• Try these indoor games.games image by Ewe Degiampietro from Fotolia.com
  
  When rain or thunderstorms interrupt your outdoor games, you'll be glad to have a few indoor games ready to play. Many indoor games require minimal materials or set-up, allowing you to begin them spontaneously. If you're planning to host an indoor party, plan a variety of activities that will encourage the children to interact with each other and stay engaged.
  
  

Sardines

• This game works best in a house or other space with a variety of rooms, rather than one big open space. This alternative to classic hide and seek requires only one hider rather than one seeker. Select one child to hide first, while the rest of the children close their eyes and count to a designated number. The seekers then begin looking for the one hider, and any player who discovers that person's hiding place must join him in it. The hiding place will quickly grow crowded with children. The last player to find the hiders gets to hide in the next round.
  
  

Bag of Nouns

• This game combines elements from charades, Pictionary and password games. Ask each child to write two or three nouns on separate scraps of paper and put them in a bag or other container. Divide the group into teams of three or more players, and select a team to go first. That team selects a player to draw nouns out of the bag and try to get her teammates to guess them as quickly as possible. She can describe the noun using as many words as she wants, but she cannot say the noun itself. The team earns one point for each noun guessed within the designated time limit. The rest of the teams take turns until every player has had a chance to describe nouns to teammates. In round two, players must get their teammates to guess the nouns by saying only one word. In round three, players must act out the nouns, and in round four, they must draw them. As the rounds proceed, players must remember the nouns from previous rounds to be able to guess more quickly. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
  
  

Silly Gift Exchange

• You don't need a holiday or special occasion to hold a gift exchange. This game requires some advance notice and preparation. If you're hosting an indoor party, ask guests to come with one small gift wrapped for a gift exchange. Indicate a budget to be spent on gifts, such as $5 or $10, or simply ask guests to bring homemade crafts or baked goods. Have all the children sit in a circle with the wrapped gifts in the center. Select a person to go first. He can select any gift from the pile and unwrap it. The next player can choose whether to select a wrapped gift or steal the first player's gift. Play proceeds around the circle with each player choosing to select a new gift or steal an earlier player's gift. At the end of the game, the first player can choose to keep the gift he has ended up with or steal someone else's. And, of course, if kids want to trade gifts after the game is over, they can do so.