To think if you let your child win pass the parcel at their own birthday party it tells me everything I need to know about you.

[FastAway]

Well, am I?

I mean, come on.

Ahhh... I always feel bad when I go to a kids party and the birthday child doesn't win!! And especially bad if one of mine win instead!! I'd rather the birthday boy/girl win!

YANBU.
A layer for every child, then turn around and go random for the big prize. It's the unwritten rule!

This happened at a recent party. Birthday child’s brother won two layers, birthday child age 6 won the prize.
Also there were only 6 layers.
Why do this? In a room full of presents!
YANBU

Well quite @FastAway
And as for letting them eat their own birthday cake

Yabu

It sounds like you have a boring life if this preoccupies you so much. Different people do things differently, live and let live etc.

Personally, I put a prize in each layer, and more layers that guests, so everyone 'wins'

We just throw the parcel into the circle of children and let them fight over it.

The adults bet on the sidelines.

When I was mid-twenties I was helping at my cousin's 5th birthday. My aunt had to explain to me that I was meant to make sure every child got a layer. I thought you hist turned your back and stopped/started the music at random so if one child got 4 layers and 3 others got none that was just the luck of it.

DS will be 4 next year and having his first proper party. Not decided yet but there's a good chance we'll stick with my original assumption and not look when stopping and starting so not controlling it at all.

No, I don't think the birthday child should win. Yes it's their party but this is too grabby. Especially when that's fixed and musical chairs is too. The best party we went too had a parents pass the parcel alongside the kids. We were all a bit what on earth, but the gift was a miniature bottle of gin with a label 'for when you get home from the whole class party hell'. Bloody genius .

I remember one incredibly stage managed pass the parcel involving check lists (the prizes were all the same) and the birthday childs parents falling out over one of them not stopping the music in time to tick the next child off the list!

@LazyDaisey
Best reply ever!

Last month I went to an eco friendly party where the birthday boy 'asked' for a few ££ or a toy other children had grown out of so nothing new was bought. Pass the parcel was brown paper with sweets in each layer. Birthday boy won the prize as that's the only 'new' thing he'd get for his birthday party. Fine by me in those circumstances. Where birthday child has a million presents stacked on a table it's poor form.

Unless the birthday child is a spoilt brat then No , they do not get the prize
I never did and nor did my DCs at their birthdays . Can't say they ever went to a party where the birthday kid won the pass the parcel . .Don't they get enough ? [hmmm]

Is it usual to make sure the birthday child does not win other games, such as Pin the Tail? I've heard of using the birthday child to "demonstrate" the game, and then saying "now the game begins". Another parent took extra care when blindfolding the birthday child, and spun them much more than the others.

@GlendaSugarbeanIsJudgingYou

@Kanga83

I love that idea why did I never think of it when mine were little lol..

Can honestly say I've never been to a party where the main prize was rigged, I was lucky if I got the little "lovelies" to sit still for the bloody game haha x

The birthday child never wins. What would be the fun in that for the guests if they knew from the outset they wouldn’t win? It’s really awful manners if the birthday child won. I’ve never been to a party where that happened, thank goodness.

Birthday child gets enough presents.
The only time ive seen birthday child win was a genuine accident and the parent was mortified.

Wait, what? I'm glad I read this thread before my DD Is at pass the parcel age I always remember at birthdays we would all get a sweet each and the Bday child would get the last one. Wasn't a present though, they would just unwrap the last part.

I would also say it's unusual for the birthday child to win PTP - it is usually a guest!

This thread has reminded me that at a whole class party, someone tried two parcels going round at once - the choreography to make sure everyone got a gift (it was two many-layered parcels with the intention of everyone getting something) was a wonder to behold. I would not recommend this method, unless you have a lot of parents willing to signal the music player

I went to a friend's kid's birthday party several years in a row. Birthday child always won the Pass the parcel. I did find it a bit odd. I always tried NOT to have the birthday child win the prize

I hope this will make you laugh.
When I was 6 my mother organised a birthday party in our local village hall.
Super, except she forgot to tell me that I wasn't allowed to win any of the games.
Result: I walked out and was on the way home to my daddy, when a friend's mother chased after me and explained.
Worst birthday I ever had.
I am 61 now and have not had a birthday party since I was 4,0 at which parents were present, they invited themselves. Smug idiots, who are now both dead.

At dd’s bday party this year a friend did the music for pass the parcel, she was getting really stressed that I had no idea how many layers I had done and so couldn’t tell her which was the last as she was determined that dd should “win”. Like you I am of the “anyone but dd” mindset.

@RickOShay my children get a birthday Ryvita, the one with raisins in if the birthday ends in a 0.

I should just state for the record that I do indeed have a boring empty shit crappy rubbish vacuous friendless joyless terrible life which is why I have started this thread. Apologies to anyone with full joyful busy fulfilling wonderful lives who is being forced to read it and type replies.

I can remember taking a probably 5 yr old DD to a party, and she won the PTP prize (a Spongebob pencil case. Yes, I still remember 8 years later). The birthday girl then had a massive strop, and her mum wheedled DD into giving it up in return for a balloon. I was really

YANBU at all.