There can and should be lots of laughter at a birthday party. I always think it’s great when things are fun, and I also like a few little games when they fit the occasion. They shouldn’t be ridiculous or tedious. Especially when not all the guests at the party know each other, games like these really do make sense. Even if the guests may not see it that way at first. From experience, it’s truly super nice and opens many doors to new acquaintances you definitely wouldn’t have made otherwise. After all, if the birthday person is nice, their friends could be nice too, right? In this article you’ll find lovely party games for a birthday celebration:
Games for a milestone birthday – party games for a 40th/50th/60th/70th birthday
Quiz about the birthday person
In this game, the birthday person’s last secrets are revealed. You need a host and lots of questions about the birthday person. The guests are divided into groups, the question is asked and the guests have to guess; the group that has the correct answer ready receives one point. The group with the most points wins.
Ideas for questions:
- What was the birthday person’s 1st job?
- What did they want to be as a child?
- What brand was their 1st car?
- What fashion-related youthful sin did the birthday person commit?
- What name would the birthday person have had if they had been the other gender?
- What was the birthday person’s 1st pet?
Who is who?
This game only works if the guests have known the birthday person for a very long time. Here, guests must bring a childhood photo where they were pictured together with the birthday person. The photos are mixed and should be laid out or hung up and numbered; you can also hang up the names as a hint. Now the guests have to guess which photo belongs to which name. You can prepare nice slips of paper for this and hand them out to the guests. On a larger scale, you can of course form groups that compete against each other. Whoever makes the most correct matches wins.
What happened there?
Quiz about the birthday person
For this game too, the guests should bring something that reminds them of a funny memory with the birthday person. It could be a movie ticket, a soccer ball, etc. Anything that might help the birthday person remember a funny experience. If they guess it, that story must of course be told.
Example: You got completely lost while cycling with the birthday person – I would bring a bicycle bell. You snuck into the cinema with the birthday person to see a film with a higher age rating; I would bring a movie ticket. Back then, as teenagers, you always wore a huge hairspray hairstyle when going out; I would bring a can of hairspray.
Who knows the birthday person best?
Here, questions must be prepared on a sheet of paper that all guests and the birthday person receive. Examples are:
- What would she/he take to a desert island?
- What is her/his dream vacation?
- What did she/he want to be professionally as a child?
- What is her/his biggest quirk?
- What does she/he spend the most money on?
- What can she/he absolutely not do without?
The guests must write down their answers, which are then compared. Whoever has the most answers identical to the birthday person is the winner.
Who has the funniest photo?
This game is ideal if not everyone at the party knows each other, but you want that to change right away. To do this, prepare as many slips of paper as there are guests coming, and label 4 slips with the same number each time, so 4 slips with a 1, 4 slips with a 2, and so on. Then make these slips look nice and funny by adding funny facts about the birthday person.
Examples: they hated school as a child, they liked playing soccer as a child, the love of their life was met in an ice cream shop, etc.
The slips of paper are put into a bowl and at the party, all party guests must draw a slip. Then the guests must find all 3 other guests with the same number and come up with a joint photo on the topic.
Example: he hated school as a child; the photo could be reenacted by everyone holding up a pencil, pen, or piece of paper and looking annoyed.
It is best to have an instant camera or even a photo booth here. The photos are hung up and the birthday person gets to choose the funniest one.
Sell and buy various things
For this game, you need a game leader at the party and a few volunteers who briefly leave the room. Another volunteer is chosen and, together with the other guests, decides on something funny to sell, but no one is allowed to say what it is. It could be a condom, a tampon, a cactus, baby diapers, a onesie, etc. Once that is decided, the game leader goes outside and tells the volunteers that a sales conversation is taking place for a chair/table/car, etc., something banal. They are also not allowed to say what they want to buy and must now have a sales conversation about the details with the “seller” in the room. The trick, of course, is that both sides are talking about different things, which can lead to some pretty funny questions and answers. A moderator also helps here, as they can steer the whole conversation a little or help out if things get stuck.
Journey through the decades
Here there are photos or questions about specific years and the birthday person must guess which year is meant. These can be photos shown to the birthday person, or events, such as the ski trip with the class or attending a legendary party, a photo of themselves with the birthday person from a certain year, etc.
What do the guests have in common?
This will reveal how well the birthday person knows their guests. Think of characteristic traits in advance that some party guests have in common.
Examples:
- I am a neighbor
- I have known the birthday person since childhood
- I am related to the honoree
- I have already celebrated my 40th/50th/60th birthday
- I have already seen the birthday person naked
- I have already been on vacation together with the birthday person
- I went to school/kindergarten, etc. together with the birthday person
- I have children
You lay out these sentences as cards (not visible to the birthday person!!) at the party, and each guest has to sign the one that applies to them. Write the heading in large letters here, because these cards will then be held up for the guests, and they have to recognize which characteristic it is about.
Once everyone has signed up, the game begins. You stand in front of the birthday person (so that they can’t read the card!) and show the guests one card at a time. Now everyone to whom it applies has to stand up, and then the birthday person has to guess which characteristic these guests have in common.
Guess the baby photo
Here, the information must go out with the invitation that everyone should bring a baby photo of themselves. These are hung up numbered, with slips of paper with the numbers underneath, and all guests must guess who is who.
City-Country-River Birthday Person Special
The game City-Country-River with categories suitable for the birthday person:
- Dream vacations
- Jobs
- Properties
- Hobbies
- Favorite bands
- Favorite actors
- Nicknames
- Favorite food
Speech Battle – Mini Eulogies
Here, terms are prepared on slips of paper about which the guests must give a mini 30-second speech suitable for the birthday person. Don't forget the stopwatch!
Examples of terms:
- Coffee
- Vacation
- Patience
- Dance style
- Chaos
- Favorite band
- Properties
Memory Wall
For this, you need a few slips of paper, a wall, a poster, or a whiteboard. Each guest must write a memory on a slip of paper and hang it up. The birthday person must guess who the memory is from.
Photo Challenge
For this game, you need an instant camera and paper and pens. Tasks are noted on the slips of paper in advance:
- Take a photo with someone you met for the first time today
- Take a funny group photo
- Photograph the best outfit
- Photograph someone who dances well
It is nice if there is a way to hang up the photos.
Birthday Person Oscar
For this game, you need small awards (small Oscars or trophies), as well as a list of awards, such as:
- Most loyal friend
- Longest friend
- Best dancer
- Best excuses
- Perfect partner in crime
At the party, these categories are announced to the birthday person and they are allowed to award them to the respective person.
Survival kit
This game requires tact: if the birthday person really has a sense of humor and can laugh about their (wonderful :-)) age, then off you go shopping. For this game, you should buy funny things for the birthday person that they need now at that age or should still use. You also absolutely need a host who adds funny comments, and a box or bag to put the things in, or you can wrap everything in gift paper.
Ideas:
- Kukident tablets
- Dietary supplements for the heart
- Dextrose for more energy
- Large pack of coffee
- Back cushion
- Reading glasses
- Booklet: Memory training for seniors
- Post Its and pen
- Heat cushion
- Large pack of Voltaren pain gel
- Chocolate
- Baby food
- Thong/lingerie
- Glasses cleaning cloth
- Batteries
At the party, the gift is then presented in front of everyone. The honoree has to unwrap the items one by one, and the host should add their two cents as humorously as possible and tease the birthday person a little. For example: Ah, a pack of dextrose, well, you are a 4-time grandfather/grandmother after all, so you might need something like that after an afternoon with the kids.
But be careful: don’t overdo it and don’t be insulting. Also add a tip: If someone calls you old, hit them with your cane and throw your dentures after them…
Create a photo album at the party
Photos are always a wonderful memory, and it becomes even better when you add comments. For this lovely keepsake, buy a photo album where you can write on and decorate the pages yourself. Then have old photos of yourself with the guests developed and lay them out at the party together with pens and Uhu. During the evening, each guest should choose a photo they are in and comment on and decorate it. Truly beautiful memories!
Read also: Games for a children’s birthday party
Photo by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
