Wizard of Oz Party Games and Activities

The party games at the Wizard of Oz party can be anything from your classic kids party games to some themed Wizard of Oz games. We have listed a few variations of classic party games that will have the guests loving the games, theme and party!

The Wizard Hands out the Gifts
You’re probably familiar with “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” This is a variation of that game. You can call it “The Wizard Hands out the Gifts.”

First, you will need to make some supplies. You will need a large scarecrow, tin man, and lion. You can buy one of these here, but it is also really easy to make your own. They do not have to be great works of art. You can simply tape several pieces of paper to the wall and draw the outlines of the characters. (Ask an adult volunteer to stand still while you trace him!) You can place the characters on the same wall near each other, or you can put them on three different walls in a small room. This also makes a great Wizard of Oz party decoration for your room!

Next, you will need an equal amount of game pieces representing each of the gifts: brain, heart, and courage. You can cut these out of paper, using either shapes or words, or a combination of both. You will need at least one game piece for each child. So, for example, if you are inviting 8 children, you will need 3 brains, 3 hearts, and 3 courage pieces. When you get ready to play, you will need to attach a piece of tape to each of the game pieces.

To begin play, line the kids up. Give them each a game piece. Then blindfold whoever goes first. Spin him or her around a few times and then tell the wizard to “pin” his or her piece on the correct recipient. Each kid, in turn will do the same. There should be lots of cackling as kids stick gifts on the wrong characters, and sometimes on one another. If you’d like to simplify things, you can use only one character. It is quick and easy to make a tin man out of aluminum foil!

Yellow Brick Road Scavenger Hunt!
This is a variation on the common scavenger hunt that you can set this up outside or inside, depending on your level of courage! There are a variety of ways to create a yellow brick road. If you are building one inside, you can simply tape pieces of yellow paper to the floor. Or, you can draw the outline of yellow bricks with yellow painter’s tape. Outside, you can use environmentally friendly paint (or yellow sidewalk chalk) to paint a yellow trail.

You will also need an assortment of random objects. These can be (but don’t have to be) loosely related to the theme. Here are some ideas: dog collars, red shoes, lollipops, small baskets, broomsticks, doggie biscuits (for Toto of course), bananas (to tame the monkeys), and so on. Place these objects near the yellow trail and provide each team with a list of items they are supposed to find and fetch. Remember that some of your younger munchkins might not be reading yet, so you might need to add pictures to your lists.

Split the kids up into teams of three. The goal is to collect as many objects from their list as they can. The catch is that they are not allowed to leave the yellow brick road. One of them must be touching it all times. So, if they need to leave the road to reach an item, they will need to hold hands, and maybe even lean a little, keeping at least one foot on the road.

Create a list of items to collect, and assign point values to each item. Give each team a bag to collect their items in, give them a set amount of time, and then say go! When you say stop, they need to hurry back with their treasures!

Witch’s Broom Relay
If you have the room, you can also get the kids moving with a Witch’s Broom Relay. You will need at least two brooms, one for each team. Create a starting point, and an end point. Use a cone, or something similar that the kids can run around for the end point. When you say “go,” the first child of each team takes off, with the broom between his or her legs, “riding the broom.” The children have to run around the cone (or tree, or bucket, etc.) and then return to the start line to hand their broom off to the next child! The first team to finish wins! Every kid should get a chance to “ride the broom.”

Catch the Lion by the Tail
If this doesn’t wear the kids out, you can also play Catch the Lion by the Tail. Line all the kids up and ask them to join hands. Then tell them they can’t let go no matter what! Then assign one end of the line as the lion’s head, and the other end as the tail. The object is that the child at the “head” has to tag the child who represents the “tail.” The kids will likely get all tangled up and fall down laughing, so be careful! If the head does catch the tail, then the tail moves to the front of the line and becomes the head. Then the lion gets a new tail!

Dance Contest / Musical Chairs
You can also have a munchkin dance contest. This would be especially festive if you had the Wizard of Oz soundtrack. If you don’t want to buy the CD, you can find some of the tracks online. Just set the kids free to dance. At the end of the song, reward a special prize to the most enthusiastic munchkin! And even if you don’t choose to have munchkins dancing all over your house, you might still want to have some Wizard of Oz tunes playing in the background.

If you want to offer prizes to the winners of any of the games, Celebrate Express sells an adorable Wizard of Oz Heart Clock and an equally adorable Badge of Courage.

If you hosted a Wizard of Oz party what did you have as games or activities? Let us know in the comments below.