Mother Goose Party

Mother Goose Party

Easy but fun Mother Goose Party Games
Based on all your favourite nursery rhymes


Mother Goose is the name given to anything to do with nursery rhymes. Toddlers and young children will love the familiarity of simple games based around rhymes that they already know.

As with all parties for toddlers and the very young the games do not have to be too sophisticated.

The important thing is to keep things simple, fun and have all the parents joining in.

Mother Goose Party Invitations And Decorations

Its really a case of finding great pictures of nursery rhyme characters and incorporating them into your designs.

The internet is a great source of images for downloading and printing.

Make sure you put your decorations up at toddler height.

You might also like to involve your young party person in some pre-party preparation.

Time to get the paper and paints out.

A bit of "crafty" fun with your children is a way of squeezing that little bit more juice out of their birthday ideas and is a great way to spend some quality time with your children.

Mother Goose Party Games

Remember the maxim KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid!

Sitting with your parents doing games about rhymes you know from playgroup is already kiddie heaven!

Mother Goose Party Games - Find The Rhymes
~Where are those nursery rhyme characters?~

This is a neat way to start your Mother Goose Party.

Prepare in advance some cards with pictures of nursery rhyme characters. These can be downloaded and printed from the internet.

A5 size (10 x15cms) is about the right size. They are better on card than paper. (You can always stick paper on to cardboard)

Stick to the better known characters and have at least one for each child.

Good choices would be:

  • Mary Mary Quite Contrary
  • Humpty Dumpty
  • Ba Ba Black Sheep
  • 3 Blind Mice
  • The Cat And The Fiddle
  • Incey Wincey Spider (Itsy Bitsy Spider)
  • Tom The Piper's Son
  • Two Little Dickie Birds
  • Little Bo Peep

Hide your cards (perhaps not too carefully) around your venue.

On your command the kids have to rush to find a character card. When they have one they return to the middle of the floor and sit down holding their card.

When all are returned with a card the children hold up their cards in turn and everyone says who they think it is. Then together everyone recites the appropriate nursery rhyme.

if the children were slightly older they may like to recite alone - don't forget to give anyone who does a big clap.

Mother Goose Party Games - Oranges And Lemons
~Here comes a candle to light you to bed
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head~

"Oranges and lemons" say the Bells of St. Clement's
"You owe me five farthings" say the Bells of St. Martin's
"When will you pay me?" say the Bells of Old Bailey
"When I grow rich" say the Bells of Shoreditch
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow
"Here comes a Candle to light you to Bed
Here comes a Chopper to Chop off your Head
Chip chop chip chop - the Last Man's Dead."

Party Games Oranges and Lemons

Well they say the old ones are the best and this ancient English nursery rhyme has certainly stood the test of time.

The bells all belong to churches in Old London.

Two adults kneel down (or stand for bigger kids) and form an arch with their hands.

Everyone sings the rhyme while moving around in a circle; ducking through the arch in turn.

When you reach the last line however the hands come down for each chip and chop and catches the last person - who is of course rewarded for their cleverness with a hug and a prize.

Repeat until all the children have been chipped and chopped

Mother Goose Party Games - 3 Blind Mice
~How many tails can the farmers wife cut?~

3 Blind Mice, 3 Blind Mice.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all ran after the Farmers Wife.
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife!
Did you ever see such a thing in your life?
As 3 Blind Mice.

This is great fun and the kids love being chased by the Farmers Wife. The more you put into this the more fun you will have.

Prepare in advance some mice tails. These should be about 30 cms long. They do not have to be too elaborate. You can make them simply from strips of material plaited or short lengths of rope.

Give each child a mouse tail these can be popped into the backs of trousers skirts or shorts so they hang out mouse fashion. (A little bit of sticky tape to hold the tail in place for any young mice in long dresses).

An adult dresses up as The Farmers Wife. - Apron and headscarf - plastic carving knife if you want to be really scary!

Show the children how to run, scamper and squeak like mice.

Together you all sing the first part of the song and the children jig about in a mouse like manner.

When you reach the line

They all ran after the Farmers Wife

Everyone chases the Farmers Wife who jumps in the air shrieks and runs off to the end of the room, followed by the mice. But when she gets there she turns around and you sing

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife

She then chases the fleeing mice trying to grab their tails as you finish the song.

Repeat as many times as the mice are enjoying it and the Farmers Wife still has a bit of puff!

Mother Goose Party Games - One Two Buckle My Shoe
~Sing the song - do the actions~

This is a simple nursery rhyme with actions that younger kids love. They enjoy it even more if adults join in so come on Mum and Dad.

  • One, two buckle my shoe - everyone pretends to buckle their shoe
  • Three, four, knock at the door - everyone pretends to bang on a door
  • Five, six pick up sticks - make this even better by having some small canes or sticks to pick up
  • Seven, eight lay them straight - and lay them down
  • Nine, ten, a big fat hen - everyone clucks and makes like a chicken.
  • Eleven, twelve, dig and delve - time for a bit of industrious mock digging
  • Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting - everyone blows kisses;
  • Fifteen, sixteen maids in the kitchen - everyone stirs a cake mix
  • Seventeen, eighteen maids in waiting - everyone curtsies or bows
  • Nineteen, twenty my plate’s empty - everyone holds out an imaginary plate and shouts the last line


Mother Goose Party Games - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
~Time to get crafty with your little stars~

Toddler party games star

Twinkle Twinkle - Little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle.Twinkle, Little Star How I wonder what you are.

This is a nice "make and do" activity for a Mother Goose party. The trick is to have everything ready to go.

In advance prepare some card star shapes. Have a selection of stickers, glitter, felt tip pens etc and get the children to decorate a star each.

Attach these with tape to small dowel rods or canes.

Another way to attach your stars is to have 2 identical stars stapled together with one place left unstapled where the rod can be inserted into the middle of the 2.

Then when everyone is ready you can all sing the rhyme together while the children wave their "Little Stars".

Repeat a few times.

The "Little Stars" can of course be taken home".

Mother Goose Party Games - Humpty Dumpty
~Who pushed Humpty?!!~

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

For this you need a Humpty Dumpty. If you don't have one they are reasonably easy to make. Think round cushion with big eyes. Alternatively you could papier mache a balloon and paint it.

Set up nice wall for Humpty to sit on. This could be a simple cardboard box with a brick pattern painted on it. Or a table with a painted sheet or piece of cardboard in front.

One by on the kids take it in turn to be the one to push Humpty of his perch. You repeat the rhyme for each one. but change the last 2 lines for

But of all the kings horses, and all the kings men
It was (childs name) who pushed him off the wall again.

Give each child a cheer before setting Humpty up for the next "push over the edge".

Extra - A neat little craft activity for Humpty is to use paper plates to decorate with stickers, scraps of material and pens and make little Humpties to take home


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