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.

Does it really matter?

Hugely.
Life's not all about winning.
It the taking part. Apparently.

generosity of spirit

😂

Rigging it so your own little darling wins is the opposite of 'generosity of spirit'.

Still no answer from you @Euromillsplz - do you rig it so your child win absolutely everything?

I remember being really sad that I never won pass the parcel.at mine or my brother's parties. I wasn't invited to many others. I think I would explain it to my DCs- not telling them it's rigged of course but perhaps explaining that pass the parcel is a way to give one of our friends a gift back. But then I'd not know what to tell them if other parents rules are different like OPs situation!

I'm with you OP

Awful game but definitely ensure your own child doesn’t get it, if your back is turned then pass to person on right.Birthday child has plenty of gifts anyway.

Everyone keeps saying the birthday child gets tons of gifts, they don't! Not at the party anyway.

So many kids turn up with nothing. I once, years ago, started a thread about how rude it is to turn up with nothing. I think i got banned over it.

Every party we’ve ever been to there is a sweet on every layer and every child gets to unwrap at least one layer (usually a quick survey is taken to check everyone has opened a layer) the actual present never goes to the birthday child - most people do a special colour paper for the final layer and then fix it so that the birthday child does NOT get it. Why would you want the birthday child to get it, they get a tonne of birthday presents? pass the parcel is a good lesson in generosity to another child.

@ThighThighOfthigh I don’t think I’ve ever been to a kids birthday party where kids turned up with no present for the birthday child?!

tab every one I've hosted (my kids are adults now) there would always be at least two. My mum said it was the same back when she was doing it for us.

My DD is about to turn 4 and we go to a lot of parties at the moment. I've never seen someone turn up without a gift. The little lad from yesterday is probably still opening them, he had an absolute mountain of gifts.

The birthday child is the only child who doesnt get the prize. Everyone gets stickers etc in the layers...i did bubbles in middle. Went down well

I wish more children would turn up without gifts!

I don't know the game. No idea what you're taking about... Buuuut:

Yup. Everyone got to open a layer including birthday boy.... last layer which any sane parent turns around for OR chooses the one of their kids friends they like the most, was instead deliberately given to birthday boy

So. Rigged or not rigged? Because if the birthday child simply got it then that's that..
intentionally choosing any child (singling out the child you like the most) seems even worse to me.

But maybe there's something I'm missing. So don't mind me😅

Amongst other things, I am a birthday party entertainer for 0-5s. I HATE doing pass the parcel and it’s in my t & c that parents have to provide the parcel if they want me to do it.
I make sure every child opens a layer (and do the birthday child early on just in case there are only ‘enough’ layers) and once everyone has had a go I turn round and it’s random. I’d never deliberately make the birthday child win unless instructed.
Other party games (I only do a few with this age group) are fair game. If the birthday kid wins, fine. I do try not to let the same kids win everything though.

YANBU

Were you at the party or just your kid? I won't fix the last round, I do it blind though. Last party of DS's with a ptp, he won the last round. So I did it again. The bugger still won... That time I let him keep it. He also won pin the tail on the donkey, but I made him give that prize to the runner up.

Anyway, did you see the circumstances of the birthday child winning?

I never let my children win anything at their own birthday parties. My sister lets my DN win everything at his birthday party and that's why he's a spoilt brat.

Every party I’ve been to the birthday child won. I don’t see the issue

@Iheartdonuts you summed it up mate.

This thread is like pure essence of MN.... overnight we’ve had the patient explaining that People Do Things Differently which is almost always my favourite post in any thread as the poster is always so pleased with their wisdom whilst everyone else is going “yes we know and we completely disagree with how they do it differently” AND now someone saying they’ve never even heard of PTP! Better than a Duchess of Sussex thread when someone comes on saying “I’ve never heard of Meghan Markle who is he please”.

Love it.

My DC are only young so last year for their birthdays to save all the aggro we just did pass the balloon, each time the music stopped a child got to dig in a box full of tinsel for a sweet or plastic tat 🤷‍♀️

Saved the little ones getting upset and its how ill be doing "pass the parcel" in the future, so much easier

We always did it so that the adult doing the music turned round so it was completely random, and did a sweetie in each layer so everyone got something. Up to the time DD was about 5 she only had about 4 or 5 friends round for her parties so we did enough games that everybody won at something.There was one party where DH was friends with the dad of the birthday child and was helping out by doing the music, and in the way he'd always done with our parties, he turned away. Two of the mums were desperately trying to get him to stop the music on their kids, and actually fell out with him and never spoke to him again because he said it was unfair, and he was going to continue doing it at random!! One of them was the mum of the 9 year old birthday child, the other was the mum's friend. Both kids had massive tantrums... and the mums were accusing DH of causing their little darlings to be upset, and swooped in trying to pacify them with sweets.

God parents need to teach their kids young that you can’t always get what you want we had dd2 birthday trip yesterday and two little madams had tantrums! Aged 10! Unbelievable. Dh and I had to turn to drink last night

Back on topic as a child in our family the opposite the birthday child never won as they already had lots of presents. The child that wins is basically the parents favourite kid - usually one who is easy going and polite or the one you feel abit sorry for or who is abit quiet. This is the correct way to do things obviously

I thought everyone did it, so all it would tell me is that the parents are normal.

DC that are small enough to be playing pass-the-parcel are young enough to believe it's 'magic' that the birthday child wins.

There are times to be bracing, and to that the world does not revolve around them. But even I don't see small child's birthday party as a good time for that.