How many people have looked into the cost of a child’s birthday party and shaken their heads in despair? First there is the food, (cakes, chocolate, fancy buns etc.), second a magician, third, a bouncy castle, fourth . . . well, the sky’s the limit!

 So, back to reality. Do we restrict the number of guests we invite? Do we cut back the fancies to just jelly and ice-cream? Do we give cup cakes rather than cake? Would a clown be cheaper?

But on the other hand isn’t a child’s birthday party supposed to be where the guests make themselves either hyper, or sick, on vast quantities of chocolate cake and icing? Too many jelly fruits and cream buns?

Could we not just forget the magician, clown and castle in favour of the food and initiate games that require little or no financial commitment?

Well here you will find party game ideas, from the same volume as the card games from my earlier post, that will suit any child’s birthday party. With a little preparation and careful planning most of the party games detailed here are pretty easy and involve minimal expenditure and materials.

In my experience children, as a whole, are always up for fun activities!

And fun activities do not have to cost an arm and a leg! With this thought in mind, read through these ideas and remember all those fantastic parties we ourselves went to as children, where we were kept enthralled for hours by just a ball of string or a blindfold!

All those wonderful party games we used to play like pass the parcel, musical chairs or hide-and-seek!

The time is way overdue to bring back some of the old-fashioned fun and celebrate in the traditional way, surrounded by friends and family, while pigging out on all those foods we’d not normally be allowed!

I defy anybody of a certain age, having read down this far, not to have a faint smile of recognition on their lips right about now!