• Plan fun activities for an 8-year-old's birthday party to keep everyone entertained.o cross game image by OMKAR A.V from Fotolia.com
  
  The possibilities for fun activities are endless when planning an 8-year-old's birthday party. Kids of this age group are usually easygoing and love to do just about anything. When trying to decide on what to do to keep the kids active, you should consider the personalities and physical capabilities of the children attending the party.
  
  

The Doughnut Game

• This activity requires ring donuts, one for each kid, string or ribbons to hang the doughnuts, and a place to suspend the doughnuts, such as a wash line or perhaps a tree branch. This activity is messy, so playing this game outside is the best option. Have the kids eat the doughnuts from the strings with their hands behind their backs. The kid who finishes his doughnut first wins a prize. This game is much harder than it seems, and if you use powdered doughnuts, the powder gets all over the kids' faces, which adds to the amusement of the game.
  
  

Mystery Fishing Game

• For this game, you will need a large box, a sheet, a stick, a clothespin, and a piece of string. You will also need one volunteer to stand by the "water" which is the large box. Fill the box with all sorts of little prizes; the prizes are the "fish." Hang a sheet in such a way that the box with the prizes (water and the fish) and your volunteer are unseen. Tie string to a stick and attach a clothespin to the end of the string. Kids take turns "fishing" by casting the string over the sheet into the "water." The volunteer standing behind the sheet then attaches a prize to the clothespin and then tugs on the string signaling that there is a "fish" on the line. Kids will have lots of fun "fishes" and getting prizes.
  
  

Balloon Sandwich

• You will need balloons for this fun game. Have the kids choose a partner and then line up back to back at a starting line. Blow up the balloons (do not use helium to fill the balloons) and place a balloon between the kids' backs where it must stay and not fall to the ground. At the signal, the pairs must walk or try to run in this position toward the finish line. If the balloon pops or drops, the pair returns to the starting line to begin again.
  
  

Play-Dough Fun

• Set out various colors of play dough and let the kids build and sculpt whatever their imagination dreams up. You can structure things a bit by giving them categories, such as animals, shapes or funny faces. They each need to make something in the category you give them. Offer prizes for the best sculpture in each category.