DIY Pass the Parcel Ball Halloween Party Game

So.. I was planning a Halloween Party for the kids. *Cough* Halloween Movie Night (they are too big for “parties now” tsk tsk) and as I was shopping for Halloween treats and goodies, I saw a fun pass the parcel ghost party game in the shops. Hang on, I thought.. I can make my own DIY Pass the Parcel Ghost Halloween Party Game.. (ok, maybe I just thought “Ooh shall I get that”).

I then remembered that we had had one of these “peel and reveal” games at Christmas, disguised as a “Pass the Parcel Sprout”. The game WAS fun, we all enjoyed it, BUT the gifts inside were truly rubbish (think super cheap Christmas cracker toot).

So I was like “naaah” the kids are too old for Halloween stickers and plastic spiders. Let’s make my own with SWEETS! Of course stickers and spiders are great for younger kids. Just mine are 12 and 14! So they would be a bit naff.

Off I went and bought a 6 pack of crepe paper and made a pass the parcel ghostie and a pass the parcel skull for the kids to each unravel one with their friends at their respective Halloween Movie nights.

What is a Pass the Parcel Ball?

Also known as “Peel and Reveal” or “DIY Surprise Ball”, these a combination of the traditional pass the parcel game, suprise ball fad and Christmas cracker toot.

Basically – wrap up a bunch stuff in multiple layers of crepe paper, for kids to unravel….

And as it is Halloween time, we made these into Halloween Surprise Balls. They make a great Halloween Party Game – Whether at home or in the classroom. If doing these in the classroom, you could have two Halloween Surprise Balls going round the class at the same time.

Supplies needed to make your own Spooky Pass the Parcel for Halloween

• Per pass the parcel ghost/ skull – one roll of crepe paper (I bought 6 Rolls 4.5cm x 25m)
• “Things to put inside” (see below)
• Paper scraps to decorate
• Glue stick
• Scissers

Things to put inside your DIY Halloween Surprise Ball

As my kids are now 12 and 14, I have learnt the “hard way” how terrible all the party plastic “toot is”. Sorry, if you are still in the middle of it all and your kids love it! But in my quest to avoid too many sweets when they were little kids, I ended up with rather a lot of random rubbish. That makes me fill with horror when I think of the landfill it creates. Taking me eco hat off though, here are some ideas for your homemade pass the parcel ghostie and skull:

• Small toys – like plastic spiders or Halloween rings
• Halloween stickers and temporary tatoos
• SWEETS (that is what we went for and found the Haribo mini bags worked well
• A gift at the centre of the surprise ball – we did some chocolates for the boys and a handmade crochet pumpkin for the girls (the kids chose these). But you could add:
• Halloween wind up toy or halloween bouncy ball
• Paper jokes (this is what our pass the parcel sprout contained)

In short: think about what you would want to put in a homemade Christmas Cracker and use that!

Cost of making a DIY Pass the Parcel Ball for Halloween

Making these DIY surprise balls cost me £1.30 per roll of crepe paper + the gifts.

The pass the parcel sprout we had at Christmas cost me £5 and all the gifts were 100% toot… I think the pass the parcel ghost I saw in the shops also cost £5. AND I had a quick look for the sprouts – and they cost anything up to £8.99 online! Crazy! Eh?!

So though I spent another £1 on sweets and my daughter made the most adorable mini Pumpkin crochet for the centre, I think £2.30 is excellent value! And the kids would have received the sweets anyway during other party games!

So to me, this cost £1.30 to make really…

If you are making a Christmas version, there are lots of printable jokes online you can add to your surprise balls too (in fact, I now feel I missed a trick, I could have added some of my ghost jokes! I may print these out and hand them to the kids to read out which each prize won!).

How to make a pass the parcel surprise ball for Halloween

Hooray, we have a quick DIY Surprise Ball Video Tutorial on auto play for you. But of course also have our step by step written instructions below!

It doesn’t long to make your own pass the parcel party game for Halloween!

How to make a DIY Pass the Parcel Skull – Halloween Party Games

I say Halloween Party Games.. but I actually made these pass the parcel Halloween games for our Hallowen Movie Night! The kids are now 12 and 14 and they are no longer allowed to be called “kids’ parties”. But a spooky movie night, of course is totally allowed. And no one minds if there are a couple of cheeky games during your move night too.. right? Teehee.

Mind the naughty pets!

Anyway. I digress. As always.

SO. How do we make this novelty family game? It really is VERY EASY!

Gather your supplies.

Take your central gift and wrap it once with your crepe paper.

Use your glue stick to secure it.

Keep wrapping. Add a little glue every few wraps.

Keep wrapping. Add more glue. Keep shaping it as you go.

Add your next gift (in our case Haribo Mini Sweet packets). Wrap once. Add glue.

Keep wrapping.. add glue…

You catch my drift, right?

Just take care, that as you wrap, you keep rotating the ball. And that you keep securing wiht a little glue. The DIY pass the parcel ball will look a little wonky at first, but the sphere shape will start to appear as you persevere.

The glue is important to help secure your wrapping. But also, you don’t want the Halloween Party Game to fall apart as soon as the kids start to peel and reveal, right? By adding glue as you go, you make it harder to access the gifts.

This actually reminds me – that this is also a great eco friendlier alternative to the Saran Wrap Balls that are so popular in the U.S. at Christmas. They are a huge landfill filler.. so steer clear!

Once you have wrapped all your treats, secure again with glue at the end.

Use your hands to shape the ball a little more if it needs it.

Decorate the pass the parcel ball as a ghost or skull

Now cut out some ghost facial features or some skull facial features from black paper and again glue on!

Variations on the Halloween Pass the Parcel Ball

When I spotted the ghost party game in the shops (for £5!), they did also have a Pumpkin Pass the Parcel. So obviously, that is a fantastic alternative. Simply but orange crepe paper and add a cute Jack O’Lantern Face!

You could also make a black crepe paper ball and turn it into a black cat.

You could make a purple crepe paper ball and turn it into a monster or ghoul pass the parcel game.

You catch my drift! Let your Halloween imagination run wild..

Need more Halloween Party Game ideas? Try out DIY Tin Can Bowling Game:

And here are the rest of our Halloween Activities for Families

This DIY Surprise Ball video tutorial is also available on YouTube: