Carnival Party Games

To host a successful carnival theme birthday party, the entire set up for the event needs to be to the mark. Planning starts with invitations for guests, decorations according to selected party theme, games, activities, party food, beverages, cake, snacks, themed party favors, and costumes (optional).

To finalize the venue for the party, you can select your back or front yard, driveway, or a park close to your house. The best part, or I should say, parts of any carnival theme party would be the games and food that are organized.

Depending on the age of the guests, perhaps they are kids or adults, or a mix of both, the number of carnival party games can be coordinated. For every game featured, you will need one non-party adult or teenage kid. So, recruit your family members and friends to help you out with setting up your games.

Before you begin staging any of these games, you need to set a ticket booth or counter near the entrance. You can either purchase the tickets or make them at home. With the entrance tickets out of the way, purchase the admission tickets for all the games. There are many sites over the Internet that offer printable admission tickets. Every guest presents his or her own ticket for the carnival games and gets the gist of the party.

For Kids

• Art Corner - Kids love to paint and draw. So, make a special area for them, provide art and craft work supplies with paint colors, brushes, markers, and much more.

• Hula hoop contest - Get at least 10 (depending on how many kids are showing for the party) hula hoops and host a contest among them. Whichever kid(s) can hold the hula hoop on their waist, hand, neck, or leg the longest, wins.

• Basketball shooting - Perhaps you have a basketball ring over your garage (or you can hire one), draw a line on the driveway to organize a basketball shooting tournament. Anyone can take part in this game where each player gets 3 turns to make the shot.

For Adults

• Air Hockey - Although, this game is played by two at a time, you can rent the table from your local gaming rental store. The adults will be busy playing the game and waiting in line for their chance.

• Archery - Get 5―10 plywood (from any hardware store) and make arrows with a suction-tipped archery set for kids. Paint the plywood with cool designs and mark them with scores. Every player gets to hit the board 2―3 times.

• Races - Set up different races like bean bag race and one-leg hopping race, and see them rush through the tracks. Set up lanes for 6 players while clearly marking the start and finish lines.

Apart from the games, you can also include any of the following items for the party to make it more enjoyable.

• Bounce castle
• Popcorn machine
• Cotton candy machine
• Snow cone or slush machine
• Funny photo boards
• Hot dog vendor
• Face painting
• Balloon animals

To end the party on a happy note, as party favors, you can give each guests (kids or adults) prizes for the games they participated in. Even if they didn't do so well, present them with personal goody bags. These games will definitely be a great success if you plan ahead and get the party supplies on time. Have a super party!