Imagine a group of small children at a party sitting in a circle and passing, in orderly fashion from one child to the next, a nicely wrapped present. Music is playing and suddenly it stops. The child holding the parcel at that moment starts to open the parcel. They remove a layer of paper only to find another layer. The music recommences and the parcel begins to move again. Eventually after the music has stopped several times, and several layers have been removed, a parcel, much-reduced in size, stops with a child who gets to remove the last layer discovering that they are the winner and the lovely prize is theirs to keep.

Setting Up the Game

You will need:

• A nice present
• Several sheets of different-coloured wrapping paper
• Sticky tape
• Scissors
• A music tape or CD¹,
• Something to play the music on

Making the Parcel

Well before the party begins, cut down the wrapping paper so that you have just enough to cover the present and wrap it using the sticky tape to secure the loose edges. Then choosing a different coloured sheet of paper, wrap the parcel again in the same way. Continue to do this until you have it covered with many layers of differently coloured papers. The different colours help the children to know which layer they are taking off and there is less chance of making mistakes by removing several layers at once.

Playing the Game

Sit the children in a circle, either on chairs or straight on the floor. Explain the rules, that they must pass the parcel in one direction while the music is playing. When the music stops so does the parcel and the person holding the parcel gets to remove a layer. The music will then restart and the parcel moves on in the same direction.

Alternatives

When you are wrapping the parcel include a sweet within each layer. This will help to keep interest in the game and children will want to open the layers for the small prizes.

Write a forfeit - a short instruction for the child to carry out if they unwrap a layer. This could be to sing a song, say a nursery rhyme, or pretend to be an animal or something similar.

Prizes within layers slow down the parcel as children want to hang onto it. Forfeits may speed it up if children feel embarrassed at public performance. If a child has difficulty with a forfeit you can say in a loud voice 'Come on everyone, let's all say Simple Simon', or whatever it is.

You may find that the game is so popular that the children want to play it again - so you may wish to have another parcel ready made for a second go!

Hints and Tips

• It's best to have two people to supervise the game - one with the children passing the parcel and one controlling the music player.
• The person with the children should work in partnership with the person who is controlling the music. It is best if they can see each other face to face so that winks and nods can be shared without having to alert the children to them. You may agree beforehand that if the random stopping of the music seems to be by-passing a section of children, that the person with the children will wink at the appropriate time for all of the children to have a chance at removing a layer.
• The central present is quite important. If the children are boys and girls, have a non gender-specific present. Also children are often dismissive of presents that are healthy. A banana in the centre once caused a little girl to cry as she thought it was a booby prize!