Pass the Parcel
Pass the parcel is one of the best known children's party games.
Here's how to do it.
First you will need a suitable prize.
Choose a unisex prize which is not too big and easy to wrap.
You can use birthday or Christmas wrapping paper if you wish, however the children will enjoy the game whatever paper is used.
I have seen newspaper, brown wrapping paper and even wallpaper used successfully.
It is important not to over sellotape these wrappers because we want to make it easy for the children to get them off.
Wrap the prize up, but between each wrap place a sweet.
Remember to choose sweets which already have wrappers on them and which are unlikely to melt if in a warm room.
For example: avoid anything with chocolate on it.
Do as many wraps as you like, the more the better, and don't forget, the children will happily play a second game if you have another parcel.
To get the children to play, switch any party music off.
Hold the parcel up high in the air and shout as loud as you can "Who wants to play pass the parcel" The best tone to do it in is to put much emphasis on "Pass the Parcel.
" The children will crowd around you, now tell them to hold hands and form a circle around you like ring a ring a rosies.
Tell them to make as big a ring as possible.
Some will break the ring and will need to be encouraged to hold hands again.
Once you have a suitable sized ring, tell them to sit down.
Do this by shouting "Now sit down" (Remember you are still in the middle of the ring) and then go through the motion of bending your knees with your palms facing down, making sure the children can both see and hear you from all the way around.
Effective communication both verbally and by the use of body language is vital when managing children in a party atmosphere.
The latter being more important than the former.
Once the children are in a ring its job and finish.
Give the parcel to the birthday child to start and away we go.
Remember to have a bin bag handy for the rubbish and don't stand in the middle of the ring once the game has started.
Some people split the children into two groups, one for boys and one for girls then run two games at the same time.
If you are going to do a lot of pass the parcel games, for example if you run a children's party business, it is worth purchasing a music player with a remote which will allow you to pay full attention all the time and not have to go running back to the CD player to stop and start it all the time
Here's how to do it.
First you will need a suitable prize.
Choose a unisex prize which is not too big and easy to wrap.
You can use birthday or Christmas wrapping paper if you wish, however the children will enjoy the game whatever paper is used.
I have seen newspaper, brown wrapping paper and even wallpaper used successfully.
It is important not to over sellotape these wrappers because we want to make it easy for the children to get them off.
Wrap the prize up, but between each wrap place a sweet.
Remember to choose sweets which already have wrappers on them and which are unlikely to melt if in a warm room.
For example: avoid anything with chocolate on it.
Do as many wraps as you like, the more the better, and don't forget, the children will happily play a second game if you have another parcel.
To get the children to play, switch any party music off.
Hold the parcel up high in the air and shout as loud as you can "Who wants to play pass the parcel" The best tone to do it in is to put much emphasis on "Pass the Parcel.
" The children will crowd around you, now tell them to hold hands and form a circle around you like ring a ring a rosies.
Tell them to make as big a ring as possible.
Some will break the ring and will need to be encouraged to hold hands again.
Once you have a suitable sized ring, tell them to sit down.
Do this by shouting "Now sit down" (Remember you are still in the middle of the ring) and then go through the motion of bending your knees with your palms facing down, making sure the children can both see and hear you from all the way around.
Effective communication both verbally and by the use of body language is vital when managing children in a party atmosphere.
The latter being more important than the former.
Once the children are in a ring its job and finish.
Give the parcel to the birthday child to start and away we go.
Remember to have a bin bag handy for the rubbish and don't stand in the middle of the ring once the game has started.
Some people split the children into two groups, one for boys and one for girls then run two games at the same time.
If you are going to do a lot of pass the parcel games, for example if you run a children's party business, it is worth purchasing a music player with a remote which will allow you to pay full attention all the time and not have to go running back to the CD player to stop and start it all the time
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