The fishing pond (fiskdamm) is the simplest party game there is: a sheet hung in a doorway, a stick with string and a clothes peg, an adult sitting behind who clips a small parcel onto the peg, and a child who pulls it up. It takes ten minutes to build and works from age two to nine. The secret is that all the parcels are identical and that every child fishes exactly once.
The fishing pond has survived a hundred years of party trends for a reason: it is exciting without being a competition, it gives every child something, and it requires nothing. Here is how to make it, what to put in it and the one mistake that can ruin it.
What you need
- A sheet or a blanket
- Two clothes pegs or drawing pins to hang the sheet in a doorway
- A stick, an umbrella or a kitchen spoon as a rod
- A metre of string
- A clothes peg at the end of the string
- One small parcel per child, wrapped in the same paper
- An adult who sits behind the sheet
Everything except the parcels is already at home. The sheet does not need to look nice. The children see it for five seconds. If you have no suitable doorway, it works just as well to hang the sheet over an open wardrobe door, between two chair backs or over a table that the adult sits under. A sofa with its back to the room works too: the adult sits behind the sofa and the child throws the line over the backrest.
How to do it
- Hang the sheet in the doorway so that it covers down to the floor.
- The adult sits behind it with the parcels in a basket.
- The child throws the string over the sheet. The adult clips a parcel onto the peg and gives the string a little tug.
- The child pulls it up. Next child.
- The parcels are opened once everyone has fished, in a circle. Otherwise half the children stand waiting while the others are already playing with theirs.
The tug on the string is half the fun. Whoever is sitting behind waits two seconds, pulls gently twice, and ideally says something: there is a bite, it is a big one, it is trying to get away. Two-year-olds shriek with delight, seven-year-olds know perfectly well that it is Dad behind the sheet and find it just as funny anyway.
What goes in, by age
| Age | Works | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 years | Stickers, a small car, a bouncy ball, a plastic animal | Sweets, small things that can end up in the mouth |
| 4 to 6 years | Erasers in fun shapes, a small craft item, temporary tattoos, a bottle of bubbles | Different things for different children |
| 7 to 9 years | Pens, a keyring, a pack of cards, a small puzzle | Anything that takes time to use right then |
The parcel does not need to cost much, and it should not. A child who has fished a bouncy ball out of a fishing pond is just as happy as a child who got something more expensive, because the fishing is the point. Wrap properly, with tape all the way round, so that it takes ten seconds to open. And count on one extra parcel: there is always a sibling nobody had counted on.
The mistake
Different parcels. The moment one child sees that another child got something better, the fishing pond is no longer fun, it is unfair. Buy ten of the same thing, wrap them in the same paper. If you want variety: the same thing in different colours, and let the child choose a colour by saying it out loud before they throw.
Three other things that tend to go wrong
- The child who wants to fish again. Say from the start, out loud, that everyone fishes once. Otherwise whoever is behind the sheet can get three throws from the same three-year-old in twenty seconds. If there are parcels left over once everyone has fished, you can do a second round, but then for everyone.
- The rod that breaks. A stick from the park snaps when a six-year-old pulls as hard as he can. Use a kitchen spoon, an umbrella or a broom, something that can take being yanked.
- The quiet child who does not dare. Some child will not want to come forward while everyone is watching. Let them go together with another child, or fish last of all when the others are already opening their parcels and nobody is looking any more.
Variations
- Double fishing. Two children fish at the same time, quicker with lots of guests.
- Rhyme fishing. The adult says a rhyme about what is being clipped on, and the child guesses before pulling it up.
- The fishing pond as the finale. The parcel is the party bag. The children fish on their way out.
- A themed fishing pond. If it is a pirate party, the sheet is the sea and the parcels are treasure. If it is an animal party, it is a forest and the animals are biting. It requires nothing extra, just the adult behind the sheet saying the right things.
- The fishing pond on an ordinary day. Works just as well on a rainy Saturday with a single child and five parcels: a box of raisins, a sticker, a note with a riddle. The child fishes one parcel every half hour.
Where the fishing pond fits in the party
| Timing | Why it works | Bear in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Right when everyone has arrived | A calm start, the children get something to hold | The last guests miss it if they arrive late |
| In the middle, after a wild game | The pulse comes down, everyone sits | Have the parcels out beforehand, otherwise you lose the pace |
| Last, as the finale | The parcel is the party bag, a natural ending | The parents collecting have to wait a while |
The fishing pond goes with almost every other game in our collection of Party games for kids by age, and if it is a calm moment you need between the treasure hunt and the cake, this is it.
How we do it with our families
The fishing pond is the game the nanny most often gets to run at the party, because it needs an adult behind the sheet for twenty minutes, and those are twenty minutes you do not otherwise have. She brings her own string and clothes peg in her bag. Sanna, who has been with us since June 2024, usually asks the family to wrap the parcels the evening before and put them in a basket behind the door, so that she can sit down behind the sheet while the parents welcome guests in the hallway. She calls out the child's name before she clips on the parcel, and the little ones get help holding the rod from whoever fished before them. That way nobody stands around waiting, and the older child gets a job.
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Read more: Party games for kids by age · Treasure hunt for a kids' party · Children's birthday party at home · Prices
Frequently asked questions
What do you put in the fishing pond?
Small things, one per child, the same for everyone: a small toy, stickers, a bouncy ball, a pencil sharpener, a small bag of raisins. No sweets for children under four, and nothing that can cause envy. Count on one extra parcel, because there is always a sibling or a cousin nobody had counted on.
How do you make a fishing rod?
A stick or an umbrella handle, a metre of string and a clothes peg at the end. The peg holds the parcel. No hook is needed, and a wire hook is in fact the only thing in the fishing pond that can hurt someone. A kitchen spoon with string tied round the handle works exactly as well as a real stick.
Who sits behind the sheet?
An adult or an older sibling. Whoever sits behind should have the parcels sorted and hear which child is fishing, so that the right child gets the right thing if they are named. She should also give the string a little tug before the parcel is clipped on, because it is the tug the children remember, not the parcel.
At what age does the fishing pond work?
From age two, with help holding the rod, to about nine. Ten-year-olds think it is babyish but fish anyway if you let them do it ironically, or if you let them sit behind the sheet and handle the biting for the little ones. That is often the role they really want.
How long does the fishing pond take?
About a minute per child, so ten guests is ten minutes plus the opening. Building it takes ten minutes if the sheet and string are to hand. Put it in the middle of the party as a calm break between two wild games, or last as the finale when the parcel is the party bag.