Needing some great Christmas party game ideas? The Saran Wrap Ball Game is a super fun game for all ages! It’s a must-have for your next party to ensure your guests have a blast.
This game was introduced to me a few years ago and at first, I remember thinking, “what the heck is this?” But once the game got started, boy did we get LOUD! There was a ton of laughter and screaming to “hurry up”, “pass it over”, and “go go go” LOL! It was definitely a game to remember and I have been doing this game at my own holiday parties ever since.
In this post, I’ll explain everything you need to know to have a successful Saran Wrap Ball Game. This includes what you need, how to play, game prize ideas and insider tips to ensure everyone has a blast.
[Disclaimer: Please note this post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a commission if clicked at no extra cost to you. Though the opinions remain my own.]
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need to Play the Saran Wrap Ball Game
You know what’s the best part about this game? It’s extremely inexpensive to make and the prizes you add are completely up to you.
Here is a clickable list of everything you’ll need to make the saran wrap ball game plus some great saran wrap ball game prize ideas.
– Rolls of saran wrap (2 rolls makes a good size ball, but you can make it as small or as big as you choose)
– Jumbo dice (these jumbo size ones are the best kind because they make it easy for everyone to see)
– Santa hat (optional but recommended)
– Christmas oven mitts (optional but recommended)
– Saran wrap ball game prizes and fillers
Lastly, on the day of the game, you will need a big enough space to fit all your guests in one circle. You will want to keep this space as empty as possible to prevent anything from being knocked over or broken because yup, it gets that wild ?
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Saran Wrap Ball Prize Ideas for Adults
Like I said earlier, the size, cost and number of prizes you choose to add are completely up to you. Depending on who the participants will be, I would advise to cater the prizes to something they’ll actually use or like (no one likes to spend money on something that gets tossed to the corner).
And to make it easier on you, this list of awesome saran wrap ball game prizes is completely clickable and will take you directly to view the great suggestions. So let’s go ahead and find out which saran wrap ball prize ideas your guests will love.
Grand Prize Ideas
What? There are grand prizes involved? Yup, there sure is but it’s also completely up to you. It’s definitely a great way to keep the players and the Christmas game exciting as the grand prize is what everyone is aiming to get by unwrapping the ball. So of course this will be the last prize available (and the first you’ll wrap – but we’ll get to that in just a second).
Here are some ideas that make great neutral grand prizes that players will actually want to win:
– Waterproof Bluetooth speaker
– Earbuds
– Amazon gift card (in a box)
Medium Game Prize Ideas
These are the prizes that are still exciting to win but are not as cool as the grand prize. Are these necessary? Only if YOU want but it does keep the game exciting. This is also the perfect time to mix in some needed items everyone can use. I would say 5-10 of these prizes would be enough.
Here’s some ideas you could use as medium game prize ideas for the saran wrap ball:
– Poo-Pourri (you know you’ve been wanting to try it haha)
– Batteries (because everyone hates buying them but are usually needed)
– Lottery tickets (but just let them know that if they win, they have to give you a cut LOL)
Small Game Prizes aka “Fillers”
And lastly, to ensure (almost) everyone can leave the game a winner, the filler prizes! These are literally small, random items of your choosing. I would recommend adding 20+ filler prizes throughout the ball (I mostly do candy with a few others as fillers).
Here are some filler prizes ideas for under cheap (some include gift sets which can be opened and split):
– Lip balm
– Money (small bills like $1’s and $5’s)
– Snacks (granola bars, protein bars etc.)
– Gum, mints, chocolate or candy (lots of it)
Now this list is not at all extensive as there are unlimited prize ideas. But these are some of my favorites that I personally like to use and is a good starting list for you too. For a fuller list of game prize ideas, visit here.
Game Prize Shopping Tips
In addition, here are some tips to consider when shopping for your game prizes. These will help you save money during the holidays but still allow you to grab some great gift ideas during this season of giving.
TIP #1: Buy your grand and medium prizes on Black Friday to save BIG. And don’t worry if you missed out on this sale or if it hasn’t arrived yet. There are still plenty of holiday sales left before Christmas so if you see a potential game prize idea on sale I would scoop it up then to avoid paying full price.
TIP #2: The filler prizes can easily be found at your local grocery store or even the dollar store. You definitely don’t have to spend a lot of money to keep your guests happy so stuff from the dollar stuff will do just fine.
TIP #3: Search for new, unused items around your home. We all know that there are things we just store and put away to never be touched again. Or maybe you bought a little bit too many keychains or magnets whenever you went on your last vacation and have some extras laying around. Use these as saran wrap ball game prizes as well.
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How To Make Saran Wrap Ball
Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the prizes that could be used? Don’t be. It is extremely easy and actually fun to make, at least I enjoy making it each year. So here are the easy steps on how to make the saran wrap ball along with some helpful tips when making it.
3 Easy Steps To Make the Saran Wrap Ball
There are only 3 simple and easy steps to the making this fun Christmas game.
1) Unroll some of the saran wrap onto a flat surface and place your grand prize on top towards the center
2) Wrap the grand prize with several layers of saran wrap to get the ball started
3) Keep wrapping and begin adding some of the medium and filler prizes until you reach the desired ball size
Tips To Keep in Mind When Wrapping
Here are some tips to keep in mind when creating your saran wrap ball.
– Don’t wrap the ball in one direction. This will make it super easy for the players to unwrap so make sure to change the wrapping direction often.
– Cut the saran wrap often to have multiple layers. This will make it it even harder to unwrap because the players would need to find the edge every time a new layer begins.
– Keep the ball airtight and compressed when wrapping to make it more challenging to find the starting points.
– Aim to make the biggest saran wrap ball possible especially if you have a large number of guests attending. This will help the game last longer and ensure more players can win a prize.
– Mix the prizes! With the exception of the grand prize, the rest should be mixed throughout the ball and not in a particular order (ex. medium in middle and small on outside, all lip balms together etc.). Have a variety of prizes popping out as the ball gets unrolled.
How To Play the Saran Wrap Ball Game
Alright, now the fun part. It’s time to learn how to play the saran wrap ball game!
How to Play
There are several ways you can play this. Here, I will explain the version using the Santa hat and oven mitts – but if you opted out of these items, then just skip over these steps.
– To begin, have all the participants gather together in a big circle (you will need plenty of space for this game)
– One player (we’ll reference them as Player 1) should have possession of the ball, Santa hat and oven mitts. The next player (we’ll reference them as Player 2) should have possession of the dice
– The game starts once Player 2 starts rolling the dice to try to land doubles. Meanwhile, Player 1 is quickly trying to put on the oven mitts and Santa hat so they can begin unwrapping the ball (if not using either prop, they can begin unwrapping the ball)
– Player 1’s turn ends once Player 2 lands the doubles. It then becomes their turn to unwrap (hence, becoming Player 1)
– The next person in line then takes over the dice rolling (becoming Player 2)
– The game goes on until the grand prize has been unwrapped!
The trick here is to put on the props quickly so you can begin unwrapping the ball. All prizes each player unwraps are theirs to keep.
Keep in Mind When Playing
Here’s some things to keep in mind when playing this fun game.
– Before beginning, decide if you will go clockwise or counterclockwise (this way, everyone is aware of their turn and can be prepared)
– If using the Santa hat and oven mitt props, Player 1 MUST have these on before unwrapping the ball
– If you don’t want to use both props, then it can be decided that only one prop should be worn while unwrapping (or none at all)
– Poking holes is not allowed!
– Act quickly or you may find yourself without a prize
– Most importantly, HAVE FUN! And remember, it’s just a game LOL! (I’m telling you, it’s gets pretty wild so I had to add this one on here haha)
Related Post: How To Play the Christmas Oven Mitt Game
Have Fun Playing This Fun Christmas Game!
So there you have it. A super cool, fun game for all ages! The next time you host a holiday party (or any kind of party), be sure to introduce this awesome saran wrap ball game and you’ll have your guests wanting to come back for more! (Hopefully that’s a good thing LOL)
Have you played this game before? Do you have any other tips I should add? Please drop a comment below as I would love to hear from you!
And don’t forget to check out the Skittles Candy Game by grabbing the cheat sheets below:
My whole family loves this game! I cut pieces of paper and put in. I write things like you have to name 5 of Santa’s reindeer, and swap one of your prizes with the person to your right, left, across from you etc. Trade your pile with the person across from you, give 1 item of yours to person on your right, take 1 items from person across from you (their choice) etc. It keeps it exciting and fun not knowing what you will end up with and when the game is over we trade!
Someone mentioned playing with Scrabble Tiles. How does that work?
I’m not sure, I’ve never tried it that way but sounds super interesting! Come back and share if you give it a try. 😊
I use small gifts from the dollar store such as emery boards, shower gloves, nail polish, gum, footy socks, travel size products and so on. Also if I have a gift that is too large to wrap, I write the prize on a piece of paper and put in ball or write number on paper to correspond with a wrapped gift. You can shop all year so you have one less thing to do during the holidays.
I love the idea of scrabble tiles. I’m gonna use that this year.
We played on Christmas Eve and everyone loved it! We used bare hands and it was still challenging. For an extra twist I also included random Scrabble tiles in the wrapping. Whoever had the most points at the end got the big prize, but no one knew that until the end. Since it was a small group of immediate family and shopping time was short due to an ice storm some of the prizes were small denomination gift cards and dollar bills, which were a huge hit with the pre-teens! Everyone wants to play it again next year.
Sounds super fun! May I ask what the point is of rolling the dice? Does it somehow effect the person unwrapping the saran wrap? Maybe I missed that part, but I’m a little confused on that. Could you please clarify?
Yes, it’ll determine how long the person unwrapping the saran wrap ball will be unwrapping for as the next person doesn’t go until the person rolling gets a double (the person unwrapping gets to keep all the prizes of everything they unwrapped).
We use these rules: Doubles moves the ball forward, snake eyes reverses the movement. If you have a large group and use 2 balls on opposite sides of the circle and someone rolls double boxcars (double sixes) then they swap balls. Can get confusing but keeps everyone occupied and on their toes when you have a large group.
This thanksgiving will be the first time playing. We are very excited. I want to try and remember to take a video.
We played this for the first time today. It was fun for all. I think next year we will have the kids use mittens. Oven mits put them at a disadvantage because they were so large on them. I plan to cut the saran in more places too, so that it’s not so easy to unravel long strips. That will help distribute prizes more evenly.
This is brilliant! I’ve never played the Saran Wrap Ball Game before but I definitely will. I can’t wait for Christmas now!
hahah we’ve been counting down for Christmas for a while now 😅 I hope you love the game!
Great ideas. My aunt did this with all the kids at our Christmas last year and it was a huge hit!
We did it at my son’s holiday party with his friends also, they loved it too! Next time try it with the adults haha it’s sooo much fun! 🤩
I am reading there is a Santa hat involved, what part does the Santa hat play.?
This part is optional. If you choose to go with the Santa hat, the player will need to put it on before unwrapping (this just gives the game another challenging element for more fun).
Great Post! Thanks for sharing this great idea for a Christmas party game!
Of course! We LOVE playing this game every year! It’s a really fun way to keep everyone entertained 🙂