Easy Birthday Party Word Games for Young Children

It happens every time: some kids are early for the birthday party; others are running a little late. Keep the kids content while waiting on the late ones by giving them some fun writing and word games with a birthday theme. The games can be printed out on your home computer and can help keep kids occupied until the actual party starts. Even if the party starts on time the word games can be sent home with the children to play later.

Use stickers, scrapbook images, or cutouts to make one game in particular. Print out the papers first, then attach the stickers, to make a matching game. Think about the stickers you'll be using. They should be small and have a birthday theme. Take a cake image, for example. Write the words "cake", "cat", "carp" or other short "c" words in a vertical row, down the side of the paper. Later, place the cake sticker to the side of the "c" words. Kids can draw a line to the proper spelling of the image they see. Use five or six stickers, with three or four word choices beside them, to create the whole game card. If you're playing the game at the actual party kids who complete the sheet can be rewarded with a pack of stickers or other small prize.

A similar game card is made by leaving out one letter from the spelled word. As with the game above, print out the game cards first, then attach the appropriate stickers. Some examples of the stickers and words are as follows: place a candle sticker on the left side of the page, then spell out "C-A-_-D-L-E".

Kids fill in the missing letter. Use stickers like an ice cream cone, a clown, or other birthday-theme images. Leave out any letter you choose to finish each challenge. Kids can play the game at the party or take the sheet home and finish it.

Forget the stickers and create a scramble word game card. Mix up the letters to birthday-theme words like "cake", "gifts", "candle", "clown" and similar words. Kids can unscramble the words and write the correct words to win. Keep the ages of the children in mind when selecting the words to scramble.

Older kids might enjoy a game where they put birthday words in alphabetical order. Don't make the list of words too long or it will begin to seem like a chore to finish it. Ten words are adequate for most age groups. Combine two games to make one, by having the kids unscramble the words first, then put them in alphabetical order.

Use stickers or rubber stamping to make a line-drawing game. Place birthday-theme stickers down the left side of a piece of paper, then list the names of the objects on the other side. Mix them up so that the clown sticker is directly across from the word "candle", or a gift box image is across from the word "cake". Kids draw a line from the sticker or image to the proper word. This is a quick game that young kids love.

Use candle stickers, or candle images printed on computer paper, to make a game that lets kids match alike objects. Place candles down the side of the paper and make matching sets on the opposite side of the page. For example, place one candle sticker on the left side of the page, and one candle sticker on the right side. They should not be directly across from each other. Now place, say, four candles on one side, then four on the opposite side. Again, the four candles should not be directly across from each other. Kids will draw a line from the single candle to the single candle; from the set of four to the set of four, and so on. You don't necessarily have to use stickers to make the game. Write words in print on one side of the paper, then in cursive or other style on the opposite side. They can draw lines between the two writing styles that spell the same word.

Most kids love word games and all kids love birthday parties. Combine the two to keep kids busy and happy while you're waiting to start the party or just to send home with them for later. The children will love the games and you'll love how easy they are to make. If you don't have a printer most of these games can be made by simply writing with a pen or marker.