Looking for a quick, DIY game for a birthday party or event? The Balloon Pop Game is your go-to game!
For my son’s first birthday circus/carnival themed birthday party, I wanted to be sure that I had games for all ages (ranging from 2-13 years) because I wanted everyone to have fun and I knew this game would benefit all ages.
I had purchased 2 boxes of 100 water balloons from the dollar store which totaled 200 balloons. I didn’t add water to them, instead, we blew them up ourselves and this isn’t ideal but I wanted smaller, inexpensive balloons and honestly, it didn’t take that long to blow up between my husband and me.
It was definitely worth the $2 spent and the 15 minutes blowing up and tieing. We ended up only blowing up 100 balloons and kept the second package as a backup.
We placed 46 balloons (no typical reason for that number) on the pallet board with thumbtacks. I figured if the objective of the game was to pop 3 balloons and there were a total of 15 kids who attended, 46 balloons would be more than enough for each kid to pop 3 balloons with 1 turn and then I had the remaining 54 balloons in case they wanted to play again!
If the kids wanted to keep playing, we had an extra 100 that hadn’t been blown up. I made sure each child got more than 1 turn to pop balloons in case they wanted to and I ended up not having to blow up any more balloons – it worked out perfect!
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Here is how we put the balloon pop game together:
- Darts (we ordered these from Amazon)
- Balloons (we used water balloons from the dollar store but if you are looking online to order, here are some)
- Pallet Board (businesses usually give away for free!)
1. My husband spray painted the pallet board yellow to give it some color. He removed any nails that were on it.
2. Blow up as many balloons as you think you will need. We blew up 100 water balloons ourselves (without water).
3. We pinned the tied end of the balloons to the pallet board with thumbtacks.
4. Darts were used to pop the balloons. Be sure an adult is present at all times when using darts because some are sharp.
Definitely an easy setup, budget-friendly, and super fun for all ages!
*The sign taped to the game was to let the guests know the name of the game, the directions on “how to play” and how many tickets they would win. I quickly made the sign in photoshop but you can use Paint, MS Word, any type of program that allows you to type.
- Name of Game: Balloon Pop
- Instructions: Pop 3 balloons and win 3 tickets
- Tickets Won: 3
I hope this encourages you to create your own balloon pop game, even if it isn’t for a circus/carnival theme party. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself because you will be surprised by how well your project turns out. Just stay focused and be patient.
If you haven’t seen my original blog post about my son’s first birthday party, check it out here. You can find the details of his party and other fun projects/carnival games!