Welcome to the party is a classic improvisation game perfect for school-age kids.  You can play this game anywhere any time. Children will laugh with delight as they take part in or watch this silly game.

Supplies

• Craft sticks
• Markers
• Ziplock bag​

Preparation

Using crafts sticks a marker, write the names of different animals, one on each stick.  You will want a lot so you can reuse them without the kids remembering all the animals.  30-50 is a good number. Below are 50 ideas for you to use. Once you have all your sticks put them in a ziplock bag.  You can keep the bag in your desk, backpack, or any other place that is easily accessible for a quick game during down time.

Welcome to the Party Game Set Up

• After you have your craft sticks with the animals written on them you are ready to play the welcome to the party game.
• Select 4-5 children to be actors. These kids will take a craft stick, read it, and hand it to you, the administrator of the game.  From this point on the actors may only say things that their animal would say.  
  • For example, if a kid picks the zebra stick, they may say “I hope there are no lions at this party” or “do these stripes make me look fat?”
• Select another child to be the “host of the party”. This person will be try to figure out who each actor is pretending to be.​

How to Play Welcome to the Party

Before the game starts, you, the administrator will show all the children, except for the party host, the stick/animal for the first actor.

The game starts when the first actor arrives at the party.  They will walk up to an imaginary door and knock. The party host will then open the door and invite the guest inside.  The party host will try to figure out which animals the actors are portraying. The host may not ask questions, but can start a conversation. The actors must only say things that their animal would say. The host has 1 minute until the next guest arrives.
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An example conservation maybe 

• Host: “Welcome to my party why don’t you take a seat and take a load off those hooves.”
• Guest: “I am happy to be here but these are not hooves, these are paws!”

OR

• Host: “I Hope you like greens, we are having salad for dinner”
• Guest: “I love greens, that is all I eat!”

You, the administrator, will show everyone the second actors animal.

Again the actor will knock on the door and the host will let them in.  The host can ask any questions of either guest and the guest must answer honestly.  After another minute the third guest arrives, and the game continues. Guests continue to arrive in one minutes intervals until all guests are at the party.

Game Wrap Up

After all guests have arrived, the host has one minute to “say goodbye”.  To say goodbye the host will go up to an actor and say something like “It was so nice of you to come Mr. Zebra” or “I hope you had fun Mrs. Cow” If the host is correct, the animals leave.  The goal is for the host to say goodbye to every animal before the minute is up. ​If you like Welcome to the Party check out 13 more improvistion games from Theatrefolk.com. These games will have kids collaborating in a unique way.

List of 50 Animals

1. Bear
2. Lion
3. Tiger
4. Bee
5. Monkey
6. Elephant
7. Dog
8. Cat
9. Mouse
10. Rat
11. Beaver
12. Squirrel
13. Raccoon
14. Skunk
15. Duck
16. Kangaroo
17. Giraffe
18. Camel
19. Anteater
20. Penguin
21. Tucan
22. Ostrich
23. Flamingo
24. Owl
25. Butterfly
26. Eagle
27. Goldfish
28. Porcupine
29. Leopard
30. Snake
31. Pig
32. Cow
33. Sheep
34. Chicken
35. Horse
36. Goat
37. Frog
38. Buffalo
39. Alligator
40. Turtle
41. Rabbit
42. Zebra
43. Fox
44. Whale
45. Deer
46. Cheetah
47. Gorilla
48. Octopus
49. Dolphin
50. Shark