15 party games for two year olds
Charlotte Thomas
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Planning a birthday party for your two year old and looking for party games for toddlers? We've got loads of fun ideas to keep preschoolers entertained. From indoor games to outdoor activities, these simple games will keep young children happy and make sure they have lots of party fun!
If you're planning a two-year-old's birthday party, you're going to want some fun games and activities to keep the kids occupied. Try some of these great party game ideas, perfect for toddlers.
Remember to keep things simple as two year olds don't always understand rules and you might not want to tell them they're 'out' – it's all about joining in and having fun at this age rather than winning or competition.
It's a good idea to have plenty of prizes on hand, too. Everyone should get a small reward if you want to avoid any children getting upset.
If you think party games might be a bit complicated for some of your guests, invest in some giant bubbles, balloons and a craft table instead and let them make their own fun.
1. Musical statues
The old-fashioned games are always the best. The rules of musical statues are super-simple, perfect for toddlers to understand.
Press play on some music and ask the children to dance. When the music stops they need to stand as still as possible.
Traditionally, if children move they have to sit down and the last one standing is the winner. With young children you may find it easier just to play a few rounds and reward everyone with a small gift, like a sweet, for staying still.
You can also mix things up by asking kids to dance like different animals each round such as elephants, horses or monkeys.
2. Follow my leader
Follow my leader is a bit like the party game classic Simon says, but without the rules.
In follow my leader, kids follow an adult round the garden or party venue and copy what they do. Try hopping, skipping, patting your head or acting like an animal – the sillier, the better! Just be sure to keep the actions relatively simple so toddlers can easily follow.
If you have lots of kids at the party, encourage other adults to join in, too, so they can keep an eye on the toddlers and you don't have to keep an eye on everyone while you lead.
3. Pin the tail on the donkey
Pin the tail on the donkey is a great game if you have a party theme. Instead of a donkey, you can make a large drawing of something else that fits with your theme instead. Pin the parrot on the pirate's shoulder or the crown on the princess, for example.
Stick a large picture of the donkey to the wall at toddler height. For older children you would blindfold each child in turn, spin them round and give them a 'tail' – this can be made from paper or wool – and see who can pin it closest to the right place. Forgo the blindfold and spinning for younger children and just ask them to pin the tail where they think it would go.
You can buy ready-made sets for this game, complete with a donkey and stickers. See more details here at Amazon.
4. Musical chairs
For a toddler's game of musical chairs, use a row of cushions instead of chairs to make things safe.
Get the children to dance around the cushions and when the music stops, sit on one immediately.
For two year olds, you might prefer to play without a winner and just make it a fun game of sitting down when the music stops instead. For older children, each time the music plays, take away a cushion. The child left without a cushion when the music stops is out and the last child left is the winner.
5. Bubble chase
Easy and lots of fun. Use a bubble machine or a couple of adults with giant bubble wands. Blow lots of bubbles into the air and get the kids to chase around and catch as many as they can.
You could also hold a bubble-blowing competition and see which kid can blow the biggest bubble, or the most bubbles.
You don't need fancy bubble mix either, you can just combine one part washing up liquid and six parts water. No bubble wand? No problem! Paperclips, pipe cleaners and cookie cutters can all be used in a pinch.
6. Pass the parcel
Pass the parcel is a classic party game and perfect for keeping two year olds entertained – although expect a few of them to refuse to let go of the parcel!
Make a parcel by wrapping up a prize in several layers of paper (one for each child, plus an extra one). Wrap the prize in different paper so you know when you're at the last layer.
Get the children to sit a circle. Give one of them the parcel and when the music starts, ask them to pass it round.
When the music stops, the child who's holding the parcel opens the first layer. Put a small treat like a sweet or sticker between each layer.
Make sure each child gets a turn to unwrap a layer, before the winner unwraps the prize. With young children you may want to add a few extra layers of paper and gifts as some kids may rip through a few more layers than they're meant to.
7. Sleeping lions
This is one of our favourite toddler party games – because it involves being as quiet as possible!
Get the kids to lie down and pretend to be sleeping lions. Walk around and try and 'wake' them by talking or gently tickling them. Their job is to try to stay as still as possible and ignore you – a tricky task for any toddler!
Anyone who moves can then help you wake the other lions.
This game is a great way to calm things down when the kids are getting a bit over-stimulated.
8. Treasure hunt
Keep treasure hunts simple for little ones. Hide some small gifts – such as sweets or small toys – around the garden, set kids off with a basket and ask them to search and find as many as they can.
Throw out a few clues to help them find the treasure.
For two year olds, be sure not to 'hide' the treasures too well! Just put them out in the open around the garden so the kids can easily stumble on them.
If the weather's bad, you can easily do a treasure hunt around the house, too.
You can buy ready-made treasure hunt kits. See more details here at Amazon.
9. Escape the monster
If you've got a few adults itching to get involved with the party activities, then this is the perfect game to try.
Get the kids to line up across the garden, hall or another large space – this space is the forest. Choose one or two adults to be monsters. The kids need to run across the forest without getting caught by the monsters. When a kid gets caught, give them a big cuddle or a tickle.
Of course, the 'monsters' need to take it easy – you don't want to make it too challenging for the little ones! Older brothers and sisters might like a chance to play monster, too.
10. Pass the balloon
Sometimes the simplest games are the best when it comes to toddlers. Get them to stand or sit in a circle and pass a balloon around.
Play music and when it stops, whoever's holding the balloon gets a small gift such as a sweet or sticker, a bit like pass the parcel.
If you want to make it even simpler, just let the kids loose with a load of balloons and let them entertain themselves! If you have any long cardboard tubes, pool floats or similar, hand them out for the kids to use as bats so they can have fun hitting the balloons around.
11. Dress up dancing
Toddlers love dressing up so place a box of dressing-up clothes on the floor and ask them to pick something to wear.
You can then take them through some popular sing-a-long songs with fun actions, like 'heads, shoulders, knees and toes' or 'the wheels on the bus'. Or hold a fashion show and ask them all to walk up and down modelling their new outfits.
You don't need fancy dressing-up clothes either. You can just put a load of your old stuff in a box for them, or head to your local charity shop where you can pick up some outlandish, colourful outfits for pennies.
12. Obstacle course
Clear some space and put some ‘islands’ (cushions, mats, beanbags, chairs, etc) on the floor, forming an obstacle course.
The children have to jump from one island to another without falling into the river – ie, touching the floor. If you want you can have some adults pretending to be crocodiles in the river.
For two year olds, make the course nice and simple. Kids at this age can have a real range of physical abilities, so put some of the 'islands' really close together so everyone can have fun, but feel free to add a few more challenging jumps with nice soft landings for advanced tots.
13. Fun fishing
This is a really satisfying game to play. Cut fish shapes out of card and attach a paper clip to each to make them magnetic.
Place the fish in an empty bucket, paddling pool or wash basin.
Make fishing rods by attaching small magnets to pieces of string and tying them to sticks. Let the kids go fishing and see how many they can catch.
You can also add some creative fun into the mix by getting the kids to colour in the fish with pretty colours before you play.
14. Show jumping
Most toddlers love animals so set up a show jumping course in the garden and let them pretend to be ponies. Use things like boxes or flower pots with bamboo poles suspended across them.
At two years old, not all kids will have the hang of jumping, so be sure to keep the obstacles low, and include some that don't require any jumping at all, so everyone can have fun.
If you're up for it, the adults could even take a go at being ponies on all fours, while the kids ride on your back!
15. Sand treasure hunt
If you have a sandpit in your garden then this is a great way to keep toddlers entertained. Even if you don't have a sandpit, you can create one with a paddling pool and some sand – or even just using a big tub.
Burry some small prizes in the sand, give the kids some buckets and spades and let them play and discover a few treasures along the way!
This is particularly excellent for a dinosaur-themed party; bury some small plastic dino toys and let the kids be mini-archaeologists uncovering the past!
Are you planning a child's birthday party? Have you got any great kids' party games to recommend? From tug of war to charades, red rover to blind man's buff and duck, duck goose, share your faves on the forum thread below.
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