Hen Party Pass The Parcel | A Simple Step By Step Tutorial

An oldie but a goodie, we all know how to play Pass The Parcel! There’s no getting away from some organised fun when it comes to hen parties. If you’re planning a hen do, it’s always a good idea to have a few organised activities up your sleeve in case the energy starts to lag. The key to a good hen party is keeping momentum. Games, activities and a well thought out plan will keep the hen party going.

Of course we are biased – we are a little bit obsessed with hen party games at HenBox. But in our humble opinion, hen party games are a MUST! They get the party started and break the ice.

A Hen Party Gift And Game All In One!

That being said, what’s better than a game and a gift all in one?

That’s right. You can combine the two! Of course, ultimately you decide what you place between each layer of wrapping. You know your audience so you’ll know what to choose for each layer. But the idea is to have a few gifts for your guests and the bride.

You can rig it so the bride wins the final layer of wrapping (the one right in the middle). That means at the end of the game the bride has a lovely gift. We like to use a hen party accessory such as a T-Shirt, sash or rosette. Nothing too bulky or it’ll be difficult to wrap the rest of the layers. Then the following layers surrounding it, can be filled with whatever you want.

How To Make Hen Party Pass The Parcel

Read the steps below to find out how it’s done:

Step One: Gather Your Supplies

As we mentioned above, what you decide to wrap up between the layers is up to you. You know your bestie best. You know what’ll make her laugh. And it should be fun.

You want to have a mix of gifts and questions and dare cards. Use the 60 / 40 ratio for gifts to question or dare cards. So if you have 10 layers, you’ll have 6 gifts and 4 question or dare cards.

Think about the amount of layers you are wrapping. If you have 20 guests, we recommend having at least 10 layers. That way, half your guests will get to unwrap a parcel. If you want to be super duper fair create a layer per guest so everyone can have a go!

What You’ll Need To Make Hen Party Pass The Parcel

1. Tissue Paper – To make it colourful, choose tissue paper in a few different shades. Pink is always popular for hen parties.
2. Hen Night Confetti – This is not a necessity but it does make it fun to open. You can use any kind of confetti you want. (But please be aware, it does involve quite a lot of tidying / cleaning up afterwards as the confetti tends to go everywhere.)
3. A Pretty Ribbon – To wrap up your final layer.
4. Sticky Tape
5. Little Note Cards – We used heart shape note cards but any will do. Alternativly little pieces of paper or card will work.
6. A Pen – To write on the note cards.
7. A Gift For The Bride To Be – We used a rosette but you can use whatever you want. Make sure it isn’t too bulky or it’ll be hard to wrap.
8. Gifts For The Other Guests – We used little hen party badges but you can use whatever you want.

 Step Two: Wrap Your First Layer

• If you want to rig the Hen Party Pass The Parcel so that the bride wins the final round, you’ll need to wrap the gift for the bride first. Remember it works in reverse order. So whatever you wrap first will be opened last.
• We recommend choosing something quite flat, nothing too bulky. This will make it easier to wrap the rest of the layers around it.
• You know your bride to be best so choose a gift or hen party accessory you think she’ll love!
• Place it on a piece of tissue paper, scatter some confetti and wrap it up. 

Step Three: Want To Rig It?

Step Four: Gifts For Your Guests!

• Next step, place the parcel you just wrapped on another piece of tissue paper.
• Place a gift for your guests on top. (You can just about see the blue Hen Party badge that we used for this layer!)
• Sprinkle on some confetti.
• Wrap it up.  Your hen party pass the parcel is beginning to take shape!

Step Five: Pose A Question

• Next step, place the parcel you just wrapped on another piece of tissue paper.
• To make the Pass The Parcel a bit more interactive, you can place note cards between some of the layers with dares or quiz questions about the bride. If you’re having trouble thinking of any, you can ask your guests to send you some suggestions.
• Be aware of your audience when you write these notecards! You want it to be fun but you also don’t want to embarrass anyone.
• Place the note card on top of the last parcel.
• Sprinkle on some confetti.
• Wrap it up

Step Six: Layer Up

• Now it’s time to repeat the process! If you don’t want the game to be predictable, don’t alternate between gifts and notecards. Instead do this at random.
• For example, wrap a layer with a gift, then another gift, then a notecard, then a gift, then a notecard, a notecard, a gift etc. This means they won’t be able to guess what’s next!
• Wrap as many layers as you like but try to think about how many guests there are. If you’ve got 20 guests, you’ll want to have at least 10 layers. Think about whether you want each guest to be able to open a layer. Also think about how far your budget will stretch. This could determine how many layers you add.

Step Seven: Finish It With A Bow

(TOP TIP: Remember to create a fun hen party playlist full of the bride’s favourite songs! You’ll need music to play Pass The Parcel!)