Keep your party guests moving on the right track with a few easy and fun games that can be customized to fit any age. Plan ahead and have everything ready so your games begin and end smoothly. Try these games or think of your own.
Caboose Balloon PopAll you need for this game is a balloon for each player. Have guests race to pop their own balloon - the last player to pop his or her balloon is the “caboose on the loose.” There is one trick to the game though - each player must only use his or her “caboose” (rear end) to pop the balloon. Guests can sit on it, smash it against the wall, or pop it any other way they choose. This game is sure to generate giggles! Maybe the winner gets to hit the pinata first!
Train Pinata
A pinata is a sure way to get the kids excited. The idea of hitting something and candy falls out is a great idea to any kid (or the author of of this website!). There are plenty of different pinata's but a perfect pinata for a train party is a Train Pinata.
Follow the Engine
For a simple train version of the popular Follow the Leader, play this game at any time during the party. Choose a guest as the engine, and encourage other guests to follow the engine and mimic what the engine does. The engine can jump up and down; make noise, turn and spin, or whatever he or she chooses. Allow each guest to be the engine for a short time, and encourage each engine to move in silly and different ways.
What’s in My Train Car?
Play this guessing game periodically throughout the party – guests can win prizes if they guess correctly.
- Purchase a few small gift boxes or collect a few different sized boxes (e.g., from toothpaste, crackers, small shoes, or cookies) from around your home. It is ideal to have one prize per guest so that everyone wins, but it is not necessary.
- Place a prize inside each box (e.g., an engineer’s hat, silly putty, a candy bar, a small toy, or a bag of fruit snacks), then cover the boxes with decorative paper and glue on some construction paper train wheels.
- Write a list of clues for the game, using popular items that children will recognize (see some clue suggestions below).
- At various times throughout the party, pick a wrapped train car and read a clue. The child who guesses the answer correctly first wins that wrapped train car prize.
A few easy clue suggestions for younger children:
What’s in My Train Car? It’s a kind of animal that’s big and gray with a long, long trunk. What is it? (elephant)
What’s in My Train Car? It’s something that you can eat, it’s a favorite snack, it’s white, it’s buttery, it’s salty, and it goes “POP”. What is it? (popcorn)
What’s in My Train Car? It’s something round and orange, and you can throw it thorough a hoop to make two points! What is it? (basketball)
Other train activity ideas could include pin the whistle on the engine or a Train Activity Doorsign.