Birthday Games for Teenagers

Teenagers can be hard to please, making the task of hosting a teen party quite the challenge. To ensure that your finicky party guests stay engaged from the start of your event to the conclusion, prepare an assortment of games. With some ingenuity and the assistance of your teen birthday girl, you can throw an exciting teen bash without breaking a sweat.

Letting Teens Lead

Instead of trying to take the reins over a group of rambunctious teens, allow the birthday boy to run the show. Although you do not want to leave the partygoers unsupervised, your teen is old enough to act as the host of the event. By letting your teen present the games instead of doing it yourself, you increase the likelihood that guests will be inclined to participate as the information came from their friend and not an unfamiliar adult.

Physical Games

Get teens up and moving with physical games. Try a round of back-to-back pop. To play this game, teens must partner up and lock elbows. They then place a balloon between their backs and try to break it. Present each team with a set number of balloons, and declare the team that destroys its balloons first the winners. Limbo is also popular among teens as this game requires them to bend into seemingly unnatural positions. Use a broom or other stick as your limbo post, and play some music as partygoers shimmy through the game. Teens will delight in seeing their friends attempt this difficult challenge.

Thinking Challenges

Mental challenges can also be engaging to teens. Try a round of Who am I. To play this game, place an index card with the name of an individual whom the teens are familiar with, such as a celebrity, on each guest's back. Ask guests to move about the party, talking to each other and asking yes or no questions to ascertain what name they have written on their back. Reward the first player to figure it out. Or try a simple riddle race by dividing players into groups and giving them each a list of ten riddles. Reward the group that is able to have a meeting of the minds and solve the perplexing quandaries first.

Blindfolded Fun

Ask teens to temporarily give up their sense of sight with blindfolded challenges. Try a blind race by dividing players into duos and blindfolding one member and then asking the other member to stand on the sidelines and guide the player through an obstacle course or race. See how well the guests know each other with a face test. Blindfold guests one at a time, and ask the temporarily sightless individual to feel the faces of three party guests and guess who they are.

Teen-Friendly Prizes

To increase teen engagement in the activities you prepare, gather an assortment of teen-friendly prizes to motivate them. Offer small-denomination gift cards, popular jewelry pieces and favorite snack foods.

Photo Credit

• birthday tag image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com