Birthday Party Games - Swinging Strings

Swinging Strings

We've got four kids and have hosted many birthday parties over the last decade. This is one of our favorite birthday party games. It is asked for year after year!

This is a very simple birthday party game that is easy to organise and even more fun to watch!

How to play swinging strings

An assortment of sweets and fruit is threaded on strings which are hung from a tree branch. Guests are put into two teams, and blindfolded. They then have to eat the sweets from the string - which is a lot more difficult than it seems! The winner is the team that does this in the fastest time.

And don't forget your camera!

What you need

You need - for 10 guests

10 two feet long pieces of string

Two bags of colour and additive free soft jellies or fruit shapes such as jelly dinosaurs, frogs or snakes - or a mixture of all of these. Jelly snakes are particularly hard to eat from a string!

Bag of marshmallows

Two scarves or blindfolds!

Method

Tie a large knot at one end of the string. Thread on each string an assortment of sweets and marshmallows.

Tie the strings on to the branch of a tree so that they hang down vertically. (If you don't have a tree outside you can improvise by e.g. suspending the strings from e.g. a broom handle hung between two chairs and making the guests kneel to eat the strings.)

Tie the blindfold on the first members of your teams.
(You don't need to blindfold younger children. It takes all their powers of coordination to eat this way!)

Take them to the strings. Allow your guest to feel where the strings are then ask them to put their hands behind their back. They must not touch the strings.

Start the birthday party game.

When the first team member has eaten all the sweets (you'll have to tell him when he has eaten them all) he removes his blindfold and puts it on the next member of the team. The next team member eats the sweets from the next string, unties his blindfold and passes it to the next team member who puts it on, eats the sweets etc, until everyone has had their turn. The winner is the team that completes this task in the fastest time.

This game will make any birthday party memorable!