The Best Party Game Tradition - Saran Wrap Ball

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I made a Saran Wrap Ball 5 years ago for my son's birthday and since then he hasn't let any holiday or occasion go by without forcing me to make a saran wrap ball for the party (which, honestly, I'm okay with!). This game has seriously become one of our favorite birthday traditions. We also make one for Christmas, Easter, and any other family celebration. It's also a great alternative to goody bags! You will see why below.

The saran wrap ball is a game that will have everyone walking away with a handful of prizes.

Skip ahead to:

- Introduction

- How to build the Saran Wrap Ball

- Supplies

- How to Play

- Ideas for Adults Only

- Ideas for Kids Only

- Christmas Themed Ideas

- Secrets, Tips, & Tricks

- Don't & Don't's

- Saran Wrap Ball Printable

Saran Wrap Ball Introduction

This game will quickly become a family favorite, so watch out! Not only is this a game that keeps your adrenaline going, but it's also exciting because everyone will walk away with a handful off prizes! This game will definitely be one of the most exciting parts of your party and will leave your guests impressed and inspired for their next party.

Down below I will teach you how to make the perfect saran wrap ball.

How to build the Saran Warp Ball

Okay, so basically this game is just made up of a big ball of saran wrap that has prizes hidden between the layers. Because of the nature of saran wrap, it will stick to itself, but not the prizes. That means the ball will stay in tact, but the prizes will fall out seamlessly as you unwrap.

Make it fun: If you are able to find different colored plastic wrap, that can make the game even more exciting and it can help keep to the theme of your party.

You'll want to make sure that you buy one "wow" prize that you place at the center of the ball. Start by wrapping the "wow prize" and then continue to wrap around the prize, adding more prizes as your wrap. Make sure you turn the ball in all different directions so that it forms a ball shape and so that there are prizes on all sides of the ball. Continue adding saran wrap and prizes until you reach a hefty looking ball.

If you don't rotate the ball as you wrap, you will not get a ball shape and it will be far too easy to unwrap. Make it more fun by rotating the ball the way you would build the base of a snowman.

Some people are maniacs with this ball. If you are playing with people who have no chill, you may want to cut a few patches of saran wrap and wrap those into the mix. The act of needing to find the start of the new piece will force them to slow down. If you are playing with adults and children, and the adults are getting a little too carried away, make the adults wear gloves during their turn to make it more fair for the kids.

Supplies

You may have some items on hand, but you will most likely need to purchase special prizes that will fit.

What you will need:

- Saran Wrap (2 are necessary if you have a big group or if you'd like the game to last longer)

- 2 Dice (needed for rolling doubles)

- Prizes

- Candy

Make sure you think about the people who will be participating in the game and buy prizes based on them. As stated above, if you can make this game with the right type of prizes, your guests will leave the game with prizes specifically thought out for them, and this can take the place of goody bags.

How to Play

This is one of the easiest games to play and will be fun for all ages. All you need is the saran wrap ball, a group of people, and 2 dice.

- To start, sit in a circle as this will be played like most other games that take turns

- Pick one person to start with the ball

- Player to the left of the person with the ball gets 2 dice

- As soon as the first play starts unwrapping, the player to the left rolls the dice until they get doubles

- As soon as doubles are rolled yell, "DOUBLES!"

- You must stop unwrapping as soon as you hear "DOUBLES!"

- Any prizes you received while unwrapping are yours to keep

- Prizes that are not completely out of the ball at the end of your turn are NOT yours to claim

- Time to pass the ball and dice to the next person to your left

- Keep playing and rolling until the ball runs out!

Ideas for Adults Only

This is a great game even if no kids are involved. To make it more fun for the adults, I've come up with a list of prize ideas.

- Cash

- Gift cards

- Candy

- Hand sanitizers

- Jewelry

- IOU's

- Mini liquor bottles

- Scratch-off Tickets

- Hand written jokes

- Prank prizes

- Coupons (save up your coupons and add them to the ball!)

- Poker chips to trade in for a bigger prize

Ideas for Kids Only

Kids are pretty easy because you can easily go to the party favor section of the store and grab a big bag of prizes to throw in the ball. They also love candy, but here are a few other cute ideas!

- Stickers

- Temporary tattoos

- Cash

- Change

- Dinosaur figurines

- Bracelets

- Slime

- Tickets for a bigger prize

- Candy canes

- School supplies

Christmas Themed Ideas

This is honestly my son's favorite part of Christmas. The saran wrap ball! We create it ourselves, but I'm sure if you ask Santa to make you one, it could turn into a great tradition that is left under the tree to find every Christmas morning.

Here are some ideas for your Christmas version:

- Cash

- Gold Christmas coins

- Mistletoe

- Coal

- Holiday Scratch-off tickets

- Santa naughty or nice list

- Gift cards

Secrets, Tips, & Tricks

One of the most exciting parts of this game is the unveiling of the prizes. Make sure your prizes are fun and special to your guests. I understand that all of your guests are going to be very different and will all have different interests, that's why, at the end of our games, we also "auction off" or trade any prizes we don't want.

Sneaking in a funny note or a handwritten prize for something that won't fit in the ball takes this game to a whole new level. You can also write people's name on pieces of paper and include that in the ball. If the name falls out they either get a special prize or must skip their next turn.

If you're throwing a party or event where not everyone knows each other, this can also be a great ice breaker. It's very hard not to get rowdy while playing this game

Do's and Don't's

There are some very important rules you must follow to have a successful ball.

DON'T:

- Don't wrap the prizes in the same spot of the ball

- Don't just pick one prize and have the whole ball composed of just that one item (all candy, all bubbles, all stickers, etc.)

- Don't rip the ball or tear a new starting point

DO:

- Rotate the ball so the prizes end up all around the ball

- Only unwrap from the starting point of where the last person left off

- Rip the unwrapped tail of the saran wrap ball off when the excess gets too long

- Shop clearance sections of your favorite store even if it's weeks ahead of time (It's good to have a stash)

- Shop Black Friday deals (this game can add up quickly if you're not careful)

- Take pictures & have fun! (I'd love to see the fun! Tag me on Instagram @shopkpp)

Saran Wrap Ball Printable

I've created a digital collection for you with printable prizes, instructions, and a list of prize ideas that you can take with you to the store. Please click the link below.

Once you download it, print it out, laminate it and keep it in your game room for whenever you need it!

This is a great game for birthday's, graduations, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and more!

Have fun!

The Saran Wrap Ball Game Printable.pdf

Download PDF • 2.33MB

If you have any other tips, tricks, or ideas, please leave them in the comments below!