors of balloons--one color for each team. Place one color of the water balloons in one laundry basket and the other color balloons in another. Divide the boys into even teams and designate areas of your yard for each team's side. Let the boys lob balloons at each other. If a balloon lands on the other team's side, boys may pick it up and throw it at members of the opposing team. The winning team has balloons left in their basket when the other team has thrown all of their supply.

Fill a plastic kiddie pool with water. Give each boy a water gun to fill and spray at the other boys. Find cheap squirt guns at the dollar store or ask party guests to bring a water gun from home to play with at the party.

Indoor Balloon Smash

If the weather keeps your party from venturing outdoors, let the guys stomp out their energy inside. Blow up five balloons per player. Give each boy his cache of balloons and let him find a spot in the play area to lay them--keeping them separate from the other boy's balloons. Tie a 20-inch length of yarn to each boy's ankle. Tell the boys to tie the other end of the yarn to the knot on the balloon.The boys then run around the room trying to stomp on each other's balloons to pop them. If his balloon gets popped, the player must dash back to his balloon stash and tie another one on his yarn. The winner has at least one unpopped balloon left when the other boys have run out of them.

Messy Candy Hunt

Drop 10 jelly-bean candies a paper plate for each boy who will participate. Cover the candies on each plate with a heap of whipped cream. Line the filled plates on a long table and seat a boy in front of each plate. Place a napkin beside each boy's plate. Ask the boys to put their hands behind their backs. Tell the players that they must retrieve the jelly-beans from the whipped cream and place the candies on their napkins using only their mouths. Say "go" and time the game for five minutes. The boy with the most jelly-beans on his napkin when you call "time" is the winner.