We gratefully wish to acknowledge that Graham Cracker & J.A.M. Productions has lent the contents of this page to this web site:

     We wish to thank them for sharing these 35 very clever games with all of us. A printed copy of this booklet can be purchased from: Graham Cracker & J.A.M. Productions
     In addition to speaking and performing at: Concerts, Conventions, Schools, Churches,
and holding Seminars on Children's Ministry, Clowning, Puppetry, and Magic. They sell a wide variety of clowning related supplies, including wonderful original music, other information filled books, props, tricks, and many other items.

     While you are free to use the contents of this page, any sale or publication of the contents of this page must be OKed by Graham Cracker & J.A.M. Productions, Who own all rights to it's contents. This page is a copy of their booklet "Fun with 260's". We have made a few small changes to make it easier to use on the Internet. This booklet was converted to html on 2/27/97.

     260 balloons are the long thin balloons used by clowns and others to make animals. While this booklet was written around 260 balloons, I think that some of these games can be played with other styles of balloons. Where can you get 260 balloons? Click here.

     What do you do when you're at a party for a bunch of kids or an office party for adults that is going no where. They know you're a clown so they turn to you and yell HELP and all you have are some old "260 balloons" in your pocket. You can do a lot !!!!!

     With just a few 260 balloons and this book, you can turn a boring party into a FUN filled one. You can do games, relays or water balloon FUN. No matter if you have two (2) people or a hundred (100). It doesn't matter if you're inside or outside, or if you have just a few 260 balloons. You're ready for some FUN and you'll become the hit of the party.

     In this book we will be sharing with you some fun ideas about different games, relays and water balloon fun that can be played at birthday parties, church gatherings, nursing homes, hospitals, company picnics, school field days, crowd breakers or anywhere you have some people who want to have some fun. All you need are some 260 balloons, a pump (if you need one), add some people and let the fun begin !!!!!!!

1. First, if you don't know what a 260 balloon is, we need to tell you. A 260 balloon is a balloon that is two (2) inches around, and sixty (60) inches long. There is a 260"A" which stands for "AMATEUR", not the best quality. The second type is a 260"E" which stands for "EXPERT", and the third is "Q" which is taken from the first letter in the company name of "QUALATEX". All the balloons will work but for the best results you should use either "E" or the "Q" balloons.

2. Pump all of the balloons you will need for each game.

3. Put the people into their groups.

4. Explain what they are going to do, then explain it again.

5. But most of all tell them to have FUN, it's just a game.

1. You make them up depending on the group that you're working with, age, number of players, the amount of room you have to work with, and time.
2. NEVER !!!!!! allow anyone to put one of the balloons in their mouth or in someones face, if the balloon were to pop it could hurt someone.

1. THROWING FOR DISTANCE: Have the players stand behind a line. On the count of three (3) have the players throw their balloons, the one the goes the longest distance is the winner.

2. THROWING FOR ACCURACY: Place an object away from the players (placement of the object depends on the players ability). Have the players stand behind a line and then on the count of three (3)have them throw their balloon at the object. The one who comes closest to the object wins.

3. THROWING THROUGH AN OBJECT (1): Place a Hula-hoop or some kind of object that you can throw a ball through. Place the object away from the players (placement of the object depends on the players ability). Have the players try to throw their balloon through the object. The one that makes it through the object continues to play. The object gets placed further away. Repeat this until one (1) player is left.

4. THROWING THROUGH AN OBJECT (2): Give the players five (5) to seven (7) balloons each. Then have them throw their balloons one at a time through the object (placement of the object depends on the players ability). Count how many of their balloons went through the object the one that had the most balloons go through the object is the winner.

5. LONGEST FLOAT: Give a balloon to each player. Count to three (3) and have the players throw their balloon up in the air, the last balloon to touch the ground wins. (If there are a lot of players break them up into groups and have the winners of each group play against each other to see who wins) The balloon at no time once it leaves the players hand should be touched.

6. TUG OF WAR: Have two (2) players each one holding on to one end of a balloon, at the count of three (3) pull as hard as they can until the balloon breaks. The winner can be either the one the shortest piece of the balloon or the one with the longest piece of the balloon.

7. BALLOON TOSS 1: Tie the ends of a balloon together to form a circle, place a pole three(3) to five (5) feet in front of the players. Give each player three (3) to five (5) balloons. Have them toss their balloons one at a time at the pole trying to put their balloons over the pole. The one who gets the most balloons over the pole wins. (This game can be used as part of a relay game also.)

8. BALLOON TOSS 2: Tie the ends of a balloon together to form a circle, place three (3) to five (5) poles in a line about two (2) feet apart or you can place the poles in different spots. Give the players as many balloons as there are poles. Have the players toss one balloon at a time trying to place one balloon on each pole. The player who gets more balloons over the most poles wins. (This game can be used as part of a relay game also.) You can also let each pole be worth different points and what ever pole the balloon goes on that's the amount of points that player receives.

9. BALLOON LET GO 1: Blow up balloons but don't tie them. Give one balloon to each player, but tell them to hold on to their balloon tightly so they don't let the air out. Have the players stand behind a line, point their balloon straight out and at the count of three (3) have the players release their balloon, the balloon that goes the furthest wins.

10. BALLOON LET GO 2: Blow up balloons but don't tie them. Give one balloon to each player, but tell them to hold on to their balloon tightly so they don't let the air out. Have the players stand behind a line, point their balloon straight out and at the count of three (3) have the players release their balloon. The last balloon to touch the ground wins. The balloon at no time once it leaves the players hand should be touched.

11. BALLOON LET GO 3: Blow up balloons but don't tie them. Give one balloon to each player, but tell them to hold on to their balloon tightly so they don't let the air out. Have in place an object like a trash lid, a hula-hoop, etc. for the three (3) players to shoot the balloons to. On the count of three (3) have the players release their balloon. The goal is to see which balloon comes closest to the object. The balloon that comes the closest wins.

1. In relays you can walk, skip, hop, run, walk backwards, anyway you want the players to get from here to there.
2. Depending on how many people are playing and the amount of time you have, you can repeat the relay two (2) or more times.
3. Have your players divide into an equal number of players on each team in groups of three (3) to ten (10). If you do not have that many players then let them play individually.
4. Color code the teams or the players by balloon colors if possible.
5. If you have too many players or are limited on time, you can split a team in half and have one (1) half at the starting line and the other half at the finish line. Have the players go down to the opposite end and tag that player then that player goes down to the other end and tag the next player.
6. Make sure that all the players get their turn. Don't stop when the first team crosses the finish line.

12. BALANCE THE "260": Have a starting and finishing line. At the starting line give the first players on the team a balloon. Have the players balance the balloon on their finger or in their hand. On the count of three (3) they can either walk or run to the finish line. At the finish line have the players turn around and go back to the starting line, they then hand off the balloon to the next player in line repeat until all players have had a chance to play.

13. BETWEEN THE LEGS 1: At the starting line give the first players on the team a balloon. Have them place the balloon between their legs and on the count of three (3) have the players walk or run down to the finish line where they turn around and come back to the starting line, to pass the balloon to the next player. Repeat until all the players have had a chance to play.

14. BETWEEN THE LEGS 2: Tie two (2) balloons (this takes the 260 balloons) together and have three (3) to five(5) players standing together, one directly behind the other, in a line, place the balloons between all of their legs, so all of them are holding the balloons between their legs. On the count of three (3) have each of the lines of players walk or run to the finish line where they turn around and come back to the starting line to pass the balloons to the next group of players in line. Repeat until all the players have had a chance to play.

15. UNDER THE CHIN 1: Have all the players on their team stand in a straight line looking forward. Give the player in the front of the line a balloon and have them place the balloon under their chin. On the count of three (3) have the first player turn around and pass the balloon to the next player in line. Using only their chins to pass the balloon, pass the balloon all the way down the line. (You can pass all kinds of things this way, balls, fruit, etc.)

16. UNDER THE CHIN 2: Have all the players on their team stand in a straight line looking forward. The teams have one (1) to three (3) minutes to see how many players they can pass the balloon to. Give the player in the front of the line a balloon and have them place the balloon under their chin. On the count of three (3) have the first player turn around and pass the balloon to the next player in line. Using only their chins to pass the balloon. After a player has passed the balloon have them run to the end of the line.

17. THROW AND RUN: Give the first player in line a balloon. Have them stand behind a starting line. On the count of three (3) the players throw their balloon towards the finish line. The balloon must touch the ground every time it is thrown before it can be thrown again. The player throws the balloon until they get it to the finish line then the player picks up the balloon and runs back to the next player. Repeat until all the players have had a chance to play.

18. AROUND THE WAIST 1: Tie both ends to a "260" balloon together forming a circle. Place the balloon around the waist of the first player in line. At the count of three (3) have the players run down to the finish line, have the players take off the balloon and run back to the starting line and pass the balloon to the next player. They put the balloon on around their waist and repeat the relay until all the players have had a chance to play.

19. AROUND THE WAIST 2: Same as "AROUND THE WAIST 1" except this time have two players inside the balloon. Depending on the size of the players you might need two (2) balloons tied together.

20. UP AND OVER: Tie both ends to a "260" balloon together forming a circle. Place the balloon around the waist of the first player in line. Have the rest of the team stand in a straight line. At the count of three (3) have the first player remove the balloon from their waist and hand it to the next player who puts the balloon over their head and removes the balloon down at their feet. Repeat the relay until all the players have had a chance to play.

21. ALL IN ONE: Tie three (3) to six (6) balloons (260's) together depending on the number of players you have. At the finish line have one player from each team holding their balloon circle. Have the other players one at a time hop, skip, walk backwards, etc. down to the finish as they do, have the players get inside the balloon circle, the team to get all of it's players in the circle first wins.

22. BACK TO BACK 1: Have two (2) players stand back to back and place a balloon in between them. On the count of three (3) have the two (2) players walk down to the finish line and back. Then pass the balloon to the next two (2) players and have them repeat the relay until all the players have had a chance to play.

23. BACK TO BACK 2: Same as "BACK TO BACK 1" but this time have the players put the balloon between their legs.

24. HAND OFF: Give the first player in the line a balloon. Have them go down to the finish line, they can run, hop, skip, etc. When they get to the finish line have the players return to the starting line and hand off their balloon to the next player in line. Repeat the relay until all the players have had a chance to play.

25. PUMP POP 1: Give the first player in line a balloon and a pump. At the count of three (3) have the players put the balloon on the pump and pump the balloon up until it pops. If you are limited on balloons then this part of the relay can be for just one player on a team and as the balloon pops it starts the next player on the next part of the relay. If you only have one pump then time each player from the time the start pumping up their balloon until the time it pops.

26. PUMP POP 2: Give the first player in line a balloon and a pump. Put the balloon on the pump. The players on the count of three (3) will have three (3) to five(5) seconds to pump up their balloon as full as they can at the end of their time, the players will stop and pinch off their balloon. Then the balloons will be measured. Write down the team measurement then let the air out of the balloon and let the next player in line try. The team may play until their balloon pops or until every player has had a chance to play.

27. PUMP POP 3: Give the first player in line a balloon and a pump. Put the balloon on the pump. The players on the count of three (3) will have three (3) seconds to pump up the balloon, at the end of three (3) seconds the first player will pass the pump and the balloon to the next player trying not to lose any air out of the balloon. Including passing time, the players now get four (4) seconds to pump up their balloon. Repeat this until all players have had a chance to play. Then stop and tie off the balloon, and measure. The team that has the longest balloon wins. Depending on how many players are on a team the time can be shortened or made longer. This relay normally has five (5) players to a team.

28. SPIN AROUND: You need two (2) balloons, one (1) you tie end to end to make a circle, the second you leave straight. Have the first player stand behind the starting line. Put the straight balloon on the inside of the circle balloon and spin the straight balloon around making the circle balloon spin. On the count of three(3) have the first player go down to the finish line and back spinning the circle balloon. Repeat the relay until all the players have had a chance to play.

1. Fill the balloons up with water.
2. You can play two (2) different ways. One (1), if the balloon breaks the team is out of the game or second (2), if their balloon breaks you give them another balloon so they can continue.
3. For fun they can pass the balloon over their heads, between their legs, over their heads then between their legs or they can pass the balloon back to back and face to face. There are all kinds of ways to pass the balloon so get creative.

29. FILLER UP PLEASE 1: Fill a 260 balloon up with water for each team. Have the first player on each team stand at the starting line. On the count of three (3) have the player go down to the finish line where they turn around and come back to the starting to pass the balloon to the next player. Repeat this relay until all the players have had a chance to play or if the balloon breaks the team is out or they can come back and get another balloon depending on how you want to play the game. They can carry the balloon in their arms, over their heads, etc.

30. FILLER UP PLEASE 2: Same as "FILLER UP PLEASE 1" but this time have two (2) players carry the balloon. Think of some funny ways to carry the balloon.

31. PASS IT ON 1: Fill a 260 balloon with water for each team. Have each team player stand side by side in a line. Count to three (3) then have the first player in the line pass the balloon to the next player until it goes all the way down to the end of the line. The first team to get their balloon to the end of the line without popping their balloon is the winner.

32. PASS IT ON 2: Same as "PASS IT ON 1" but this time have the players stand facing forwards in a straight line and have them pass the balloon over their heads and then back to the front of the line again.

33. PASS IT ON 3:Same as "PASS IT ON 1" but this time have the players pass the balloon through their legs. Then have them return the balloon over top their heads.

34. TOSS'EM FAR: Give the players a water filled balloon. Have them stand behind a line and throw the balloon as far as they can. The player that throws their balloon the farthest wins. Let the broken balloon be their maker. Any kind of balloon can be used for this game.

35. TOSS'EM OVER THE HEAD: Give the players a water filled balloon. Have them stand backwards to the line and on the count of three(3) have the players throw their balloon over their heads to see which player's balloon went the farthest. Let the broken balloon be their maker. Any kind of balloon can be used for this game.

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