Most of the games and activities mentioned in this e-book require no cost. Some of these games and activities might even serve as some backup activities just in case the others that you had originally planned fall flat. Never hurts to have a Plan B or C!

1. Movie Party. One of the easiest activities to initiate. Pick out a few age-appropriate DVDs at your local library and have a movie birthday. Don’t have a DVD player? Ask your local librarian if you can rent out a DVD player for a birthday.
2. Funny pictures.Ask the guests of your party, particularly the older guests, to bring cameras. Those who do bring cameras can enjoy taking funny pictures of all of the guests and then creating a scrapbook later of the event. This will also help to develop the party-atmosphere a little bit.
3. Treasure Hunt. Take any small object that you own—be it a spoon, a tennis ball, a puzzle piece, etc. and hide it! While this game will usually only be successful with really young children, older children and even some adults can really get into this as well with the right attitude! Obviously, the personalities of your guests is something that you’ll have to factor into your planning, but if you have the type of guests who don’t mind evoking their inner-child every once in a while to have a good time, go for it!
4. Goofy Relative. Invite a goofy relative, preferably one who can crack jokes that are age-appropriate while performing a few neat magic tricks. This is assuming you have one of these, but if you don’t, a good friend will also suffice. Just make sure you give these guests fair warning and enough time to prepare. It also won’t hurt for you to tell these guests what role you would like them to serve, making sure that they are okay with filling this need. Otherwise, you could potentially get confused—and unwelcome reactions. On the whole, the person must be someone you’re EXTREMELY comfortable with!
5. Invent your own board games.Whether you’re playing for points or for prizes, in a small group or multiple groups, almost anything can be turned into a game! You can create board games or just simply use your body in unconventional ways to create fun and interesting moments. You’d be surprised what you can come up with if you just put your mind to it! The following list, although by no means comprehensive, should give you a better sense of the possibilities here. You’ll want to modify or change these according to your individual needs:
6. Simon Says
7. Bingo
8. Tic Tac Toe
9. Make your own piñata
10. Clue
11. Guess Who