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Passing the Parcel

Players sit in a circle and pass a parcel while music plays. When the music stops, the player holding the parcel opens a chit and does the small task on it.

Players
6 or more
Time
15 minutes
You need
A parcel or cushion, music, chits
Ages
4 and above
Type
Party games

Who it suits and when to play

Passing the Parcel suits parties with a wide range of ages, from four years up, and it is a favourite at birthdays, kitty parties and festival get-togethers. Nobody loses badly, because being "out" means doing a small, funny task. Choose tasks to fit the guests: easy ones for small children and elders, and nothing that could embarrass anyone.

How to play

  1. Write tasks on chits and put them in a bowl, or wrap a small gift in many layers of paper with a chit in each layer.
  2. Sit in a circle. Start the music and pass the parcel from hand to hand.
  3. When the music stops, the player holding the parcel picks a chit and does the task.
  4. In the knockout version, that player then leaves the circle. In the friendly version, everybody stays.
  5. The last player in the circle, or the one who opens the last layer, wins the gift.

Tasks for the chits

  1. Sing two lines of a song from your school days.
  2. Walk like a model from one end of the room to the other.
  3. Say "kaccha papad, pakka papad" five times, fast.
  4. Act like a cricket umpire giving three different signals.
  5. Tell everyone your favourite dish, without using its name.
  6. Laugh in three different styles.
  7. Count from 20 to 1 backwards without a mistake.
  8. Do your best impression of a news reader.
  9. Name five fruits in five seconds.
  10. Dance for ten seconds without music.
  11. Balance a book on your head and walk ten steps.
  12. Say something nice about the person on your left.
  13. Speak for 20 seconds about "my favourite season".
  14. Make the sound of three animals.
  15. Recite the table of 7 up to 7 × 10.
  16. Sell an imaginary pen to the group in 20 seconds.
  17. Stand on one leg until the next chit is opened.
  18. Name five cities that begin with the same letter as your name, or as many as you can.
  19. Act as if you are eating a very sour lemon.
  20. Tell a clean joke.

Tips and variations

Common problems and how to fix them

More party games

Need fair teams or someone to go first? Use the team maker. See all 45 games.