• Party games for little children should have simple rules.happy birthday image by Ewe Degiampietro from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  Party games for little children need to be easy enough that the youngest kids don't get frustrated while providing enough challenge to interest older ones. Bean bag tosses, duck ponds and lollipop pulls are a common sight in the kids section of most carnival midways because even the youngest children can win. But there are lots of original active games to keep your party hopping.
  
  

Beach Ball Hockey

• Beach balls and pool noodles are soft and safe.summer girl image by Renata Osinska from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  In Beach Ball Hockey, a large, rectangular laundry basket is turned on its side at each end of the room. Teams consist of four to six players, with each child holding a pool noodle to use as a hockey stick. Toss a beach ball in the center of the room. Two teams at a time try to score a goal by hitting the beach ball into their basket with the pool noodles.
  
  Jostling or tripping another player gives the ball to the affected player for a free shot at the basket. Since everything is soft, no one can get hurt. Play until each team makes a goal or until all the teams have played one another.
  
  

Leaf Rake Race

• Use hula hoops and plastic rakes.rake image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  For the Leaf Rake Race, leaf shapes are cut from red, yellow, orange and brown construction paper. MakingFriends.com, KinderArt.com and Activity Village all have printable leaf patterns if you do not want to sketch your own. The leaves are rolled lengthwise to make them curl, then scattered between two plastic hoops on the ground. Give two children at a time a plastic child-sized rake. Set a timer for 60 seconds. The child who rakes the most leaves into his hoop wins.
  
  

Alien Beach Ball Bowling

• Two-liter bottles painted green or bright yellow with black eyes look like space aliens.aliens image by Roques Jean Chris from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  Two-liter soda bottles are painted bright green or yellow with black faces to make the pins for this simplified bowling game. Each child takes turns rolling a beach ball at a group of six soda-bottle aliens. Knock down all six for a strike. Roll a second time if any remain standing. If the children have trouble hitting the aliens, make bumpers from pool noodles to keep the ball in the lane.
  
  To make the game more challenging for primary-grade children, Gregory Lauzon at Disney's Family Fun website suggests singing as much of a favorite children's song as you can before the ball hits the pins. Anyone who can sing the whole song pulls a surprise from a loot box.