Awesome Balloon Games for Kids

It was another icy cold day in February and the kids were getting restless.  It was so cold that we could not be outside for too long – and Ben can hardly walk in his snow suit, let alone burn off some much-needed energy.  So we got creative and got moving inside with these awesome balloon games for kids!

My goal was to get my kids moving, but these balloon games would also be great for a birthday party.  There was no need for anything fancy – we just blew up some balloons (ours were heart shaped because of Valentine’s day) and got to playing!

I was also looking to use many different gross motor skills – and we did!

Awesome Balloon Games for Kids

1. Tie a string on the balloon and hang it from the ceiling.  I put it so it was within jumping reach at first, encouraging my little ones to jump and hit the balloon.  Then I lowered it just a little bit and had them try to bump it off of their heads – this was a lot of fun for my 16 month old.  He cannot actually get two feet off of the ground yet when he jumps, so this was an excellent way to encourage that skill — he got very close!  Finally, I lowered the balloon to waist level and had the kids practice kicking it.  They had sweaty little heads after this one already!

2. Play keep it up.  This one is a classic – but it’s a classic for a reason.  It is wonderful fun and full of exercise and hand-eye-coordination too.  We popped the balloon into the air and ran around trying to keep it from touching the ground.  This was also great practice for my 3.5 year old for sharing.

3. Blow the balloon.  Next I wanted to have my little ones crawling and working on those muscles.  We created a simple obstacle course (under a chair, around a pillow) and my little ones got down on their hands and knees and blew the balloon through the obstacle course.

4. Run with a string.  This game was a combination of the keep it up balloon game and the ceiling balloon game.  The kids had their balloons attached to long strings and tried to run holding the string while keeping the balloon off the ground.  This game was made easier or harder by adjusting the length of string.

5. Balloon Tennis by Toddler Approved.  This balloon game looks like great fun from Toddler Approved.  We haven’t played it yet, but it is safely tucked away in the back of my mind for whenever the need should arise!  We always have paper plates and balloons on hand!

6. Water Balloon Bash by Fireflies and Mudpies.  And just in case you should be reading this post in the summer time – I couldn’t possibly write a post on balloon games for kids without including at least one water balloon idea!  This water balloon bash game looks like SO much fun!  We will definitely be doing this for my daughter’s birthday in August!

We started these balloon games one morning when the boys were restless and I was a bit (perhaps a smidgen) cranky.  It is tough to be cooped up inside with little kids!  But once we started playing these games, honestly, we had fun.  The boys were laughing and their energy was focused on the balloon games.  Madeline (11) was having fun playing along and thinking up different creative balloon games.  And I was having fun watching them play, giggle, and learn.

So whether you are cooped up inside looking for some sanity – or throwing a birthday party (and looking for some sanity) give these balloon games for kids a try!

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