party games

Slightly messy. Needs to be done in kitchen. Divide into teams. Each team needs to make a Knickerbocker Glory. Bowls of jelly, ice cream, hundreds and thousands or whatever are put on central table. Each team of about 4 has to go singly to get a spoonful of ingredient a nd between team build up a Knickerbocker Glory. Need a judge to say which is the best.

Also team game . making a snowman. Each team needs 2 loo rolls, a hat, a scarf and a carrot. Give them about 4 minutes and someone judges the best. Note the snowman is one of the children and they are wrapped in loo roll.

Sleeping Lions.
They all
Lie down on the floor, pretending to be asleep.
Anyone who moves is 'out'.
The lion who sleeps the longest wins.
Good for a quick swig of sherry while the lions are 'asleep'

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I'm really looking forward to the party now as I feel we shall have plenty of ideas to amuse our guests!

Most children enjoy pass the parcel especially if there are some sweets included to fall out before the main present is revealed.
Not really a game but they could put their choice of several toppings ( in bowls) on mini pizzas. On a plastic table cloth put plenty of tubes of coloured icing and sprinkles. Give each boy a plain digestive or rich tea biscuit to decorate with a prize for the most artistic. This is always a popular stall at school fairs. Could be messy but enjoyable!

Indoor games in 2 teams of 4 such as passing a balloon back over heads, back person runs to the front with the balloon, when all have had a turn and are back in original places first team to sit down wins. Same idea - pass the balloon back between legs. Doesn't need much room.

Musical statues, freeze when the music stops.

The Keys of the Kingdom. Sit in a circle one person is blindfolded and has a bunch of keys on the floor behind them. Adult chooses someone who has to walk silently right round behind everyone, 'steal' the keys, tiptoe back to their place and sit down. If successful they are the one blindfolded next.
While they try to tiptoe around the blindfolded person points to where they hear a sound. If they point correctly the person trying to take the keys must sit down and someone else is chosen? There are lots of similar circle games often used in drama sessions or cub/brownie meetings.
Zombies. Sit in a circle a zombie is chosen and a name called out by the adult. The zombie, arms outstretched, must walk slowly towards the named person. The named person calls out someone else's name so the zombie makes for them instead. Anyone reached and touched by the zombie becomes the zombie next.

All would are normally for larger groups in larger spaces but, I think, worth trying for active 9 year old boys indoors!
Hope they enjoy the party, hope the weather allows them to enjoy it out of doors!

And for a quieter game: Kim's Game - put lots of little items on a tray, eg. a teabag, a dice, a bottle cork - say up to 20. Let the children have a minute to take it all in. You can then play this two different ways:
Either take away one item and see who can guess first what is missing.
Or ask all the children to list as many items as they can remember.

Here's musical chairs:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCS-H1uYfT8

Musical chairs is good but can get a bit wild.
Pin the tail on the donkey.
I had one party for my 2 boys together, Oct/Nov. time, where I booked a magician. That went down well

'Who am I"
One child has a famous person's name written on a post it note and stuck to their forehead they have to ask questions of the others to guess the name on the post it. Questions must be worded so they can be answered yes/no
I.e. "Am I male" ?
. "Am I a singer" ?

How lovely to have a party at home - we did for many years even when most other children were having parties out and I like to think that ours were always really enjoyed.

An absolute favourite game with ours was the chocolate race.

You will need:
One large bar of chocolate, still in the wrapper.
Sturdy dinner plate
Knife
Fork
Gloves - the bigger the better!
Hat
Scarf
1 die (dice)

Children sit in a circle with the plate of chocolate and all other equipment in the middle. All children take turns to throw the dice. If a 6 is thrown , the thrower needs to dress themselves in the hat, scarf and gloves, pick up the knife and fork and use it to cut open and eat the chocolate - one square at a time. The others continue to pass the dice and as soon as another six is thrown, that child takes over. This game results in a great deal of laughter. Establish rules for passing on the hat, scarf and gloves to avoid grabbing or pulling and expect children to do this quickly and fairly. Either set a 20-25 mins time limit - or maybe the chocolate will run out beforehand!

Good luck xx