10 Year Old BOY Birthday Party Games.

The ice cream sounds too messy. I know I wouldn't like getting sticky, nor would my kids. Save the ice cream for a treat, like a sundae bar. Instead of water balloons we use sponges soaked in a bucket of water. The kids throw them at each other same as the balloons, but they can refill them easily in the bucket. You could also do ring toss (using soft drink bottles), three legged race, tug of war, sack race, bean bag toss, ping pong ball spoon race or a piñata.

As for the water balloons, do you have a plan to collect/pick up all the latex from the ground after they burst everywhere? The balloons sound fun (as long as the attendees know in advance that they are likely to get wet, so they can plan accordingly), but please be responsible and clean up the trash after the party ends.

I echo Julie S on the ice cream. Is that a joke? You think 10 year olds will lie on the ground and let someone drip sticky ice-cream in their hair, and then have dirt and grass all stuck into the melted mess?? I'd be ticked if I came to pick up my daughter (who has hair down to her waist) and she had ice-cream all in it, along with grass and dirt. And dripped onto her clothes. Ugh.

Here are some ideas from a FB post you might find more acceptable.
https://www.facebook.com/ruthmcmcastro/media_set?set=a.11...

I've done water balloons, once. Sure it's fun but a real pain to clean up after. The ice cream game sounds pretty messy too. Why not do a pinata? The kids pick ALL the candy up and that becomes an instant goody bag. We've also done treasure hunts, same idea, the kids search and then take it all home.
You can also play freeze tag, do egg in spoon relay races, pin the tail on the donkey type game, Red Rover, Red Light Green Light, most of the old school field games are fun.
It's also nice to have a craft, something as simple as decorating party bags or treasure boxes, or cookies/cupcakes for kids who are more quiet or just want a break from running around.

You can do all the old childhood games we played as a kid. For example 'red light - green light or 'mother may I' or 'Simon says' or 'sack races' these are fun games and all somewhat forgotten by kids these days. You could Google 'kids games' and see what you find.

I agree with the other posters about picking up the latex pieces. Not only does the latex harm the wild animals but also you need to think about the next people to enter the park, if someone has a latex allergy you could cause a severe reaction.

You really think it is a good idea to throw ice cream around? So you have one kid laying on the ground the other kid dropping scoops of ice cream all over their face, body, hair. How is that fun?

The water balloons sound fun, that does not.

Have you considered a craft table?

Oh, sorry BOY *rollseyes* I guess boys don't like to build things? I will have to remember to mention this to my husband.

This sounds like a ton of clean up! You absolutely have to pick up all the balloon pieces due to the litter problem and the risk to birds/wildlife, and the ice cream sounds like a lot more fun for the kid on top than the kid on the ground. I'm not sure how you keep the ice cream frozen in Arizona - no on in our neck of the woods plays this game so I'm sure it's more challenging in your climate. And then everyone is sticky and unable to go home in the car without messing up the seats. Do you have a way to hose them all off and put them in a change of clothes, plus hose down the spilled ice cream so as to not make the park a mess for the next visitors? And if you insist on this, do make sure that none of the kids has a sensitivity to insect bites, as the ice cream mess will attract a variety of undesirable bugs. And are you doing something for eye protection? I'd be sure to tell the parents a lot more than "they'll get wet."

You know what kids really love (especially because many of them haven't played them)? Old fashioned party games! Our neighbors have been doing this for some years, and the kids are raving about them! They are so tired of bounce houses and they just love the 3-legged races, the sack races (get old pillow cases from neighbors willing to donate, or go to the discount store), the potato/wooden spoon races, and so on. These are not just "exercise", they are also about balance and patience, not just speed - so it's good for not-so-athletic kids (the aggressive kids usually fall down or drop their potatoes!). Supplies are cheap (a 5 pound bag of potatoes and some wooden spoons from the dollar store, for example).

You can google these games, but I also went to the library to get a book so I could see all the suggestions and review the "rules" (You might have to look for camp games vs. party games - you'll get good ideas there as well).

ETA: Just checked the link posted by Isn'tThisFun. So many of those ideas look wonderful!!

My kids like to just play. They don't like when we put games together for them...but water balloons are always fun!!

At this age, I would bring a bin of sports equipment and outdoor toys (footballs, frisbees, wiffle ball set, stomp rockets, etc) and let them organize themselves.

I gave up on organized games when my son was seven - it was a birthday party at our house. I had games planned (it was an Angry Birds theme, and I had sling shots and targets, I thought they would love it). We never did my games because they all decided they would rather play basketball in our driveway followed by tag in the back yard. They had a blast.

soak sponges in water and use them to play dodge ball
slip n slide kickball ... instead of running to bases have a slide into the base. A camp I know does this the kids LOVE it.

Instead of water balloons what about water gun fights (have some buckets filled with water to refill)?
Flying kites if there is an open area
Pinata - my kids love pinatas. It won't last long with 10 year olds!
A giant frisbee to throw (Beamo)
A scavenger hunt