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15 Party Games for 4 Year Olds Where Everyone Stays In
Try 15 party games for 4 year olds where nobody is out, with simple rules, age swaps and a 90-minute running order for 12 children.
Which games work for a fourth birthday?
Musical statues, pass the parcel, Simon says and a picture treasure hunt are good party games for 4 year olds. Keep the rules short, demonstrate each game and let everyone carry on after a wobble or mistake. Pick from these 15, then use the running order below for a 90-minute party with 12 children.
For a wider age mix, our indoor party games for children aged 3 to 8 offer more options.
What should you prepare before guests arrive?
Choose five or six games and gather only their props. Aim for 3 to 5 minutes per quick game, with longer for unwrapping and hunting. These are suggested timings, so stop or repeat as you like. Show the children what to do before starting the music.
One safety check: follow age warnings on toys and prizes. Keep items with loose small parts, accessible button batteries or long cords away from young children, especially under-3 siblings. The Child Accident Prevention Trust explains these toy hazards. During food breaks, keep children seated and stay with them while they eat, following its choking prevention advice. Ask parents about food allergies before planning the party tea and cake. Agree suitable food and precautions with them, including avoiding cross-contamination.
Which of these 15 games should you pick?
Choose by what your group wants to do: dance, hunt, guess or make something up. The NHS includes dancing and active play among activities for under-5s. Start anywhere in the list, keeping a sitting game ready for a change of pace.
1. Musical statues
You need: music.
Dance while the music plays, then stop it and say, "Freeze like a robot." Next time, try a giant or a tiny mouse. Anyone who moves simply tries again at the next stop. There's no judge and nobody is sent off the dance floor, so you don't need to entertain an eliminated group.
2. Pass the parcel with a shared middle
You need: two parcels for 12 guests.
Make two circles of six. Each parcel has six layers, an action picture under each layer and six ready-made paper crowns in the middle. Pass each parcel around its circle while the music plays, stopping so that each child gets one unwrapping turn. They unwrap; everyone does the pictured action. Finish by handing out the crowns, with no bigger final prize.
3. Simon says, with another go
You need: nothing.
Say, "Simon says touch your nose," and demonstrate. Then try "Touch your knees" without the opening words. Anyone caught out carries on immediately. Begin with copying before adding the trick instructions, and let willing children be Simon. The fun is catching the grown-up making a mistake, rather than catching each other.
4. Animal corners
You need: four large animal pictures.
Put a cat, dog, bird and elephant picture in different parts of the room. Say, "Walk to the cat and give me a miaow." Everyone visits the same animal, then chooses another. There's no last person out. In a small room, stay in place and point to the picture instead.
5. Copycat partners
You need: nothing, or music.
Pair up and face each other. Say, "One of you is the mirror. Copy your partner's waving hands." Try slow arm circles, shoulder shrugs or funny faces, then swap leaders. A grown-up can partner anyone waiting to join. Both children have a job throughout, with no audience or solo performance needed.
6. Picture treasure hunt
You need: 12 pairs of large picture cards.
Draw matching pairs, using different pictures such as a sun, house or fish. Give each guest a card and place its match around the room. Say, "Find your picture's twin." Anyone finished becomes a helper. End when everyone's pair is together, rather than when the fastest hunter returns.
7. Sock toss
You need: rolled socks and laundry baskets.
Set out two baskets and split into two groups. Each child gets three throws, then passes the socks along. Say, "Let's see how many we can get in together." Move the basket nearer whenever someone asks. Collectively filling it is the task; there are no individual scores to compare.
8. Teddy rescue
You need: soft toys and an open box.
Sit in a circle and put the box beside a grown-up. Pass a teddy gently around until it reaches its "bed". Say, "Can we get all the teddies home?" Send another along after the first is partway round. Everyone helps with the same mission, and dropped teddies simply rejoin.
9. What's the time, Mr Wolf?
You need: a clear walking space.
A grown-up plays the wolf while children ask the time. "Three o'clock" means three small steps towards the wolf. Use "Cake time" as the final call: everyone stops and pretends to eat cake. Then reset. This keeps the familiar question-and-answer game but removes the chase and anyone being caught.
10. Pin the tail, with eyes open
You need: a donkey drawing, paper tails and reusable adhesive.
Give everyone a tail to add to the picture. Say, "Where should this donkey's tail go?" Keep eyes open and let children deliberately choose a silly place. A grown-up should attach the tails and handle the adhesive: small pieces of adhesive putty can be a choking hazard. Keep spare adhesive and loose pieces out of children's reach, and put the picture away afterwards. Take turns admiring the increasingly odd donkey; accuracy doesn't decide a winner.
11. What's missing from the tray?
You need: four familiar objects, a tray and a cloth.
Show a cup, sock, wooden spoon and soft toy. Ask everyone to look away while you hide one beneath the cloth, then ask what's missing. Accept answers together rather than picking the quickest hand. Reveal it after a few guesses and let a volunteer hide the next object.
12. Pass the funny face
You need: nothing.
Sit in a circle. Turn to your neighbour with raised eyebrows and a very serious face; they copy it, then pass it along. Send a different expression the other way. Anyone can say "pass" and let the next child continue. The changing face is the entertainment, with no correct answer.
13. Birthday story circle
You need: nothing.
Begin, "The birthday cake grew legs and walked into..." Let the next child supply a place, then ask what happened there. Offer choices if needed: "The garden or the moon?" A word, gesture or pass all count as a turn. Stop when the cake gets home, however peculiar its journey.
14. Sleeping lions who wake together
You need: space to sit or lie down.
Say, "The lions are resting until they hear their breakfast arrive." Make quiet pretend kitchen noises, then announce breakfast and let everyone wake with a roar. Nobody is out for moving, and eyes can stay open. Repeat with a whispered wake-up if you'd like a quieter ending.
15. Quiet pose copycat
You need: space on the floor.
Show mountain by standing tall, then come onto hands and knees for a cat shape. Say, "Copy my shape, then choose your own." Everyone copies a willing volunteer before finishing seated. Let children change position whenever they want. It's a slower copying game, with no contest to stay still longest.
How could 90 minutes with 12 children look?
Use this as an example running order, with six main games and an optional activity during arrivals. Ask another grown-up to help with the door and the parcels. The gaps include explaining rules and changing activities, so you don't need to fill them with uninterrupted play.
- 0 to 10, What happens: Greetings and optional copycat partners
- 10 to 20, What happens: Musical statues, then Simon says
- 20 to 30, What happens: Pass the parcel in two circles of six
- 30 to 50, What happens: Seated party tea
- 50 to 60, What happens: Picture treasure hunt
- 60 to 70, What happens: Birthday song and cake
- 70 to 80, What happens: What's missing, then quiet pose copycat
- 80 to 90, What happens: Coats, goodbyes and collection
For a small room, combine copycat partners, pass the parcel and tray guessing. For a party without music, combine the treasure hunt, Mr Wolf and sleeping lions.
If you're giving something at the door, these party bag ideas cover that separately.
If your child wants to keep playing the pose game after the party, explore our pose-guided mats. Each has 15 numbered poses laser-engraved into the surface, for ages 3 to 8. At the party, everyone can simply copy a grown-up.
What if someone wants to watch instead?
Let them watch beside a familiar grown-up, choose the next animal or help reveal the tray object. Offer a role without making it a condition of staying with the group. "You can join whenever you like" leaves the invitation open without putting them on the spot.
If a whole group loses interest, finish the game rather than adding more instructions. Try a sitting game, put the music aside or bring food forward. Keep a drawing table available for anyone who wants something different. Leave room for a grown-up to sit beside them, too. You can change the running order without announcing that the plan has gone wrong.
Frequently asked questions
How do you entertain 4 year olds at a birthday party?
Start with musical statues or copycat partners, then alternate moving games with sitting games such as pass the parcel. Show the action before you begin and keep everyone in after a mistake. Leave time for food, cake and unplanned play rather than trying to fill every minute with instructions.
How many games do you need for a 90-minute party?
For the running order above, prepare six main games and keep another in reserve. Copycat partners is an optional arrival activity. Allow longer for pass the parcel and the treasure hunt than for a quick dance game, and shorten the games if food or arrivals take longer than planned.
Can you adapt these party games for 3 year olds?
Yes. Try showing every action, keeping the treasure pictures visible and letting a grown-up help with unwrapping. For party games for 5 year olds, offer turns leading Simon says or inventing story details. For party games for 6 year olds, add a shared challenge, such as remembering more tray objects, without introducing elimination.
What are good party games for four players?
Try musical statues, copycat partners, what's missing and the birthday story circle. Four players can make two copying pairs or sit together around a tray. Use a single parcel with four layers if you want pass the parcel, and give everyone a turn to choose the next action.
Does every child need a prize?
No. You can run all these games without bought prizes. For pass the parcel, use action pictures between the layers and paper crowns in the middle for everyone. If you do give presents, hand out the same thing at the end rather than rewarding whoever finishes fastest.
