Birthday Parties: Clifford Hot Dog Fun

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Clifford Hot Dog

This game is Clifford's version of Hot Potato. It's a lot like musical chairs, but with a Clifford bean-bag toy as the "hot dog." You can make your own bean-bag toy with the instructions below.

What You'll Need:

printable Clifford "hot dog" Color | Black & White (PDF)
self-sealing sandwich bag
dried beans or small pasta
tape
scissors

How to Prepare:

Print out two copies of the Clifford "hot dog" and cut them out.
Fill a self-sealing sandwich bag with dried beans or pasta.
Tape a Clifford cutout to each side, and voila! The "hot dog" is ready!

How to Play

To begin, have the children sit in a wide circle in a large open area. Give the birthday child the "hot dog."
Put an adult or older child in charge of playing the music (a tape, CD, or even singing or clapping can work). It adds to the fun when you play a song that includes the word "hot" or "dog" such as Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter or Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. The person in charge of the music should not look in the direction of the game just to be fair!
When the music starts children pass the "hot dog" from player to player. Encourage the children to act as if the "hot dog" is really, really hot!
Stop the music at random intervals. The player holding the hot dog when the music stops is out. (Stops should be made frequently so the game moves quickly and players are not out for long periods.)
The last player left in the game is the winner.
Reward all of the players with a dog bone cookie treat (see recipe), and give the winner a special prize or an award certificate (available as a PDF).