Games that liven up elementary school thank-you parties! A collection of ideas that both children and adults can enjoy
It’s graduation season for elementary schools, and many of you who’ve been put in charge of planning thank-you parties or farewell gatherings may be wondering, “What kind of games will really liven things up?” You want graduation events or post-ceremony parties to become unforgettable memories for the children.
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of games that are perfect for elementary school thank-you parties and farewell gatherings.
From easy-to-prepare options to everyone-participates activities that bring out smiles all around, we’ve curated ideas you can choose from based on your venue atmosphere and group size.
We hope you find them helpful!
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Games to Liven Up an Elementary School Thank-You Party! A Collection of Ideas That Both Kids and Adults Can Enjoy (21–30)
Pedometer Game
It’s a game where you attach a pedometer somewhere on your body and move around, and the person with the highest count within the time limit wins.
Pedometers normally count the number of steps you take, but since you can’t actually walk in the game, you’ll need to march in place or move your body to rack up more counts.
How you move will change depending on where you attach the pedometer, so if everyone places it in different spots, each person’s movements will have their own flair—and that should make it more entertaining for the spectators, too.
Telepathy Game
The Telepathy Game is a game where all participants try to give the same answer to a prompt.
For example, if the prompt is “What flower represents spring?” the challenge is successful if everyone answers “cherry blossom,” but it fails if even one person answers “tulip.” It’s a game where you don’t write the answer that first comes to your mind—you try to imagine what everyone else will write.
You can answer by having each person write a full answer, or by having players write one character each to form the answer together.
Try for a perfect score with your close friends!
Games to Liven Up Elementary School Thank-You Parties! A Collection of Ideas That Both Kids and Adults Can Enjoy (31–40)
Tongue Twister Challenge
A tongue twister is a tricky phrase you say quickly that makes you feel like you might bite your tongue.
Classics include “Nama-mugi, nama-gome, nama-tamago” and “Ao-makigami, aka-makigami, ki-makigami.” It’s impressive if you can say a tongue twister without stumbling even once, but since everyone knows the classics, some people worry it won’t be very exciting even if they nail it.
In those moments, funny tongue twisters are recommended.
Think up and perform lines that make people chuckle when they imagine the situation behind the tongue twister.
It’s also a good idea to write the tongue twister on a flip card and show it—this makes the joke easier to understand and serves as a safety net in case you don’t deliver it perfectly.
Arm Wrestling Tournament
How about arm wrestling as an idea that requires no preparation or practice and is guaranteed to get everyone excited? Everyone knows arm wrestling: two people face each other, rest one elbow on the table, clasp hands, and start.
The winner is the one who pushes the opponent’s arm down.
It’s so simple and universally known that it’s bound to be a hit! You could make it a team competition where the next challenger steps in each time someone loses.
You could also split men and women into separate brackets, or if you mix genders, introduce handicaps to even things out.
Memory game
The memory game is similar to a memory-based shiritori.
Participants take turns naming one sheet of construction paper from those set on the table, each a different color.
However, when responding, they must recite all previously named colors starting from the first one.
In other words, if the first player names “blue,” the second player points to the blue sheet before naming another color.
As the game progresses, the list of colors grows, putting everyone’s memory to the test.
Anyone who gets the order wrong is out, and the person who continues without making a mistake until the end wins.
You can enjoy this game with items other than construction paper as well—try using mementos or photos of the participants.
A game where you guess someone from a part of their face
It’s a game where you show a photo of a body part and have people guess who it is.
It seems like it tests how much you usually look at and know about that person.
The photos can be of celebrities or participants at a graduation party—both are fine! It’s best to take and present parts like the mouth, eyes, or eyebrows—features that seem recognizable but aren’t too obvious.
However, if the pool of possible answers is too broad, no one will get it right, so be sure to give hints that narrow it down.
Picking unexpected people—like a teacher or a historical figure—could also make the game more exciting.
Anything Basket
How about playing “Anything Basket”? Everyone sits in a circle on chairs, and someone calls out a prompt like “People with birthdays in October” or “People wearing skirts.” Anyone who matches the prompt stands up and moves to a different chair.
There’s one fewer chair than the number of players, so it has a musical chairs element—using both your head and your body, and getting excited about what the next prompt will be.
