Pass the Parcel Christmas Forfeits

(scroll down for normal forfeits)

1. List the reindeers in alphabetical order (Rudolph included)
2. What is your elf name? Your first name is a cookie that starts with the same letter as your name. Your last name is the word “elf” plus the last half of your regular last name.
3. Put a Christmas decoration behind your back. Players go around the circle asking yes/no questions to guess what it is. They only get twenty yes/no questions.
4. What are five different names for Santa?
5. List five traditional Christmas desserts.
6. Play charades. “Christmas song” is the category.
7. Go around the circle. Everyone has to tell their favorite Christmas joke.
8. The person who unwrapped the present can pick a carol and everyone has to sing it together.
9. Everyone has to go around the circle and say what they want for Christmas the most.
10. One person hides an ornament and everyone else has to look for it as a group getting “hotter/colder” clues.
11. Choose someone to make laugh. They have one minute to make you laugh (without touching you) or they lose.
12. Play musical chairs
13. Someone stands in the middle of the circle and pretends they are Santa. Everyone else sits in a circle and lists off one Christmas item each. Santa then pretends to be doing something and every time he says someone’s item, they jump up and replace Santa (and the old Santa takes their seat).

Pass the Parcel Game Forfeits Ideas

1. Sing Happy Birthday like a snake (with lots of ssssssssssssss).
2. Say Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers five times like a ventriloquist.
3. Act like a T-Rex eating a birthday cake, remember with short arms it’s hard!
4. Everyone sings B-I-N-G-O, but instead of saying the letters B-I-N-G-O, quack like a duck.
5. Do ten cheers for the birthday kid, while you do ten frog jumps (jumping jacks).
6. Play Duck Duck Goose or Grey Duck for one round.
7. Sing Heads Shoulder Knees and Toes backwards. Example Toes Knees Shoulders Head shoulders head.
8. Play a round of Charades. If you’re out of ideas, pick the last movie you’ve seen.
9. Everyone does the chicken dance.
10. Sing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with all the added words. Who cares if it’s not Christmas! It’s a fun song!
11. Play Guess the Leader: Whoever unwrapped the parcel must leave the room. Choose a leader who will do different actions that the group will follow. The person who left the room gets three turns to guess the leader.
12. Play a round of Eye Spy. Choose something birthday related.
13. Hop on one leg ten times while patting your head and rubbing your tummy.
14. Play telephone (Chinese whispers). Make your sentence party related.
15. Sing Do You Ears Hang Low of course with actions.
16. Play Rock, Paper Scissors with the person next to you.
17. Cluck Happy Birthday like a chicken.
18. Everyone makes farting sounds with their hands one by one around the circle.
19. Sing your national anthem by making kazoo sounds.
20. Pick a TV theme song and everyone must hum it.
21. Use the birthday kid as a puppet. Move their arms or legs until people guess what he’s doing. (Have him blowing out the candles on a cake).
22. Name the 7 colors in the rainbow. Hint for younger kids: ROY G BIV
23. The person who gets this card picks a famous person or TV character. Every else must sing happy birthday pretending to have that person’s voice.
24. Name three nursery rhymes where sheep are involved.
25. Come up with a fruit for every letter of the alphabet. Get help if you need it.

Pass the Parcel was one of my favorite birthday games growing up. I still remember the first time I setup the forfeits for a group of kids who had never played it before. They were crazy about it! One mother even told me her son made his own version of Pass the Parcel and the whole family played it the next day because he loved it so much. That excitement for the game is what inspired me to write this blog post.

What is Pass the Parcel?

Pass the Parcel is a party game where people sit in a circle and pass a pre-wrapped parcel (present) from one person to the other while music plays. When the music stops, the person with the parcel unwraps one layer. Each layer has a forfiet (fun activity) written on it. This sequence continues until all layers are unwrapped. The last person to unwrap the present is awarded the prize inside.

How do you make a Pass the Parcel?

Start with a gift. I personally think it’s a good idea to have a prize that that can be shared by everyone in the group. For example, my mother would often wrap a bag of lollipops or noise makers.

Wrap the gift as many times as you have energy for. If you want to be fancy, you can use different paper between each layer… or you can keep it simple and use newspaper like we did as kids. Between each layer, write a note for the person to do when they unwrap that layer. I have included a good list of forfeits below.

The music can either be played on the piano or on your ipad etc. Some parents even prepared music prepared with stops in it so all they had to do was push play.

How do you keep everyone happy during Pass the Parcel?

It is important that each child gets a turn to unwrap the gift, so it’s a good idea to have the adult in charge of the music. Growing up I always thought the grown up in charge had their back turned while we passed the parcel around, but they must have kept a secret on the game in order to stop the music so that everyone got a turn.

Remember that some kids can feel self-conscious doing activities in front of a group, so try to write your forfeits so that everyone can participate. Instead of having one kid roar like a lion, have everyone roar at once to see who is the loudest. Doing the forfeit as a group is also helpful for younger kids since they might not know the words to a song.

If adults are playing too, make sure at least one of them gets a chance to unwrap the parcel.

Have fun!

You may also like…

100 Book Character CostumesChristmas Jokes For KidsOnline Kids MadlibsShort Kids Poem: Chocolate Poem