28 games
Checked October 2026

Donut Birthday Party Games

Ring tosses, relays and yard games on paper donuts and swim rings, plus a set for ages 2 to 4.

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Bakery Counter: Fetch the Order From Memory1. A listening relay. Spread twelve paper donuts on a table at the far end, three each of four kinds: pink, chocolate, sprinkled and plain.2. A grown-up is the customer and tells the first runner of each team an order of three, such as two pink and one plain.3. The runner goes to the counter, picks the order from memory and brings it back on a paper plate. Nobody may call out a reminder.4. A correct order scores one, and the donuts go back. At age 8 and up, order four.Youngest player: age 5. Players: 2 to 12. You need: twelve paper donuts in four kinds, a table and a paper plate for each team.
Who Took the Donut From the Bakery Box?1. The cookie jar chant, moved to the bakery. Sit in a circle and keep a steady beat: pat your knees, then clap.2. Everyone chants, "Who took the donut from the bakery box?" The leader answers with a name: "Maya took the donut from the bakery box."3. Maya says, "Who, me?" Everyone: "Yes, you." Maya: "Couldn't be." Everyone: "Then who?" Maya names somebody new, on the beat.4. Keep going until every child has been named once. Then play a round in a whisper.Youngest player: age 5. Players: 4 to 16. You need: nothing.
Pin the Sprinkle on the Bare Patch1. Pin the tail, with a sprinkle and no blindfold. Draw a giant iced donut on poster board and leave one bare patch in the icing, marked with a small cross. Tape it to a wall at shoulder height.2. Each child gets a paper sprinkle with a loop of tape on the back and an initial on the front.3. One at a time: stand an arm's length away, shut your eyes, take one step and stick it on.4. The sprinkle nearest the cross wins, and the donut keeps them all.Youngest player: age 4. Players: 2 to 16. You need: poster board, markers, paper sprinkles and tape.
Ring Toss Onto the Donut Stand1. Ring toss, with donuts for rings. Cut the middles out of paper plates and color the rims as iced donuts. Stand a wooden spoon upright in a jar of rice as the donut stand.2. Each child throws five donuts from a line two steps away.3. A donut that lands on the stand scores one.4. Play three rounds. Anyone who lands all five moves back a step for the next round.Youngest player: age 4. Players: 2 to 12. You need: paper plates, scissors, crayons, a wooden spoon and a jar of rice.
Donut on a String, First Bite Wins1. The old string game, stopped at one bite. Ask parents about allergies before the party. Tie a string around a plain ring donut for each player and hang the donuts from a broom handle that two grown-ups hold at the mouth height of kneeling players.2. Three or four players kneel under the handle with their hands behind their backs.3. On "go," each tries to take one bite of a swinging donut. The first bite wins the heat, and everyone stops there.4. A grown-up stands beside every heat. Players carry their donuts to the table and sit down to eat them.Youngest player: age 6. Players: 2 to 12. You need: a ring donut and a string for each player and a broom handle.
The Baker Says: Roll, Cut, Fry, Dip1. Simon says, with five bakery moves. Teach them first: roll the dough with both arms, cut the hole by poking a finger through a fist, fry by flipping both hands over, dip by bending the knees, and sprinkle with wiggling fingers overhead.2. The baker calls the moves fast. Copy a move only when it starts with "The baker says."3. A child who moves at the wrong time becomes a taste tester, who stands beside the baker and helps to watch.4. The last child still baking calls the next round.Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 20. You need: nothing.

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Birthday games for ages 5 to 10 12

A Donut Designed for a Friend 1. A drawing game, with a customer for every baker. Put the children's names in a bowl. Each child draws a name and keeps it quiet. 2. Before any drawing, everyone walks around and asks two friends, "What is your favorite color?" and "What is your favorite treat?" so that nobody knows who is baking for whom. 3. Each child designs a donut for the name they drew and gives it a name of its own. 4. Bakers present their donuts one at a time: "For Leo, the Rocket Donut." Every donut goes home with its customer. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 3 to 12. You need: paper, crayons and a bowl of names.
The Baker Says: Roll, Cut, Fry, Dip 1. Simon says, with five bakery moves. Teach them first: roll the dough with both arms, cut the hole by poking a finger through a fist, fry by flipping both hands over, dip by bending the knees, and sprinkle with wiggling fingers overhead. 2. The baker calls the moves fast. Copy a move only when it starts with "The baker says." 3. A child who moves at the wrong time becomes a taste tester, who stands beside the baker and helps to watch. 4. The last child still baking calls the next round. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 20. You need: nothing.
Bakery Counter: Fetch the Order From Memory 1. A listening relay. Spread twelve paper donuts on a table at the far end, three each of four kinds: pink, chocolate, sprinkled and plain. 2. A grown-up is the customer and tells the first runner of each team an order of three, such as two pink and one plain. 3. The runner goes to the counter, picks the order from memory and brings it back on a paper plate. Nobody may call out a reminder. 4. A correct order scores one, and the donuts go back. At age 8 and up, order four. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 2 to 12. You need: twelve paper donuts in four kinds, a table and a paper plate for each team.

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Birthday games for ages 5 to 10, continued

Decorate-a-Donut Relay, One Topping a Runner 1. A relay, with a paper donut to finish. At the far end each team has a plain paper donut, a glue stick and four bowls: paper icing, a paper drizzle, paper sprinkles and a red paper cherry. 2. The first runner glues on the icing and runs back. The second adds the drizzle, the third three sprinkles and the fourth the cherry. 3. With fewer than four on a team, runners go twice. 4. The last runner carries the donut home on a paper plate. The first finished donut wins, and a second prize goes to the neatest. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 4 to 16. You need: paper donuts and paper toppings, glue sticks, bowls and paper plates.
Donut Holes Through the Hole 1. A beanbag toss, with the hole as the target. Hang an inflatable swim ring from a doorway or a branch on two strings, at the chest height of the youngest player. 2. Each thrower gets five donut holes, which are pairs of socks rolled into balls, and throws from three steps away. 3. A sock that goes through the hole scores one. 4. In the second round a grown-up sets the ring swinging gently before each turn. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 2 to 12. You need: an inflatable swim ring, string and five pairs of rolled socks.
Donut on a String, First Bite Wins 1. The old string game, stopped at one bite. Ask parents about allergies before the party. Tie a string around a plain ring donut for each player and hang the donuts from a broom handle that two grown-ups hold at the mouth height of kneeling players. 2. Three or four players kneel under the handle with their hands behind their backs. 3. On "go," each tries to take one bite of a swinging donut. The first bite wins the heat, and everyone stops there. 4. A grown-up stands beside every heat. Players carry their donuts to the table and sit down to eat them. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 2 to 12. You need: a ring donut and a string for each player and a broom handle.
Pin the Sprinkle on the Bare Patch 1. Pin the tail, with a sprinkle and no blindfold. Draw a giant iced donut on poster board and leave one bare patch in the icing, marked with a small cross. Tape it to a wall at shoulder height. 2. Each child gets a paper sprinkle with a loop of tape on the back and an initial on the front. 3. One at a time: stand an arm's length away, shut your eyes, take one step and stick it on. 4. The sprinkle nearest the cross wins, and the donut keeps them all. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 2 to 16. You need: poster board, markers, paper sprinkles and tape.
Ring Toss Onto the Donut Stand 1. Ring toss, with donuts for rings. Cut the middles out of paper plates and color the rims as iced donuts. Stand a wooden spoon upright in a jar of rice as the donut stand. 2. Each child throws five donuts from a line two steps away. 3. A donut that lands on the stand scores one. 4. Play three rounds. Anyone who lands all five moves back a step for the next round. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 2 to 12. You need: paper plates, scissors, crayons, a wooden spoon and a jar of rice.
Roll for Sprinkles, Exactly Twenty 1. A dice race, on a paper donut. Every player has a paper donut with twenty small circles drawn on its icing and a sheet of dot stickers. 2. Players take turns to roll one die and stick that many sprinkles onto empty circles. 3. The last roll must fill the donut exactly. A roll that is too big is a missed turn. 4. The first full donut wins. Play on until everyone has finished, because the donuts go home. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 2 to 8. You need: a die, a paper donut for each player and dot stickers.
Spatula Run to the Bakery Box 1. Egg and spoon, with a donut and a spatula. Each team has a spatula, a pile of twelve paper-plate donuts at the start and an empty box at the far end. 2. The first runner balances one donut on the spatula, walks fast to the box, tips it in and runs back. 3. No thumb on the donut. A donut that falls is scooped up with the spatula alone, from where it landed. 4. The first team to box its dozen wins. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 4 to 16. You need: a spatula, twelve paper-plate donuts and a box for each team.
Which Donut Left the Box? 1. The memory tray game, in a bakery box. Cut six paper donuts and decorate each one differently: pink icing, chocolate, rainbow sprinkles, stripes, powdered sugar and a jelly dot. Lay them in a shallow box. 2. Everyone looks for a slow count of ten, then shuts their eyes while the baker takes one donut out. 3. Eyes open. Children who know which donut is missing put a hand on their head, and the baker picks one to answer. 4. Whoever is right is the next baker. For children of 8 and up, use nine donuts and take two. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 2 to 10. You need: six to nine paper donuts and a shallow box.
Who Took the Donut From the Bakery Box? 1. The cookie jar chant, moved to the bakery. Sit in a circle and keep a steady beat: pat your knees, then clap. 2. Everyone chants, "Who took the donut from the bakery box?" The leader answers with a name: "Maya took the donut from the bakery box." 3. Maya says, "Who, me?" Everyone: "Yes, you." Maya: "Couldn't be." Everyone: "Then who?" Maya names somebody new, on the beat. 4. Keep going until every child has been named once. Then play a round in a whisper. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 4 to 16. You need: nothing.

Yard games with swim-ring donuts 8

Chalk Donut Hopscotch, Skip the Bitten One 1. Hopscotch, drawn as donuts. Chalk a path of ten rings on the driveway, single and side by side, and number them. 2. The hopper throws a beanbag onto the path. The donut it lands on has a bite out of it and may not be stepped on. 3. Hop the path to the end and back: one foot in a single ring, two feet in a pair. Pick up the beanbag on the way home. 4. A hopper who touches a line or the bitten donut hands over the beanbag and tries again next turn. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 2 to 8. You need: sidewalk chalk and a beanbag.
Donut Freeze Tag: Free a Friend Through the Hole 1. Freeze tag, with a donut to rescue. Mark the edges of the game. One child in six is a tagger. 2. A tagged runner freezes and makes a donut: both hands joined in front, arms in a ring. 3. A free runner rescues a frozen friend by putting one arm through the hole and saying, "Sprinkles." 4. Tags are a light touch on the back or the shoulder. Change the taggers every two minutes. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 6 to 20. You need: cones or shoes to mark the edges.
Drop the Donut Behind a Friend 1. Drop the handkerchief, with a ring to put on. Everyone sits in a circle on the grass, facing in. One child walks around the outside with an inflatable swim ring. 2. The walker lays the ring quietly behind somebody and keeps walking. 3. The child who finds the ring behind them stands up, steps into it, pulls it up to their waist and chases the walker around the circle. 4. A walker who reaches the empty place is safe, and the chaser walks next. A walker who is tagged goes again. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 6 to 20. You need: an inflatable swim ring.
Flip the Donuts in the Sheet 1. A parachute game, played with a bedsheet. Everyone holds the edge of the sheet with both hands. Put three inflatable swim rings in the middle. 2. On "flip," lift the sheet together so that the rings jump, and catch them again as they come down. 3. Count the flips out loud. A ring that falls on the grass sends the count back to zero. 4. When the group reaches ten, add a fourth ring. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 6 to 16. You need: a bedsheet and three or four inflatable swim rings.
Four Rings High 1. A stacking relay, with a teammate as the stand. One child from each team stands at the far end with arms by their sides. The team lines up at the start beside four inflatable swim rings. 2. The first runner carries one ring out, lowers it over the stand to rest on the grass around their feet, and runs back. 3. The next rings are stacked on top of the first, so that the pile climbs to the stand's waist. 4. When the fourth ring is on, the whole team runs out, lifts the pile off and carries it home. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 6 to 16. You need: four inflatable swim rings for each team.
Noodle Golf Into the Donut Hole 1. Mini golf, with a pool noodle for a club. Lay an inflatable swim ring flat on the grass as the hole and mark a tee ten steps away. 2. Each golfer hits a playground ball along the ground with the noodle and counts the strokes. 3. The hole is made when the ball comes to rest inside the ring. A ball that rolls through and out again plays on. 4. Play three holes by moving the ring behind a tree, then a chair. The fewest strokes wins. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 2 to 8. You need: a pool noodle, a playground ball and an inflatable swim ring.
Ring Your Partner With a Swim Ring 1. Ring toss, with a friend for the peg. In pairs, one child stands still with both arms straight up and hands together. The other stands three steps away with an inflatable swim ring. 2. The thrower lobs the ring underhand so that it drops over the arms. The peg may sway but may not move its feet. 3. Five throws, then swap. A ring that lands around the shoulders scores one. 4. Pairs add up both scores. The best pair takes one step back for a final. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 2 to 16. You need: an inflatable swim ring for each pair.
Two in a Donut Delivery Race 1. A partner relay, inside one ring. Two children stand inside an inflatable swim ring and hold it at their waists. They are the delivery truck. 2. The truck picks up one paper donut from the bakery table, walks fast around a cone and drops it in the customer's box. 3. Then it hurries back and hands the ring to the next pair on its team. 4. A truck that splits apart stops and gets back in before it moves on. The first team to deliver six donuts wins. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 4 to 16. You need: an inflatable swim ring, six paper donuts, a cone and a box for each team.

A donut grow up party, ages 2 to 4 8

Chase the Rolling Donut 1. A fetch game. Line the children up on the grass beside a grown-up who holds three inflatable swim rings. 2. The grown-up rolls one ring away like a wheel, and the first two children chase it. 3. They carry it back together, one hand each. 4. Roll for the next two. Keep going until every child has fetched three times. Youngest player: age 2. Players: 2 to 10. You need: three inflatable swim rings.
Crawl Through the Donut 1. A tunnel game. Two grown-ups each hold an inflatable swim ring upright on the floor, a few steps apart. 2. The children line up and crawl through the first ring, then the second. 3. A third grown-up at the end gives each crawler a high five. 4. Go around again. On the last lap the grown-ups lift the rings a little, and the children step through. Youngest player: age 2. Players: 1 to 10. You need: two inflatable swim rings.
Dance to the Donut Color 1. Freeze dance, with a color to find. Tape big paper donuts to the floor in four colors, with more donuts than children. 2. Play music and let everyone dance. 3. Stop the music and call a color: "Pink." Every child finds a pink donut and sits on it. Two children may share one. 4. Clap for the whole group and start the music again. There is no last child and nobody is out. Youngest player: age 2. Players: 2 to 12. You need: big paper donuts in four colors, tape and music.
Drop the Donut Holes Through the Ring 1. A drop-and-fill game. A grown-up holds an inflatable swim ring flat over a laundry basket, at the height of a small child's tummy. 2. Each child takes a soft ball from the pile, walks up and drops it through the hole into the basket. 3. When a child finds that easy, the grown-up lifts the ring to the child's chin. 4. When the pile is gone, tip the basket out and play again. Youngest player: age 2. Players: 1 to 8. You need: an inflatable swim ring, a laundry basket and ten soft balls, each as big as a tennis ball or bigger.
Find the Dozen 1. A hunt that ends in a bakery box. Put twelve paper-plate donuts where a small child can see them: on a chair, on a low branch, on the doormat. 2. Show the empty box and say, "The baker is twelve donuts short." 3. The children bring the donuts back one at a time and drop them in the box. 4. Lay them out in rows and count to twelve together. Then the children hide the dozen, and the grown-ups do the hunting. Youngest player: age 2. Players: 2 to 12. You need: twelve paper-plate donuts and a box.
Roll the Donut Hole to a Friend 1. A rolling circle game. Sit in a circle with legs apart and feet touching the next child's feet. 2. A grown-up starts by saying a child's name and rolling a soft ball, the donut hole, across to them. 3. That child catches it between their legs, hears the next name from the grown-up and rolls it on. 4. Play until every child has had the ball three times. Youngest player: age 2. Players: 3 to 10. You need: a soft ball as big as a grapefruit.
Stack the Donuts on a Grown-Up's Arm 1. A stacking toy, grown to full size. A grown-up kneels and holds one arm straight up. 2. The children take turns to carry a paper-plate donut over and thread it onto the arm. 3. Count each donut out loud together. 4. At ten the grown-up sneezes, the stack slides off and everyone starts again. Nobody wins and nobody is out. Youngest player: age 2. Players: 1 to 8. You need: ten paper plates with the middles cut out.
Two Halves Make a Donut 1. A matching puzzle, at full size. Cut big paper donuts in half, each with a different cut: a zigzag, a wave, a step. Color both halves of a donut the same. 2. Give every child one half and spread the other halves on the floor. 3. Each child looks for the half that has the same color and fits the cut. 4. When a donut is whole, the child shows it to the grown-up, who cheers, and then picks up a new half. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 1 to 8. You need: big paper donuts cut in half.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions for a child's donut birthday party; the wording, the ages and the player counts are ours. Each game starts from one children already know, named in its first step. One game uses real donuts: it starts at age 6 and ends at the first bite, with a grown-up beside every heat. Nobody is blindfolded, no game uses a balloon, and the games for ages 2 to 4 use nothing smaller than a tennis ball. Licence: own work

How it works

Each of these donut games to play at a birthday starts from a game children already know. Paper plates with middles cut out and swim rings are the donuts. One game uses real ones and ends at the first bite.

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Donut themed party games, in party order

1. As guests arrive: Pin the Sprinkle on the Bare Patch or Ring Toss Onto the Donut Stand, which need no start time. 2. While energy is high: Spatula Run to the Bakery Box or Four Rings High. 3. Before the cake: Donut on a String, First Bite Wins. 4. To calm down: A Donut Designed for a Friend.

What to make beforehand

Cut the middles out of paper plates and color the rims as icing. Borrow inflatable swim rings for the yard: Four Rings High needs four for each team.

Ask parents about allergies before any real donut goes on a string or on the table.

Questions and answers

What are good donut grow up party games?

Games with no losers: Stack the Donuts on a Grown-Up's Arm, Dance to the Donut Color, Crawl Through the Donut and Find the Dozen. The set for ages 2 to 4 uses nothing smaller than a tennis ball.

Which donut party games can kids play outside?

The eight yard games: Ring Your Partner With a Swim Ring, Four Rings High, Noodle Golf Into the Donut Hole and Drop the Donut Behind a Friend among them. Seven are played on grass, and Chalk Donut Hopscotch needs a driveway.

Is there a donut eating party game?

One: Donut on a String, First Bite Wins. It starts at age 6, a grown-up stands beside every heat and the heat ends at the first bite, so nobody races to finish food. Every other game uses paper or swim-ring donuts.

Can donut party games be played indoors?

19 of the 28 fit a living room with the furniture pushed back, among them Which Donut Left the Box? and Roll for Sprinkles, Exactly Twenty. The rest need a yard.