Christmas Party Games: Our Family’s Favorite

Even if you’re trying to reduce your use of gift wrap this holiday season, as I am, you can bet that a fair amount of wrapping paper will still cross your threshold. Instead of just recycling that paper this year, start making a gift wrap ball that you can enjoy during the next holiday season. It’s become a much-anticipated family tradition around here and one of our favorite Christmas party games.

christmas wrapping paper game

Try one of our favorite Christmas party games

Begin by wrapping a small prize (or if you have teens, cold, hard cash) in a section of used gift wrap. Layer on additional wrap to create a ball, securing it tightly. Throughout the year, on birthdays and other holidays, add more layers of salvaged gift wrap to the ball. By the time next December rolls around, you’ll have an impressively sized ball.

  • Short of gift wrap? Raid the recycle pile and use newspaper or magazine pages. I use cardboard, Tyvex envelopes, and packing material, too.
  • To secure the layers, I use yarn, string, and leftover ribbon bits along with tape.
  • The bigger the ball, the better, especially if you have a large group.
  • There are no points for beauty. Martha Stewart would not approve.
  • Use different kinds of tape for each layer, and alternative wrapping materials, too. It will prolong the game and give a second life to weird bits of plastic before it lands in the recycle bin.

To play, have family members sit in a circle with the ball and a pair of dice. One player begins unwrapping the ball as fast as he can while the player to his left rolls the dice repeatedly until he gets a 7. When he does, the ball is passed to him to unwrap, and the dice are passed to the next player. Ripping and dice-rolling continues until someone finally reaches the prize and claims it as the winner.

Here’s what we’ve found: Kids? Grandparents? Once the dice start rolling, they’re all in it to win it.

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About the author: Kris Bordessa is an award-winning National Geographic author and a certified Master Food Preserver. Read more about Kris and how she got started with this site here. If you want to send Kris a quick message, you can get in touch here.

5 comments… add one
  • Lisa Dec 12, 2021 @ 13:51

    I like to change things up and when the gifts are too big for the ball, I wrap numbers on small pieces of paper and the person that gets that number finds the corresponding gift with that number. One year, each person had to wear 1 oven mitt and a baseball cap. Not sure if we’re gonna do the ball this year because a lack of gifts, but I like the idea of starting to collect gifts now for next year.

  • Jennifer Margulis Jan 10, 2013 @ 19:40

    Sounds like a fun game. I love this idea! We use old calendars and maps to wrap gifts. But despite trying not to buy wrap there’s always a lot at the holidays.

    • Brenda Feb 26, 2014 @ 9:23

      we have played this fun game but we use OVEN MITTS to make it even crazier!!

      • Kris Bordessa Feb 26, 2014 @ 9:26

        THAT is hilarious. We might have to implement that!

      • Bev Oct 27, 2020 @ 12:12

        I’ve seen a video with it being played with oven mitts on it was a hoot

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