3 yr olds party - who wins pass the parcel?

[Stars66]

Who wins? I get that every child has a layer with little prize / sweet etc but should the birthday girl get the prize in the middle?

No! They get enough presents. Has to be someone else.

No I don't think the birthday child should win, they already get lots of presents!

Absolutely not, it's just whoever it lands on last, surely?!

No way! Choose the kid you like the most/has behaved the best/been a bit quiet

Whoever it lands on.

Noooo! You try to make sure everyone gets a turn of opening one. And whoever opens it last gets the prize.

In my house the birthday child decides before hand who they would like to win. But it is a surprise for everyone at the party.

Anyone but the birthday girl. And you have to make sure that everyone gets to remove a layer, otherwise there will be tears. Plus, at 3yo, every time someone gets to remove a layer, they will then get bored and wander away. So basically, whoever has the longest concentration span gets the prize

I was thinking of using the pass the parcel to give her one present!

Maybe the main prize will just be a couple of the variety in the other layers and a bag of sweets and leave it to random!

I always did a few packets of sweets in each layer that they had to distribute around them - that way I only ever did a maximum of 10 layers so no-one got bored. Yes it means that some don't get to open a layer but they never complained as they all got sweets!!I was also able to do it totally randomly with my back to the children so there was no favouritism.

I'd make sure that the final winner doesn't miss out on sweets as small children don't always appreciate a proper present when everyone else is tucking into sweets.

Not the birthday child. If you have other games that are less easy to manipulate, then the child who hasn't / is less likely to win anything else.

Bearing in mind that 3 year olds move fast and have no scruples, so games are harder to manipulate than you think!

You as the music-stopper don't look!! If the person it lands on has already unwrapped a layer then they pass it on to the next person who hasn't. Or at least that's how it was at all the parties I went to in the 90s!!

I just put the same thing in the middle that I put between each layer, and ensure each child opens one layer.

I know that's not the traditional way, but the first children's party I did pass the parcel at 7 years ago resulted in explaining again and again to a totally flummoxed German mum why her son was bringing a present home :o The kids here don't play pass the parcel but mine insist on it (or now the older ones insist on it for the youngest, who agrees) so we've adapted it a bit. Actually I think its better this way!

Definitely the party child does not win pass the parcel though!

The person sitting opposite the birthday girl wins

My mum used to put on a layer for every child and put a small toy or sweety in each layer and make sure each kid got a turn but the kid who was quietest used to 'win.' Confidence builder.

It's more difficult than you expect to be the music-stopper and to make sure everyone has a layer (and yes there should be small prizes each layer - you can buy party-bag-filler type toys at £1 for 6 at places like tesco and asda) but definitely the birthday child should not be the winner, nor should the birthday child be allowed to choose the winner. I would always try to choose whichever child has been least riotous/most nervous earlier on in the party (you always get some 3yo who feels overwhelmed) or if I know that there's a child there with more challenging family circumstances who gets less joy in their lives than others, then that child gets to be the winner.

Don't do it. Not at 3. I've seen some hilarious disasters and its very stressful for the music stopper.

If you adopt the 'every child gets something' approach then they tend to wander off and lose interest once they've got something. If you don't, pass the parcel takes 3 hours to complete as each child holds onto the parcel as long as possible and sulks when they don't get anything.

Do something else. Or don't do games and just have lots of toys/activities set up. (We did that and worked out fine. The kids devised a reverse wheelbarrow game where they held a parent by the ankles and walked them round the garden. There was also competitive jumping off the wall. Hours of fun with zero organisation/props).

The way I do it (and they way I've seen it done at all the parties I've been to) is that every child opens a layer, then any remaining layers and the middle are done at random by not looking when stopping the music.

I do pass the chocolate. They pass a huge bar of chocolate around and whoever it lands on is out, so they practically chuck it at each other to get rid. If they are out they can come and choose a sweet/prize from my big tub of goodies.
Never had a problem yet. The kids love it, especially the thought of winning a massive chocolate bar