• Take the age of your party guests into account when planning games.happy kids image by Marzanna Syncerz from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  When planning a party for young children, keep things simple and fun. Games are essential, but be sure to plan games that are well within the abilities of the age of the group. Young kids do well with games that involve simple tasks and plenty of activity, with few rules and enough flexibility that even kids who don't quite understand (this may be a child's first time playing party games) can still enjoy playing.
  
  

Fish in a Barrel

• This is a fun party game for young kids because they get a prize every time they play, and there are few rules involved. Even toddlers quickly catch on to this game, though you might need to help them get started. Take a bunch of individually wrapped treats, of a type suitable for young children. Clip a paper clip to each one. Sometimes a bit of tape will help keep the clip from slipping off during the game. Put all of the treats into a bucket. Make a fishing pole by tying some string or yarn to the end of a stick. Attach a magnet to the loose end of the string. Let the kids take turns fishing in the "barrel," but limit how much candy each one is allowed to take out per turn.
  
  

Treasure Hunt

• Get a stuffed toy to use as the treasure. Let the birthday child hide it somewhere in one room, but make sure that some part of the stuffed toy can be seen. Otherwise, very young kids may have trouble finding it. Once it is hidden, let all the other kids come in and look for it. When it is found, it is the finder's turn to hide it. Make sure the children understand that the stuffed toy is not theirs to keep, since sometimes young kids are confused about that point.
  
  

Sticker Tag

• This is a good game for playing outside or in a large playroom. It's a good way to let the kids burn off some excess energy. Using stickers to tag each other allows even very young kids to see what is going on and to keep track of who has been tagged. Divide your players into two teams, and give each child on one of the teams a sheet of stickers. The first team chases the second team until all players have been tagged. Then the teams switch places.