BALLoON GAMEs for kids

 BALLoONS GAMES

Hot Air Balloons

There are several ways to play hot air balloons, but in a nutshell your guests need to keep a balloon (or balloons) in the air for as long as they can. You can keep it really simple by having no specific rules or you can introduce specific guidelines to make it harder, and more fun. Some of my favourite Hot Air Balloon games are:

Have your guests stand in a circle and choose a theme. It could be your party theme, or it could be something completely different. The birthday child starts by calling out an item related to that theme, and then bats the balloon to the next person. That person can only hit the balloon once they have called out another item, so they need to think fast. If a person can’t think of anything new and the balloon falls, they are out of the game.
Try to keep the balloon in the air without using your hands. If you like, you can specify which body part your guests can use. It may be they can only use their knees, elbows, head, feet or chest.
Have all your guests stay on their knees, while trying to chase the balloons and keep them afloat. To make it harder still, you could make all your guests stay seated and just streeeeetch!
Balloon Grab

Blow up lots and lots of balloons, and scatter them all over the floor. Give the guests 2 minutes to gather up and hold on to as many balloons as they can. The winner is the person holding the most balloons when the timer stops.

Hot Balloon

Have your guests sit in a circle and bat a balloon around as you play some music. When the music stops, the last person to have hit the balloon (or the person who is actually touching it!) is out. The last person left in the circle wins.

Popping Race

Divide your guests into two teams, and line them up at one end of your lounge or backyard. At the other end have two boxes filled with balloons, making sure there is one for every child. On the count of three, the first child in each team runs to the other end of the lounge, chooses a balloon, and pops it by jumping, stomping or sitting. They then run back to the team and tag the next person to continue the race. The first team to pop all their balloons wins.

If you like you could put a small prize in each balloon, so the child gets something to keep when it pops.

Balloon Treasure Hunt

Blow up different coloured balloons (one for each child), and wrap up the same amount of prizes in different coloured papers to match the balloons. If you don’t have enough different coloured papers, you could just write the colour on the wrapper, or attach a co
loured ribbon. Hide the balloons around the house and send your guests to find a balloon each. The colour of balloon they find indicates the coloured parcel they receive at the end of the game.

Balloon Stomp

This is a great way to burn off some energy, and works well if you have a large space like a rumpus room or empty garage.

Poke a few sweets or treats into balloons before blowing them up and tying the knot. Tie a piece of string to each balloon, and then tie one balloon to the ankle of each guest. Everyone then runs around trying to stomp on other peoples balloons, while at the same time trying to protect their own. This game could potentially end in lots of stomped feet, so it’s a good idea for everyone to remove their shoes first.

For a pre-school version of this game, check out our Games for Pre-schoolers article.

Water Balloon Toss

Divide your guests into pairs, and give one person in each team a water balloon filled with water. The pair stands about one metre apart, and then tosses the water balloon between each other, and back again. If they can make the throw without the water balloon hitting the ground, they then take a step back, and throw again. The partners continue to get further and further apart, until finally they drop the catch or end up with water all over themselves. The pair which makes the longest successful throw wins!

Target Practice

Give everyone a different coloured balloon to blow up, but ask them to hold on to the neck rather than tie it in a knot. Place a target in the middle of the floor, and on the count of three, have everyone let go of their balloons. (Your target could be a box, a hoola hoop, or simply a mat.) You can play this game for as many rounds as you like, by allocating points for bulls eyes or ‘closest to the mark’. After several rounds, the person with the most points wins.

Darts

Poke small sweets or prizes into balloons before blowing them up and tying them in a knot. Use sticky tape to attach the balloons to a large noticeboard, making sure there is at least one balloon for every child. One at a time, let the children throw a dart at the board, and they get to keep the prize from whichever balloon they pop.

Obviously this game is only suitable for older children, and you will need to be very strict with your supervision to keep everybody safe.

Round up the Sheep

Divide your guests into two teams, and provide each team with a big cardboard box to act as their sheep pen. Release lots and lots of balloons into the backyard or rumpus room, and ask the teams to ‘round up their sheep’ with their hands behind their back. They’ll will have to work together to find the best strategies, and you’ll be surprised by some of the techniques they come up with. The team that gets the most sheep in their pen – wins.

Games and Sports in the World

Best Indoor Games and Sports in the World

Top five

1.KABADDI

Having its origins in ancient India, Kabaddi is also the national sport of Bangladesh. It is an extremely popular sport in South-East Asia and has gained widespread intional limelight. The 11th Asian Games held in Beijing, China (1990)ernational acceptance. It was during the SAF Games in Dhaka, 1985 that Kabaddi shot into internat

saw Kabaddi being introduced for the first time and has been held regularly ever since. Played over a 45-minute stretch with a gap of 5 minutes in between, Kabaddi also witnesses a World Cup competition of which India is the current champion. Highly physical with a similarity to wrestling, Kabaddi is being further propagated through the Pro-Kabaddi League in India.

2. BOWLING

To a layman this game might seem like a childish indulgence- getting hold of a humongous ball just to knock over ten odd-shaped pins at the end of an alley h

ardly qualifies as a game, eh? Wrong. The sport of bowling has been accepted and is played by over 95 million people across the world, spanning more than 90 countries. Its roots are in Ancient Egypt (discovered from remains by Sir Flinders Petrie) and also the Roman Empire where the people used husk balls, leather balls, etc.  Pin bowling, as it is known today (with 10-pin, 9-pin and even 5-pin variations), was first established in New York in 1895. Besides providing a fun evening out, bowling gives plenty of exercise for the human body and helps in strengthening of muscles, burning fat, etc.

3.BILLIARDS

A general term used for Carambole Billiards, this is the most popular game from the family of billiards (others include three-cushion billiards, pool, etc). It is believed to have its origins in France in the late 1700s. The carambole billiard game (most popu

lar in the family) has a very simple objective- a point is scored (known as count) when the cue ball hits both the object balls in a single stroke. As soon as a preset number of points is reached the winner is decided. Other variations of billiards include limited-rail billiards, balkline billiards, cushion carom, three-cushion billiards, etc.

4.SQUASH

This is a racquet and ball sport that can be played by two (singles) or four (doubles) players. The name squash comes from the softness of the ball that is used in the game. Harrow school is recognized with the invention and popularization of t

his game which used racquets similar to, but a lot lighter than, those used in tennis. The rules of the game have undergone a lot of changes over time. According to the conventional scoring system, the first player to reach 9 points is declared the winner of the game. If the score line, however, reads 8-8 then the player who reached 8 first gets to decide whether the game will be played to 9 or played to 10. However, according to the current accepted scoring system, games are played to 11 and must be reached keeping a difference of 2 in order to win. According to the World Squash Federation, England is the country with the highest number of squash courts in the world. Jahangir Khan of Pakistan is widely considered to be the greatest player of the game.

5.TABLE TENNIS

Analogous to its outdoor counterpart, table tennis can be

played by two players (singles) or by four (doubles). The rules of the game, however, are slightly different. The service must be done in a way so as to make the ball drop once in one’s own half of the board and once in the opponent’s half, and thereafter in the opponent’s half only. In doubles, the rally is continued by players alternating among themselves thus adding an extra dimension of challenge to this extremely fast game; also, in doubles, the service is done diagonally between opposite sections of the board! This game originated n England in the late 1800s where it was played mostly by the elite class as a post-meal game. Owing to the sound of the ball being hit to-and-fro between the racquets, this game is also known as ping-pong. The first ever table tennis World Championships was hosted by London in 1926. With 2 World Championships and a World Cup title to his name, Jan-Ove Waldner is considered as one of the finest players of this game.

new indoor games

 New indoor games

.1. Pencil-and-paper games

From Battleship to Sprouts, we’ve created a must-play list of pencil-and-paper games that beat TV any rainy day. Gather some pencils and paper and check out our best of pencil-and-paper games.

2. Building

you don’t need a fancy building set for this. Popsicle stick cities, card towers, even buildings out of blocks, or forts out of boxes or pillows, will do just fine. If you want to get competitive, whoever builds the highest tower wins.

3. Magical Mama (or Papa)

Be your kids’ very own Harry Houdini—without the locks, chains and water tanks, of course. Simply place a coin under one of three cups and shuffle the cups around. Then ask your children to guess which cup holds the coin. Sneaky parents can place the cups near the edge of a table and secretly drop the coin. Watch your tots’ eyes light up in amazement when they learn the coin is gone!

4. Card games

Card games are great for challenging young minds and creating hours of indoor fun. Grab a box of cards and check out our favourite traditional card games.

5. Puzzles

Exercise those creative, cognitive and problem-solving muscles with a good puzzle. You can use a store-bought variety or have the kids make their own. Have your children draw a picture on a sturdy piece of cardboard or Bristol board. Then use a pencil to outline puzzle pieces directly on their drawing. Cut out the pieces with a good pair of scissors, mix them up and get solving