20 Exciting Balloon Games For Kids That Are Perfect For Parties

If you’re looking for some fun balloon games for kids, you’ve come to the right place! These games are perfect for parties and will keep your little ones entertained for hours. You will also find fun water balloon games that are perfect for hot summer days.

So gather up your balloons and get ready to have some fun!

Fun Balloon Games For Kids

Planning a kid’s birthday party can become an expensive occasion if you are hosting a large group and want to have plenty of decorations and delicious food to set the scene.

One thing that every birthday party needs are some fun party games and balloon games for parties are a great way to keep costs down on entertainment, while still ensuring kids have a total blast!

Balloons and water balloons are inexpensive to purchase in bulk and there are so many different games to play with balloons that you could theme your entire party game schedule around different balloon games.

These games are great fun to play at home, at school or anywhere really too. It’s amazing how quickly you can bust boredom with some balloon activities!

You might also want to check out these Halloween party games and Christmas party game ideas.

Now let’s get into the fun! These balloon games for kids are perfect to play indoors when you need some party games that won’t make too much of a mess.

You can play most of them outdoors too but sometimes there are fewer popping hazards indoors which will keep the game in play a little longer!

Balloon Tennis

Balloon tennis is a great game for larger groups and can be played with teams or as individuals. All you need is some inflated balloons, some ping pong paddles and a net (if you have one).

How To Play: Set up a net in the middle of the room or use a line on the floor or even chairs as boundaries for your playing area. Each player or team takes a turn to hit the balloon over the net and the other players must return it. If the balloon hits the floor on your side, you lose that point. The first player or team to 10 points wins the game!

Balloon Bust

This hilarious balloon popping game is so much fun to watch as kids work hard to pop their balloons without using their hands.

Play it indoors with normal inflated balloons or add a funny twist by playing outdoors with water balloons, so long as no one minds having a wet bottom at the end of the game.

How To Play: Each player takes a balloon and places it on the floor or a chair and must bust it by sitting on it, without using their hands or feet. The first person to burst their balloon wins!

Keepy Uppy

If you are hosting a Bluey birthday party for your child, this game could not be more perfect! The Keepy Uppy balloon game features in one of the earliest episodes of the hit Australian children’s television show.

All you need is an inflated balloon (or a few balloons if you want to make it extra challenging).

How To Play: Players must not allow the balloons to touch the ground, working together to keep them up in the air the whole time.

Balloon Volleyball

Another great group game similar to balloon tennis, but without the bats. All you need is a net or line or even a row of chairs to use as the ‘net’ and your balloons of course.

How To Play: Set up your ‘net’ across the room or playing area and divide into teams. Players must hit the balloon over the net. The other team must return it by hitting it back over the net. Every time a team allows the balloon to touch the ground on their side, the other team scores a point. The first team to 5 or 10 points wins!

Tip: Make the game even more challenging by having players keep their hands behind their backs so they must use their other body parts to hit the balloon over the net. This is a great way to make the game extra challenging for older kids!

Under Over

If you have a large group of kids, under over is a fun indoor balloon game for parties or classrooms to see how fast they can move.

How To Play: Split the players into even groups of at least 5 per team and have them stand half a metre apart. Give the first child a balloon and once you call to start, have the kids pass the balloon under their legs then over the next person’s head then back under the next persons legs, repeating the pattern until it gets to the end. The last person runs to the start of the line and repeats the process until all team members have had their turn as line leaders. The fastest team wins!

Surprise Pop

This is a really simple balloon popping game that can be played with any number of players.

How To Play: Inflate a heap of balloons, filling some of them with treats such as small candies, erasers, balls etc and have the kids work hard to pop the balloons to see if they can find a surprise.

Balloon Hot Potato

Hot potato is a classic party game that just got far more challenging than regular hot potato with the possibility of the balloon floating out of someone’s grip and needing to chase it down before they can pass it on to the next child.

How To Play: Sit the kids in a circle and play some music while they pass the balloon around. Once the music stops, whoever is holding the balloon is out. The last player left is the winner.

Balloon Scavenger Hunt

A balloon scavenger hunt is a great twist on the favourite treasure hunt activity. You will need to come up with clues (or find some online) to add to your balloons.

How To Play: Fold up a single clue inside each balloon and hide them around the house (or yard) so kids must solve the clues to find the next clue and eventually it will lead them to the treasure at the end.

Tip: Add your folded clues before you inflate the balloon so there is less chance of it busting.

Outdoor Balloon Games For Parties

These outdoor balloon games for kids of all ages are sure to entertain for hours with hilarious balloon popping games, games of skill and plenty of fun ways to play with balloons.

Pool Noodle Keep It Up

For this fun twist of the keep it up balloon game, you will need enough pool noodles for each player.

How To Play: Kids use their pool noodles as bats to keep the balloons in the air and stop them from landing on the grass.

Water Balloon Pinata

A water balloon pinata is always a hit with kids! All you need is a bat or stick, a heap of filled water balloons and string that is thick enough to hold them.

How To Play: Begin by preparing the water balloons and half-filling them with water. Tie strings to each of the water-filled balloons, and then tie all of these strings together securely in a bundle. Attach the bundled strings of balloons to a tree branch or similar sturdy object. Have each person take turns at hitting the balloons as they would with a standard pinata in an attempt to break open as many of the water balloons as possible!

Balloon Stomp

Balloon stomp is a hilarious game that older kids love. You can play it indoors but make sure it’s somewhere without bump hazards or breakables as balloon stomp can get very hectic! All you need is some lengths of string and balloons.

How To Play: Tie a balloon on a length of string to each player’s leg. The goal of the game is to protect your balloon and stomp on everyone else’s balloon until only one player is left with their inflated balloon.

Balloon Waddle Race

A relay race is always a party favourite and this balloon waddle race is a great twist thatwill have everyone in stitches! You can play it with teams or as individuals. This adds an extra challenge to the standard relay game

How To Play: Have kids split into teams of two with half the kids on each team at the starting line and the other half at the opposite end of your relay track. Each child must place a balloon between their knees and run the relay as fast as they can without popping or dropping their balloon. If either happens, they need to return to the start and recommence their relay lap. The first team to have all players over the finish line with their unharmed balloons is the winner.

Balloon And Spoon Race

A twist on the classic egg and spoon race with a very challenging task of keeping a feather-light balloon on your wooden spoon. It can also be played with filled water balloons.

How To Play: Place a balloon on a spoon and race the other players across the finish line without dropping or popping your balloon. If you drop your balloon you must stop and pick it up before continuing the race. The first player to cross the finish line with their balloon intact is the winner!

Balloon Painting

This sensory play is perfect for younger kids and more of an activity than a game but well worth a mention. You will need sheets of paper, paints and balloons for this fun activity.

How To Play: Pour paint onto disposable paper plates or trays and have kids dip their balloons in the paint and use them instead of paintbrushes to create some very cool balloon painting masterpieces.

Balloon Burst Painting

An extra messy variation of balloon painting that is great fun for older children, tweens and teens is balloon pop painting. You might want to lay down an old sheet or tarp under this area as it is going to be very messy!

Old clothes or paint smocks are a good idea too!

How To Play: Fill balloons or water balloons with different coloured paints. Don’t fill them too much. Set up a large canvas or sheets of paper and have kids throw the balloons of paint at it to create a rainbow abstract artwork.

Target Practice

This is a balloon pop game for older children or teens as it requires the use of darts and lots of supervision! This dart set is a perfect kit with everything you need.

How To Play: Tape a heap of different coloured balloons to a fence or pinboard or another surface that is suitable for aiming darts at to create a balloon dartboard. Give each colour balloon a points value, i.e. red balloon is worth 50 points, a blue balloon is worth 20 points, and a green balloon is worth 5 points. Have kids take turns throwing darts to score points. The highest score wins.

Tip: Use a cheap set of darts or an old set that you no longer need rather than your good quality set in case they hit other things more often than the balloons.

Balloon Basketball

If you have a basketball net, this is a fun way to incorporate it into your balloon game fun. And it is much harder than it sounds!

How To Play: Challenge the kids to get their balloons in the basketball hoop to score points.

CHECK OUT MORE FUN BIRTHDAY PARTY GAME IDEAS HERE

Fun Water Balloon Games For Kids

If the weather is warm, why not switch out your balloons with some water balloons and enjoy cooling down as you play. Water balloons are great for sensory play and water play fun.

These awesome water balloon games are loads of fun and will no doubt be a hit with kids, teens and even adults!

Water Balloon Battle

Summer birthday parties and a water balloon fight are a super fun combination! All you need is a heap of water balloons ready to throw and some excited kids who are keen to get soaked.

You want them pre-filled to make the gameplay move much faster, so get one of the bunch of balloons ones so you can fill them up in bulk in one go!

How to play: Put filled water balloons in buckets or a laundry basket scattered around the yard and let kids have fun throwing them at each other. There is no other purpose to this game other than to cool down and have some fun.

Tip: Have an ’emu parade’ clean up session after your water balloon battle by having kids walk in a straight line and pick up any balloon pieces they find in their path. This will save you heaps of time on clean up later!

Water Balloon Toss

Water balloon toss is the perfect game for a hot summer day! All you need is a bucket of filled water balloons to get you started. There will be plenty of splashes to cool the kids down while they play.

How to play: Divide kids into pairs and have them line up so each pair is facing one another. Start by standing them close together and have them take turns tossing the water balloon to their partner. If the child opposite them catches it, they take a big step back. If the balloon pops, that pair is out! The last pair standing wins!

Water Balloon Dodge Ball

This is a great game to play with a large group of kids as it is played with teams. You will need two buckets full of water balloons and some sidewalk chalk to mark out your playing area.

How To Play: Divide the kids into two teams and have them line up on either side of the playing area. Place one bucket of water balloons at each end of the playing area. When you say go, each team must start throwing water balloons at the other team. If a player is hit by a water balloon they are out! The last player standing on each team is the winner!

Tip: Make sure you remind younger kids of safety when playing this game, not to aim at the face or head and not to throw water balloons at close range.

Bouncing Balloons

If you have a backyard trampoline with a safety net, this is a super fun way to add a little extra excitement to the kids’ bounce time.

How To Play: Fill up lots of balloons with water and put them inside the trampoline net and have kids try and bust the balloons as quickly as they can by jumping on them. If you have a lot of kids at the party, you may need to do this in rounds with just a few kids at a time to avoid collisions.

Batting Practice

Kids can practice their batting skills with an actual pat, a stick or pool noodle with this fun water balloon game that is guaranteed to end in a splash!

How To Play: Have a tub of water balloons ready to throw and kids take turns using the bat or stick to try and whack the balloons away.

Water Balloon Shot Put

Bring a little bit of the Olympics to your backyard with a water balloon shot put challenge. You will need a long flat area of grass for this fun party game.

How To Play: Each player must try and throw their water balloon as far as they can from the start line. The person who throws their balloon the furthest is the winner.

Tip: Give each child a different coloured water balloon so you can see whose balloon went the furthest easily.

These balloon party games and water balloon games are sure to be a hit at your next birthday celebration! I hope these activities and games with balloons help you plan the most epic fun at your next kids’ party!