Create a gift-passing game

Which games can I combine with the gift-giving?

Spin the bottle:When guests arrive, each child should keep their gift. Once all guests have arrived, serve cake first to satisfy the cake hunger. After that, all the children can sit in a circle. A prepared bottle, which you can, for example, fill with streamers or confetti, goes in the middle of the circle. Now the birthday child may spin the bottle. Whoever it points to may hand over their gift and, after unwrapping it, spin the bottle next. If the bottle points to someone who has already handed over their gift, simply spin again. Continue until all brought gifts are handed out and unwrapped.

Draw lots:For this game you hand out small slips of paper as soon as the guests arrive. You can, for example, write small symbols like a sun or a house, or letters and numbers. The matching slips are placed in a hat or cap. When the gifts are to be unwrapped, your child draws the slips from the hat and then receives the present from the guest with the matching slip, may unwrap it, and so on.

Rolling dice:For rolling dice, all the children sit in a circle. You can then give out a die with a color or a number. Decide in advance what the individual numbers mean. For example, a six could mean a gift is handed over, or if it's blue, it may be unwrapped.

Treasure hunt:A treasure hunt is especially popular at children's birthday parties because it entertains and keeps the children active. To do this, collect the gifts as discreetly as possible when the guests arrive and keep them in a safe place. These then go into the treasure chest and are unwrapped as a reward after the treasure hunt. So that the other children are not too disappointed that there was nothing in the chest for them, you can additionally put small packs of colored pencils or a few sweets in the treasure.

Hide-and-seek:In this variation of 'hit the pot' the birthday child is blindfolded once all the guests have arrived and the birthday cake has been eaten. Then everyone may hide the gift they brought. Afterwards the blindfold is removed and your child can start searching for the gifts. The guests can help by shouting "hot" when it's close or "cold" when there is no gift nearby. If you want to increase the difficulty, your child can try to guess who the gift is from after unwrapping it.

Games for handing over gifts – how to make it fun for everyone

Geschenkeübergabe | Mutter hat Tochter auf dem Schoß und packt ein Geschenk aus

Not too long: Celebrating the handing over of gifts is a lovely part of a children's birthday. However, keep an eye on the gifts not taking up the majority of the celebration and make sure the children can still play or do crafts together. Otherwise they will quickly lose interest in the birthday party.
Keep an eye on the mood: Once the first gifts have been handed out and unwrapped, you might notice that the children fidget in their chairs or get up and run around. Then you can interrupt the gift-giving for now and postpone it to later.
Every child is different: Some wait eagerly until they can finally give their gift, others do not necessarily want to sit still and watch someone else receive a present. Don't force the children to participate in the gift-giving if they absolutely don't want to.
What does your child? Most children will probably want to tear open the gifts right after or even during the welcoming of guests to see what's beneath the paper. Practicing a bit of patience can certainly help. However, ask before planning the birthday whether your child would even enjoy combining the gift-giving with a game.