Pass the Parcel

Set up

Wrap the prize in one sheet of paper, then keep adding sheets over it, taping each one closed. If you want every layer to hold something, tuck a small treat or a folded slip under each sheet before you wrap it. Count the layers as you go so you know how many turns the parcel gives.

Seat the players on the floor in a circle, close enough to hand the parcel on without standing up. Pick one person to run the music, ideally an adult who is not playing.

How to play

1. Start the music. The players pass the parcel around the circle, one person at a time.
2. The music controller stops the music without warning.
3. Whoever is holding the parcel removes one layer, and only one. If there is a treat or slip inside, it is theirs.
4. Start the music again, and the parcel goes on around the circle.
5. Keep going until the last layer comes off. The player who unwraps it keeps the prize.

Keeping it fair

The controller should not watch the circle while pausing, or children will suspect favorites. Turning away and stopping at random works for older groups. With young children, it is kinder to watch and stop the music so that each child gets a layer before anyone gets a second turn. Small children rarely notice the quiet steering, and it heads off the upset of being skipped.

Make a rule that the parcel must keep moving. Holding on to it while the song plays, or throwing it, sends it straight to the next player.

What to put in the layers

For young children, think stickers, a temporary tattoo, a sheet of paper with a drawing to color, or a wrapped cookie. If any child at the party is under three, leave out anything small. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission bans toys with small parts for children under three because of the choking risk, and loose party favors can be just as small.

As for speed, one layer per player gives every child one stop of the music. More than about twenty layers starts to drag for a small group.

A Christmas version

Wrap each layer in a different Christmas paper and play carols while the parcel goes around. For older children, a candy cane or a small ornament fits between the layers, and the center prize can be something the whole family can share, such as a box of cookies or a board game.

Ways to change it

• Holiday family version: put a short task on each slip that anyone can do, from grandparents to toddlers: sing a line of a song, name three reindeer, tell a joke.
• Adult version: fill the layers with slips of silly forfeits, like speaking in an accent until the next stop or doing an impression of the host. Keep them light enough that nobody dreads unwrapping.
• Question layers: each slip asks a question the holder answers before the music starts again.
• Reverse: when the music restarts, the parcel changes direction.

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

Pass the Parcel suits children from three to about eight, birthday parties and family gatherings where people are happy to sit on the floor. It needs wrapping time the night before. Older children often find it slow unless the layers hold forfeits. It does not work well for groups larger than about sixteen, because players wait too long between turns.