Rock Star Party Games

Rock n' Roll Freeze Dance
A few rounds of Rock n' Roll Freeze Dance will get everyone moving to their favorite songs! To play, have all of the kids start dancing when you turn on some music. After a few moments, turn off the sound and say “Freeze!” Anyone still moving is out until the next game begins. You'll find that as kids drop out, they like to become sideline judges for the rest of the game!

Continue play by starting the music again and stopping it randomly as before. Continue playing until only one dancer remains. If desired, you can award a small prize to the winner, like a CD or a music-themed favor.

Air Guitar Jam!
This fun activity will get your party guests rockin'! To begin, cut out guitar shapes from colored poster board before the party (1 for each guest), making them about the right size for your guests to hold as if they were playing real guitars.

At the party, let your guests “make” their own guitars by decorating the poster board guitars with markers, glitter pens, and music stickers. They may want to autograph each others' guitars, too!

After the kids have decorated their guitars, turn up a favorite song and let them all play air guitar! This is especially popular with boys.

Dance Party
Here's a way to get everyone moving to the beat! Call your local dance studio, and hire a teenage student to teach a few simple dances at the party. When the kids have mastered one or two styles, start the music and let them go!

This is a great way to break the ice at the start of the party, and it's especially helpful if both boys and girls are attending.

Hula Hoop Contest
For this activity, you will need to borrow or purchase enough hula hoops so that you have one for each guest. When you're ready to start, play some background music, and have the kids keep their hoops moving as long as possible. A child is out of the contest when his or her hoop touches the ground. Keep the contest going until only one person remains. You may want to award a new hula hoop as the prize.

If your guests are good with the hula hoops, make the contest more challenging by calling out instructions every few minutes. Some fun suggestions are “touch both hands to your head”, “stand on one foot”, “hop”, and "kneel down".

(And yes, boys love this game, too!)

Name That Tune
For this popular game, you'll need a CD player, some CDs with songs related to your theme, or just some good favorites appropriate for your party guests. Play the first few seconds of a song, and see which guest can name that tune the fastest. Or, you can divide the kids into teams, and have the teams bid back and forth (e.g. "I can name that tune in 9 seconds", "Well I can name that tune in 8 seconds" etc.).

Twenty Questions
Before the party, write singers' names, song titles, and/or movie titles on slips of paper, and use these to play the game. At the party, one guest chooses a slip of paper at random, and the others must guess what it says in twenty questions or less. Players may only ask questions with "yes" or "no" answers. Go around the group, letting one guest at a time ask a question; they can guess the answer only when it is their turn. If a player guesses correctly, they become "it" for the next round.

Who Said It?
Gather the lyrics to a variety of songs that your guests will recognize. If your party includes songs from a movie, add dialogue from the movie, too. Read just one line of lyrics or movie dialogue, and then have your guests identify the song or movie character. This is similar to “Name That Tune”, but in a different format.

Make a Music Video
Divide your guests into groups, and send each group into a separate room with a CD player and some CDs. Let them choose a song and create their own 30 second “music video” to show to the other groups. Set a time limit for this activity, such as 30 minutes, and call out the remaining time at ten minute intervals. Have a video camera ready to record their performances! You can also play back the videos on your TV so they can see themselves.

Rock Star Crafts and Activities
1. Design your own mini-scrapbooks for each guest to fill in during the party. Create pages on your computer with titles like Favorite Band, Favorite Singer, Favorite Song, Best Movie Musical, etc. Include extra pages and fancy pens so your guests can sign each others’ books. Print enough copies for each guest, and let them decorate their cover pages with glitter glue, markers, gems, or stickers.

2. Let your guests make necklaces with beads and elastic beading string from a craft store.

3. Let your guests decorate sunglasses with stick-on gems, and then have the kids wear their cool shades during the party.

4. Supply a variety of temporary tattoos and stick-on body gems, and let the kids apply them to their arms, wrists, and necks.

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