Coin Race Birthday Party Game

One of the best things about playing games at a childs birthday party is that you can keep all the kids in one place. Instead of children running all over your house you can organize a game in the backyard and the kids will have fun and exercise while winning prizes. For this years birthday party, line the kids up outside, and they can race to try to win first place in a relay game thats suitable for kids of all ages.

To start the game use two things to mark a turn-around point while the kids are running in the relay. These things could be two stakes, two bricks or even two potted plants. Place these at one end of the yard but leave a wide gap between them.

At the marked turn-around areas set a bowl of pennies for each team. Set the bowl on the ground or place chairs outside and set the bowls on them. Each bowl should contain pennies. The amount of pennies can vary; there should be at least a penny for each child on that team. Mark an area where the kids will start the game. Again, you can use rocks, plants, sticks pushed into the ground or other objects. Line an equal amount of children in each line, in front of their respective starting points. Halfway between the starting point and the turn-around, set an egg carton on the ground. There should be one egg carton for each team. Make sure the lids are cut off of the cartons. When someone calls "go", the first child in each line runs to the turn-around spot, picks up a penny from the bowl, then runs to the egg carton on the way back to his or her line. Upon reaching the egg carton each child will stop and drop the penny into it. The child cannot bend over; he or she must not lower the penny below the waist. Drop the penny into the egg carton, run back to the next person in line, and then watch as that child does the same. The object of the game is to be the first team who has a penny in each section of the egg carton. The child who ends up dropping the last penny into the last section simply hollers "we got it" or something similar. If youre playing the game outside when its really hot theres an additional element you can add to the game. As each child makes it to the turn-around spot, he or she can scoop a cup of water from a bucket, pour that over his head, then pick up his penny and finish the race. Its simple, its fun and its a great way to keep many kids entertained at a birthday party or other event.