Coolest Sesame Street and Elmo Games

Here’s an awesome collection of Sesame Street and Elmo games, perfect for throwing the coolest ever Sesame Street and Elmo theme party.

Hide and Seek with Elmo

Hide lots of block shapes and letters around the party area before the guests arrive. Then when you’re ready for this simple and fun game, send the kids on there way to look for the block shapes and letters. Everyone gets a prize!

Cookie Monster’s Cookies

This is one of those fun elmo games and great for starting the game section of the party. On each corner of the room hang a picture of a different Sesame Street character, for example – on corner Elmo, another corner Big Bird, third corner Grover, and fourth corner Abby Caddaby (you can find these pictures on the internet). Also print the same pictures but smaller, cut them out and put them in a box. Start the game with all of the guests in the middle of the party area and have Sesame Street music playing in the background (you’ll need someone who will stop and start the music).

The kids dance to the music, and then when the music stops you shout “Oh No! Who’s taken Cookie Monster’s cookies?!”, the kids then run to one of the four corners and stand underneath a chosen Sesame Street character. After everyone has chosen a corner you choose a picture from the box and hold it up saying the character’s name. All of the kids who have chosen that character get a small piece of cookie to munch on and the game starts all over again, they’ll love this game!

How many Goldfish?

As you know, Elmo has a pet fish! You can put lots of goldfish crackers in a glass bowl (count them before they are inserted in the bowl) and have everyone guess how many goldfish crackers are in the bowl. The closest one wins a prize! This can also be changed to fit Cookie Monster by using little chocolate chip cookies.

Pin the Nose on Elmo

Here’s one of those very simple and fun Elmo games. Just like ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ this time Elmo is missing his nose!! You can download a big picture of Elmo’s face online and cut out his nose. Create more of his noses and give one to each player. Write each player’s initials on the back of each nose and start the game. The first person who starts is blindfolded and turned around, they then need to pin Elmo’s nose the closest to where his nose should be. The closest one wins a prize.

Elmo Says

Like the game “Simon Says”, just change this fast paced game to a slower version for the youngsters. Have someone dress up as Elmo (could be just to put a red hat or a mask or just wear all red is enough). Elmo than stands in front of all the kids and starts by saying “Elmo says, jump up and down”, and the kids copycat Elmo. With little kids you don’t even need to ‘out’ people from the game (just like in the original ‘Simon says’), it can be enough that the youngsters copycat Elmo. If the kids are a bit older (from age 3 and up), than if someone doesn’t do exactly what Elmo says will need to sit down for a round.

Cookie Monster Jar

Take a jar and fill it up with mini chocolate chip cookies (remember to count the amount of cookies once putting them in the jar). When all the guests arrive ask them to make a guess – how many Cookie Monster chocolate cookies are in the jar? Whoever guesses the closest gets the jar of cookies as a present!

Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha

Have all the guests sit in a circle. Then tell everyone that they all have to keep a straight face for as long as they can while other people try and make them laugh. It starts with one person who starts the game by saying “Ha”!. Then the next person says “Ha, Ha”, and then the next says “Ha, Ha, Ha”, and this goes on around the circle with each guest adding another “Ha”. The players need to pronounce each “Ha” as serious as they can and avoid laughing, if a player makes a mistake or starts to giggle or laugh is out of the game (even though they will not be playing anymore they still get the chance to make other people laugh, they can continue saying “Ha” and make funny faces but can’t talk or touch anyone). The last person to stay serious is the winner!

The Letter Game

Out of all Elmo games, this one has an educational benefit as well! Split all of the people into two teams and assign an adult for each team to help out (give each team a piece of paper and pen/pencil). On the mark of ‘GO’ each team has 5 minutes to come up with as many words as they can, starting with the first letter of the birthday kid’s name. It’s best if each team is in a separate room so that they don’t hear eachother. At the end of the 5 minutes, the team with the most words wins! This can be played as many times as the group wants, every time choosing a different letter.

Hunt For Elmo

This is one of those very simple and fun treasure hunt Elmo games. Just take little Elmo candy bags and/or Elmo characters, Elmo stickers, tattoos, etc. and hide them around the party area. Then everyone looks for them until each person has found one. This can be done with any or all of the Sesame Street characters.

What’s The Time Count von Count?

One of the adults is Count von Count (even better if he/she dresses up as him too – a black cape, pointy ears, black heavy eyebrows, etc.). Count von Count stands at one end of the room when all of the others stand on the other side. All of the children say together “What’s the time Count von Count?” and then the Count replies for example “5 o’clock”, then all of the children take 5 steps counting every step together. This is repeated many times, each time the Count says a different time and the children walk the corresponding amount of steps.

Eventually the kids ask the same question and then suddenly Count yells “Dinnertime!!” and turns to chase the children who flee as fast as they can back to the other side of the room. Most kids get a kick out of this game! It can be repeated as many times as everyone wants. It’s one of those super-fun Elmo games.

Name that Smell

Here’s another one of those cool Elmo games. Take paper bags and place in each a different item that has a very sharp and specific smell, for example – an orange, an onion, garlic, cinnamon, lavender, a rose, vanilla, cloves, and any more items/foods that have a strong smell. Tie each bags tight and poke a small hole at the top of the bag (it’s best to create these bags right before the party). Then have the kids sit in a circle and pass one bag around and everyone tries to guess what they smell, then continue with all of the bags. At the end open them to see if everyone guessed correctly.

Oscar’s Garbage Can Toss

For this game you’ll need a garbage can (Oscar’s garbage can! Even best if on it there is a picture of Oscar’s face). Then take all kinds of junk paper you have and recycled material and let the kids toss the junk from all kinds of set distances (start with close to the garbage can and ending up a few feet away, depends on the ages of the kids). This is a great activity to get the kids occupied, trying to throw junk into Oscar’s garbage can.

Hot Cookie Elmo Games

This is just like the game Hot Potato, only called “Who will steal a cookie from the Cookie Jar?”. All the kids sit in a circle on the ground. Then pass a jar full of small chocolate chip cookies around the circle while Cookie Monster songs are played in the background (you’ll need someone to start and stop the music). Once the music stops the person holding the jar gets to steal a cookie from Cookie Monster’s jar!! This goes on until everyone in the circle has eaten at least one cookie! It’s different than the Hot Potato game – no-one is ever out!! (I don’t really like games where only one person wins, I don’t feel birthday parties are a place for hurt feelings).

Follow Elmo

It’s really fun to see kids dance :-). Start off by choosing a child to be the leader – he/she then becomes Elmo. All of the other kids are all spread out and then when the music starts (Sesame Street music) the leader starts dancing and doing all kinds of movements with his/her body, all of the other kids need to copy the leader’s moves. Then after about half a minute, choose a different person to be the leader. Make sure everyone has a chance to be the leader.

Dorothy’s Fish Bowl

We all know Elmo’s favorite pet – Dorothy the fish! For this game you’ll need two bowls, a small bath tub, water and two small plastic or paper cups. Divide the group of kids into two teams. Each team has a bowl in front of them and on the other side of the room a tub filled with water. Each team stands in a line in front of their glass bowl and on the mark of “GO” the first teammate in line of each team takes the plastic/paper cup, runs as fast as they can to the tub of water, fills their plastic/paper cup with as much water as they can and run back to their glass bowl and spill the water in it.

Then the second teammate does the same, and the third and fourth, until 3 minutes time is over. The team with the most water in Dorothy’s bowl wins! It’s one of the coolest Elmo games.

Rubber Ducky You’re the One

For this game you’ll need a kiddie pool or large bucket full of water, bubbles and small rubber duckies. Only a few of the rubber duckies have a Sesame Street underneath them, all the rest don’t have anything. Each kid takes a turn choosing a rubber ducky from the kiddie pool, whoever lifts a rubber ducky with a sticker on it wins a prize! During this activity play Ernie’s song “Rubber Ducky, Your the One”.

Take a look at our complete Sesame Street and Elmo Birthday Party section for more of the coolest party-planning ideas.

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