40+ Summer Birthday Games for Kids
Summer birthdays mean lots of time outside, refreshing drinks and food, and fun backyard birthday games for kids. Keeping young kids entertained for an hour or more sounds daunting, which is why I’ve compiled this list of over 40 summer birthday games for kids. Bonus: Many of these games can be adapted for indoor play for inclement weather days.
Entertain kids of any age with this list of over 40 summer birthday games for kids — from toddlers to teenagers.
Water Balloon Fight
Fill buckets or a kiddie pool full of water balloons, and let the kids have at it! If you’d prefer, add your own rules. For example: each child starts with one balloon; you can’t go back to get more until your first is popped; no aiming for faces; etc.
Ring Toss
You may be familiar with this game if you’ve ever been to an old-fashioned fair. Set up some bottles (glass or plastic weighted with sand or pebbles), make a line where kids should stand to throw the rings, and even offer a prize. You can pick up plastic rings cheaply online. The winner is the kid who gets the most rings on bottles. You’ll want to remove the rings and start over between each participant. For older kids, add multiple rounds or make it a tournament.
Hide and Seek
While this game is best suited to just a few players, it can include as many as you’d like. The easiest way to add more players is to rotate who is the seeker (just one at a time) while all other players hide. The seeker closes his or her eyes and counts to a predetermined number while the other players scramble to find the best hiding spot. Then, the seeker calls out, “Ready or not, here I come!” before trying to track down the hidden players.
Once all players have been found or a time limit is reached (15 minutes is a good window for younger children to keep them from losing interest), the process starts again with a new seeker.
Bean Bag Toss/Cornhole
The object of this game is to toss a bean bag near or into a target hole (or multiple holes) in a wooden stand, with sections worth varying numbers of points. You can DIY your own bean bag toss board or purchase an inexpensive one your family can reuse. You can even find toddler-friendly versions for sale.
Divide kids into teams, allowing each child a turn to throw. For older kids, add multiple rounds and make it a tournament.
Traditional Piñata
Pick up a piñata at a local party store, or if you’re crafty, DIY one. Hang the piñata at your child’s head height, or have an adult hold the string looped over a branch or other structure so for a moving piñata. You can buy a piñata stick, but garage items like a foam baseball bat work just as well. Make sure children and adults are out of range of the swinger!
Each child takes a turn blindfolded (usually, the birthday child goes first) until the pinata is broken and the treats spill out. It’s a good idea to encourage equal division of the contents to prevent fighting, especially with younger kids.
Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunts require some adult planning, but they’re a blast for kids. You’ll need to obtain and hide a treasure (ideally something shareable, like a chest with a candy bar for each child). Then, you’ll need to write step-by-step instructions or hints leading to the treasure. These instructions can be explicit, like, “Step 10 paces East,” or like clues, i.e., “Walk West until you find something tall where the Robins have their nest.”
Sidewalk Chalk
Encourage guests’ creativity with chalk art. Sidewalks, driveways, decks, patios, and wooden fences make great backdrops. When you’re ready, just hose off to clean.
Lawn Twister
Buy some temporary spray chalk (you’ll need four colors). If you have the board game, you can use your Twister wheel, which generates commands like “right foot yellow.” Otherwise, you can DIY it with some dry erase game spinners. Be ready for lots of giggles as the kids get tangled up — and have the camera ready.
Obstacle Course
This activity can be as simple or complex as you’d like. Get creative with boxes, outdoor furniture, and pool noodles to create an outdoor obstacle course. Again, if you’re not interested in DIY, you can pick up a full obstacle course kit instead.
Scavenger Hunt
Kids love a good scavenger hunt, and an outdoor scavenger hunt requires little to no setup from parents. Send older kids off in the neighborhood — keep little ones in the backyard — with a checklist. The checklist can have specific items (ex. a gray rock, a maple leaf) or ask kids to find an item of a certain color or that starts with a certain letter of the alphabet.
Water Balloon Piñata
For this activity, string up several filled water balloons along a string or in a cluster. Let guests take turns trying to hit the balloons blindfolded, using a pinata stick or foam baseball bat. Make sure no adults or children are within range of the swinger! When all the balloons are broken, repeat as much as you want. This is a fun way for kids to cool off on hot days, making it one of my favorite summer birthday games.
Water Balloon Dodgeball
This game is just what it sounds like — the traditional game of dodgeball, using water balloons instead of balls. To play dodgeball, separate kids into two teams, lined up on opposite ends of your play area. Put water balloons in a line down the middle.
On your signal, both teams will run toward the middle of the “court,” trying to pick up as many water balloons as they can (only one per player). Players who are hit with a balloon by someone from the opposing team are out for that round. The team with the last player standing wins the round.
Hula Hooping Contest
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Pick up a hula hoop for each guest (dollar stores and Oriental Trading have inexpensive options), put on some music, and hula hoop away. Last one “hooping” is the winner.
Three-Legged Race
In a three-legged race, participants pair up, with the left leg of one participant tied to the right leg of the other with a rope or cloth. Each pair needs to coordinate and use teamwork to win the race!
Frisbee
Frisbees are an inexpensive way to provide lots of options for fun. Kids can simply toss the frisbee back and forth, compete to hit a particular target, or even play lawn games like Frisbee Tac Tac Toe.
Freeze Tag
This game is traditional Tag with a twist. In Freeze Tag, when a player is tagged, he or she must freeze in the position they were in when they were tagged. The player must not move until a teammate taps them to “release” them. Requires a minimum of four players.
Water Slide
Summer birthdays are a perfect time to bring out the water toys. Set up a water slide in a flat area of your lawn, connect it to your garden hose, and watch as children slide for hours!
Giant Tic Tac Toe
Create a Tic Tac Toe “board” using chalk or tape on a hard surface or temporary chalk paint on grass. Kids can draw “X”s and “O”s, or you can choose objects to represent each. For older kids, make it a tournament with multiple rounds (and even a prize!)
Egg and Spoon Race
In this game, players must race while balancing an egg on a spoon in their mouth. To set up, mark a starting line and a finish line. Instruct players to put a spoon in their mouth (narrow end) while balancing an egg in the bowl of the spoon. To keep the race clean or play indoors, use plastic eggs. Plastic or wooden spoons will be easier for children to hold in their mouths. Put together your own game set, or purchase one.
Water Gun Fight
Use your own collection or purchase cheap bulk water pistols so each child has their own. This game doesn’t need much structure, but you can add in safety rules like not spraying eyes or faces.
“Beach” Volleyball
All you’ll need to play volleyball at home is the net and the ball. Set up in a lawn or other area with soft ground for safety. Young kids won’t understand the traditional rules of volleyball, but they will love throwing or hitting the ball back and forth over the net. Older children can play the traditional way, and you can even offer a trophy to the winning team. If you don’t already have a volleyball set, you can buy one relatively inexpensively.
Donuts on a String
This game pulls triple duty as food, favors, and fun! To play, tie donuts to pieces of string and hang in a line at about eye-level for your child and his guests. Line blindfolded children up parallel to the donut line, then send them forward to find the donuts using only their mouths. Untie any uneaten donuts and send extras home as party favors.
Trampoline Balloon or Water Balloon Pop
Utilize your trampoline at a summer birthday party by covering the trampoline top with regular balloons or water balloons. Kids will love jumping on the trampoline to try to pop the balloons.
Kickball
Kickball is very similar to baseball but uses an inflated ball instead of a baseball. The ball is kicked rather than hit with a bat. You can purchase kickball bases online or spray bases on grass with temporary chalk spray paint.
Wheelbarrow Race
A Wheelbarrow Race is a team race, where one partner is the driver who pushes the wheelbarrow and one partner rides inside it. Since most households don’t own more than one wheelbarrow, teams will take turns racing while an adult times them. Consider a lightweight wheelbarrow that won’t hurt small children if it falls on them.
Tug of War
Tug of War is a classic game that pits two teams against each other. Each team pulls on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal of bringing the rope a certain distance in one direction (usually marked with a cone, but you can use any marker you have at home).
You can buy rope (optionally tying knots for grip), tie pieces of fabric together, or buy a rope made for playing Tug of War.
Find the Gummy Bears
In this messy, sweet game, an adult will hide gummy bears under a mountain of whipped cream on a plate. Each plate is placed at a table in front of a child, who may or may not be blindfolded, but cannot use his or her hands to find the bears. Instead, children dive face-first into the whipped cream. For toddlers, simply using their hands to find the bears is a fun sensory activity.
Blowing Bubbles
You’ll be amazed at how long toddlers can be entertained by blowing bubbles or having bubbles blown for them (my own three-year-old twins are living proof). Bubble wands are especially popular with kids and make great bubbles.
Limbo
In this fun (and often funny) party game, participants compete to see who can pass under the lowest bar while bending over backwards. You’ll need to buy or build your own limbo game stand. After each round, where each participant takes a turn, the bar is lowered. Anyone who knocks the bar loose is out. Play some party music in the background and watch the hilarity ensue.
Nerf War
Use your own collection, ask guests to bring their own from home, or take turns playing so each child has their own Nerf gun. This game doesn’t need much structure, but you can add in safety rules like not hitting eyes or faces.
Musical Patio Chairs
To play, arrange two rows of chairs back-to-back on your patio, deck, or lawn, with one less chair than the number of players. Have your kids’ party music playlist ready; when the music is playing, players will circle the chairs. When you stop the music, each player must sit in one of the chairs as quickly as possible. Whoever is left standing is out of the game, and the next round begins. Repeat until you have a winner.
Art Activities
A summer birthday is the ideal time to try some messy art activities outdoors. Bring out the paints and glitter and let your party guests have some creative fun.
Squirt Gun Painting
For this art activity, fill some inexpensive squirt guns with liquid paint. Set up canvases on your lawn (or use a washable paint on your driveway or patio) for kids to create abstract squirt gun art. Completed art doubles as party favors.
Relay Race
A relay race is a team-based race that relies on all members of the team to win. Relay races are divided into stages, which may be portions of a track or stretches of a straight line you’ve marked out in your yard or at a park. Teammates must exchange a baton (or other handy item) at the marked exchange area.
You can adapt to suit a smaller or larger play area, with varying numbers of teams and using any items you have handy as markers and batons.
Outdoor Scrabble
This summer birthday game requires some work and planning, but with a little effort you can DIY an outdoor word game that will last multiple years. You can buy unfinished wood squares to create your own letters — you’ll need 100 tiles — or purchase a yard Scrabble set.
Clothespin Tag
In this version of the classic game, participants tag each other by leaving a clothespin attached to the other player’s clothes. To make this game even more fun, have children decorate their own clothespins before the game (clothespins can make great “animals”) with paint, feathers, eyes, etc.
Frisbee Tic Tac Toe
Tape, draw, or spray a large Tic Tac Toe board. Players will take turns attempting to throw Frisbees (you will need one for each square) into the board section where they wish to place their mark. This game can be played with two players or two teams. Frisbee Tic Tac Toe is most fun for older children because of the precision it requires; young children may become frustrated.
Paper Airplane Toss
This game is a craft activity and competition all in one. Provide kids with construction paper, tape, and even decorating materials so each can create their own paper airplane. Set up a paper plane toss, and see whose creation flies the farthest!
Pool Noodle Croquet
Create your own giant backyard croquet court using inexpensive pool noodles. To create the wickets (hoops), place wooden dowels in the ground with several inches sticking out above the soil. Bend a pool noodle, sliding the wooden dowels into the holes on each side of the noodle. Noodles replace mallets, and a soccer ball or similar-sized ball replaces the traditional wooden balls.
No need to stick to the strict rules of the original game — kids will find their own ways to enjoy your pool noodle setup!
Evening Flashlight Tag
The fun doesn’t have to end when the sun goes down! To play this game, find a safe space for kids to run around. Give each child a flashlight (you can put them on a lanyard or ribbon) to “tag” each other with by turning the light on and off.
Shoebox Race
Bring the foot race indoors with a shoebox race that (mostly) ensures kids won’t be able to run too fast in the house. There are a couple of ways to do this. For a true shoebox race, collect enough shoeboxes for every participant (one for each foot). Cut an opening in the shoebox lid just large enough for a child’s foot to slip inside. Then, tape the shoebox lid to the box, making sure you have it well secured. Each child will slip on the shoebox “shoes” to race.
An even easier method is to host a shoebox “slide” where each child puts their feet — barefoot or with shoes — into two shoeboxes with no lids and slides across the deck or lawn to the finish line.
Make either game extra entertaining by decorating the shoeboxes to suit your child’s party theme — think astronaut shoes for a space party or clown shoes for a carnival theme.
Freeze Dance
This game is not a competition, but it will make for lots of laughs. Put on a lively playlist and periodically stop the music. When the music stops, participants must freeze in whatever position they’re in. This is a great time to have another adult or older child snap some funny photos.
