Puzzles for children’s birthday parties

Puzzles for children’s birthday parties: Ideas and inspirations

Children hardly can wait for it – their birthday. In order to make it a great experience, not only presents are needed, but also game ideas. Puzzles for children's birthday parties are ideal because they are fun, challenging and entertaining. The little ones can even learn something in a playful way. This is also something all the invitees will be happy about: By offering clever puzzles and tricky games, you ensure that the little guests will remember the day for a long time.

It's important that the puzzles match the children's age. The best way to do this is to take into account what the children have already learned at school, what skills they have and what they are interested in. So what could that be? You will find many different ideas on this page.

What kind of puzzles are there for children’s birthday parties?

Anyone who has ever taken a look at a puzzle booklet at the kiosk knows: There are countless different kinds of puzzles. Therefore, there are many possibilities. Here's a selection of puzzles for children's birthday parties that are fun and exciting for children.

Knowledge puzzles, for example, are fantastic. Base them primarily on the children's interests. Do they like animals or sports, do they love nature, or is there a comic book hero they admire? Put together a few questions to match.

Animals:

• Which is the largest mammal in the world?
• Which animal grows oldest?
• Which bird is most often seen in native forests?
• Why are bees so important for the environment?
• What can we learn from penguins?

Sports:

• How long does a soccer game go for?
• How many players are there on the court in basketball?
• What do you call the ball in badminton?
• What do you play ice hockey with?

Nature:

• Which trees have beechnuts growing on them?
• How many fingers does a chestnut leaf have?
• What tree's fruits look like noses?

Comics:

• What is the name of Batman's sidekick?
• Where does Superman live?
• What is the profession of Hulk in his human form?

Other types of puzzles you can resort to are:

• Logic puzzles: Jim runs faster than Harry. Harry runs faster than Leon. Who will reach the finish line first?
• Number puzzles: 2, 4, 6 ... how does the sequence of numbers go on?
• Knowledge puzzles: How many legs does a spider have?
• Syllable puzzles: dan – on – li – de, which word is that? Clearly: Dan-de-li-on
• Arithmetic puzzles: Anna gets 5 euros pocket money. Lisa gets twice as much. Nina gets two euros less than Lisa. How much do they all get together?
• Connecting dots: Like drawing by numbers, this results in a solution picture / figure.
• Hidden object picture: Who finds the lion first?
• Word search puzzle: In a rectangle there are letters in rows and columns. Who can find the most words? The words written from left to right and from top to bottom count.

Puzzles for children’s birthday parties by age group

With children, it is very important to match the puzzles to their age. Complaints will come quickly if they don't: That's way too easy! Or: That's way too difficult! The following tips will help you to create the right puzzle for the children's birthday party.

Puzzles for children’s birthday parties: 4-6 years old

Puzzles for children of kindergarten age shouldn't be too tricky. Ideally, you should focus on visual things. For example, create a series of pictures. Ask the children to find the appropriate word for each picture, and this will result in a sentence. For example, pictures of a child, a foot, a fence, and a lion might yield: Peter goes to the zoo.

Puzzles for children’s birthday parties: 6-9 years old

For children between 4 and 6 years old, fun knowledge puzzles that really only require a little logical thinking are a good idea. Ask questions like: Which weighs more? 1 kg of stones or 1 kg of feathers? Laughter, but also astonished faces are inevitable here!

The same applies to puns. Here, the children learn to think outside the box and can guess together what the answer might be.

Puzzles for children’s birthday parties: 10-12 years old

Puzzles for children between 10 and 12 can be significantly trickier. In this case, you can rely on easy crossword puzzles and make a small competition out of it. Whoever figures out the solution word first wins! It gets a bit more exciting when you combine the questions with activities.

Ask questions like: Which meadow flower is named after an animal? Dandelion! However, here it is not enough to simply give the answer. Have the children show the answer. So, whoever knows the answer rushes to the garden, picks a dandelion, and presents it.

Good to know:

The myCityHunt treasure hunt is a scavenger hunt with lots of puzzles that is also appropriate for older children and teens. Each player needs a charged smartphone with mobile Internet and a ticket – that's it. There are no further preparations needed.

Tip: Tailor children’s birthday puzzles to the birthday child

Your kids are sure to invite only their best friends to the birthday party, the ones they particularly enjoy playing with and know well, right? So that your offspring really feels like the main person of the party, why not create a puzzle that is all about them! Here are a few example questions:

• What is their favorite animal?
• What school subject do they like best?
• What is their favorite snack?
• What color do they like best?
• What game do they especially like to play?
• What is their favorite hobby?
• Which sports club are they a fan of?
• What number is on their jersey?
• What are they particularly good at drawing?

Your child will also love a theme party that is all about their favorite hobby or other interest! The number of possible themes is vast:

• Animals
• Farm
• Sports
• Instruments
• Knight
• Princess
• Dance party
• Favorite book series
• Favorite video game
• Favorite series

Make puzzles for children’s birthday parties not too hard and not too easy

Are you a fan of the crossword puzzle? Then you surely know this too: If the questions are way too easy and answered in the blink of an eye, it simply isn't fun. It lacks the challenge and there is no feeling of success at all. If, on the other hand, the questions are far too difficult and you can barely answer anything, frustration sets in and, if you're honest, you don't really feel like it anymore.

This is also how your children feel when they are faced with puzzles. They shouldn't be too easy, but they shouldn't be too tricky either. But this is easier said than done. If you are unsure whether you have chosen the appropriate level of difficulty, then simply test it out with your children!

But beware: don't use the tasks you have planned for the children's birthday party. Doing so will spoil the surprise. Pick two or three puzzles that have a similar level of difficulty and let your children solve them. Ask the parents of the little guests as well. After all, not every child has the same level of knowledge and strengths just because they are the same age. No one should feel under- or over-challenged. That way, the birthday party will be a great success for everyone.

Organize a treasure hunt yourself or book it?

Equipped with the above information, you have already taken a big step towards creating your treasure hunt. However, you will have noticed that there are many things to consider and that developing your treasure hunt takes a lot of time. There is also the question of whether the participants will like their treasure hunt puzzles in the end. Therefore, it is worth considering whether you want to plan and organize the treasure hunt yourself or whether you would prefer to use a tried and tested concept. In the following table, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of both options.