7 Exciting Holi Powder Games For Kids

(Updated February 24, 2025)

The bursts of color that come with the Holi Festival are an iconic part of the rich Indian culture and traditions. People all over the world have been captivated by Holi, leading many to participate in the joy and celebrations on their own. Create an exciting Holi event of your own that’s perfect for kids with these fun games and activities.

What is Holi?

Holi (also called The Holi Festival of Colors) is an ancient and highly revered Hindu festival originating in India. This festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil, the arrival of spring, and the love of the Hindu gods Radha and Krishna.

The Festival of Holi is a dazzling spectacle of vibrant colors, with Holi powder, flower petals, Rangoli art, dancing, and playful festivities. Holi is a time for celebration, new beginnings, and spreading joy.

Learn more about Holi here.

Holi Games Designed for Kids

Holi games are a fun and interactive way to introduce kids to the celebration and all that it represents. Color Powder Supply offers safe, non-toxic powder to ensure that these games are safe for everyone to enjoy.

The Holi Lucky Baloon Game

This is a sure way to start off your games with a burst of color and excitement! Kids of all ages happily join in the fun.

What You’ll Need

Holi powder
Colored water baloons
3-5 Coins

How to Prep

Blow up as many water balloons as expected guests so each guest has a balloon.
Fill each balloon with a packet full of color powder. Try to match up the balloon’s color with your powder color if possible so it is less likely to be spotted.
Depending on your guest count add a coin to 3-5 of the balloons as prizes for the winners.
Put the balloons in a place where guests can easily choose one for themselves when the game begins.

How to Play

Ask guests to choose one balloon for themselves, then give a signal or countdown.
All players break the balloon against their heads, and the lucky ones get a coin in addition to a shower of vibrant color.

For extra fun, fill balloons with water instead of air!

The Balloon Pop Game

If you’d prefer to keep your games a bit less wet, go for a balloon pop game! This game is best for older kids who can safely handle darts.

What You’ll Need

Holi powder
Balloons
Standard darts.

How to Prep

Blow up a few dozen balloons with air and fill them with Holi color powder.

How to Play

Fill the balloons with air and tape them to a board or fence outside.
Players take turns tossing 3 darts to pop balloons, similar to the street fair-style game.
Players win a small prize for popping a balloon and a big prize if they pop 3 balloons with their 3 darts.

Switch it Up

If you’d like the game to end with a piece of Holi decor, hang a white cotton sheet or a blank canvas before connecting the balloons. When the balloons pop, the burst of color is preserved on the sheet or canvas.

Holi Handprints Game

A creative (and quiet!) game for kids of all ages that creates fun decor for the holiday. This game is less messy and can be played by kids and adults alike.

What You’ll Need

Holi powder
A large canvas or a large roll of paper.

How to Prep

Set out color powder in bowls so kids can easily access their chosen colors.
Hang the canvas at an appropriate height so all players can reach it.

How to Play

Ask each player to press their hand into the Holi powder of their choice.
Players take turns jumping as high as possible to high-five the canvas to leave their handprints behind.
The player with the highest handprint wins!

Holi Piñata Game

As a nod to the tradition of Matki Phod (where players work together to steal a suspended pot filled with cream or butter). A Holi piñata is a fun way for both kids and adults to celebrate.

What You’ll Need

Holi powder
A piñata
A bat or broom handle
A blindfold.

How to Prep

Purchase a pinata from a local party store or DIY one together as a fun craft.
Fill it with bulk color powder in different colors and add wrapped candy or small (nonporous) toys.

How to Play

Hang the pinata in an open area outside.
Take turns being blindfolded, spun around at least three times, and swing! As players try to hit and break open the piñata, another person pulls the string it’s hanging from to raise and lower it.
Once the piñata breaks open, everyone rushes to grab the prizes as they are covered in color powder in the process.

Freeze Dance

Dancing is an intrinsic part of the Holi Festival and a fun way to get active with big and little kids alike!

What You’ll Need

Holi powder
A speaker
Music you can pause/play easily.

How to Prep

Have everyone gather together outside in an open area.
Give each child a packet or squeeze bottle of color powder.
Set up a speaker nearby.

How to Play

Tell everyone to dance as the music plays.
When the music stops, all players must freeze in place immediately and hold their position until the music starts again.
Players can throw Holi powder on any players who do not freeze immediately.

Color Tag

Holi color powder tag is a fun way to get everyone involved in Holi festivities, with a colorful twist on a classic kids’ game.

What You’ll Need

Bulk Holi powder
Squeeze bottles
Boundary markers for tag zone.

How to Prep

Gather players together in an open space outside.
Mark off the designated zone for the game of tag.
Give each child a squeeze bottle filled with bulk color powder.
A player can volunteer to be the first player to be ‘it’, or go with the classic 1-2-3-not-it style of choosing who’s first.

How to Play

Players can tag each other using their squeeze bottles to spray Holi powder on their targets.
If any powder sticks, the player is now ‘it’ as the chaser.
Players must stay within the established tag zone at all times. If any player steps out of the game zone, they are now the chaser.

Holi Powder Relay Race

Capture the playful spirit and camaraderie of Holi in a color powder relay race. Challenges can be adapted to be age appropriate for all kids, and organizers can infuse Holi traditions into challenges.

What You’ll Need

Holi powder
Various household items based on chosen challenges.

How to Prepare

Set up a relay course with pairs of various stations. You can have as many or as few stations/challenges as you’d like. Each station is set up with a quick age-appropriate challenge to complete.
Make color powder batons with a paper towel tube filled with Holi powder and seal the ends with tissue paper and rubber bands or glue.

How to Play

Divide players into two teams. Tell one player from each team to stand at a station.
A player from each team completes a challenge at each station before passing the baton to the next team member.
The final team member makes the grand reveal by popping the color powder baton, announcing the team’s win with a burst of color.

More Challenge Ideas

Pichkari: Infuse the tradition of water guns and Pichkari into your Holi celebration. Fill water guns with colored water (simply mix Holi powder with water) and challenge players to squirt a target (or person!) with their Pichkari.

Coin Search: Fill a bucket with water and mix in colored powder until the water is opaque. Drop small toys or coins into the bucket. Players must find an object in the water to move on. Older kids can be blindfolded to make the task more challenging.

Face Paint: Have a brave volunteer match up with each kid at a station. The child uses color powder and water to face paint the adult volunteer’s face. The child must use at least three colors to complete the challenge.
Players write the traditional Holi greeting ‘Holi Hai’ in color powder with their non-dominant hand.
Incorporate one of the other games, like the balloon pop at a station.

Clean Up Made Easy with Color Powder Supply

You don’t have to stress about cleaning up! All color powder is not the same. One thing that sets us apart is our all-natural dyes do not stain skin and clean up from most surfaces easily by simply brushing or blowing off any lingering color powder. Then a bit of regular dish soap and water will clean up any lingering powder.

Guests can save the color of their shirts, or wash it out. To clean color powder-covered clothes, wash clothes separately in cold water with standard laundry soap. Worked-in powder may need a second wash before drying.

Make Your Holi Festival Kid Friendly with These Games

The Holi Festival of Colors is a celebration that embodies new beginnings and the spirit of togetherness. By organizing these Holi activities and games, your kids are immersed in the joyous celebration and rich culture of Holi. Order your Holi powder to be ready to unleash the vibrant colors and create lasting memories with your loved ones