The Giving Ball game, is a crowd pleaser, light on instruction, but heavy on fun. It is perfect for the table centered Thanksgiving Holiday, and has become one of the most loved traditions in my home.

At the mention of Thanksgiving,  your thoughts may turn directly towards food and family. Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to gather around those you LOVE to do just that, love them, talk with them, and be grateful you have them.  It is also one of those great moments that everyone gathers around the table.  Table time has been essential in growing our family culture and if you can clear the food and tablescapes it is the perfect setting to introduce some family fun.

What is the giving ball?  Just imagine for a moment, a giant ball of Saran Wrap, packed with fun prizes, that you unwrap as quickly as possible and keep everything that spills out.

 If the inner kid in you is not yelling YESSSS!  We may need to do a pulse check.

The Giving Ball was introduced to us by my friend Shalee, at Thanksgiving a few years ago and we have continued the tradition.  You can adapt it for any holiday or occasion, but

  • I will tell you right now if you have littles (preschool age) this is not the game for them.   We tried that once because we loved it so much.  This is how it played out ,the second one child steals the ball you get one of two reactions, tears or anger.    Once, it goes the whole circle everyone is sad about it, so skip this game for those under 5 and get a piñata, or another game more suitable for their age.

The Setup

To play you need the ball which you are going to want to make ahead (day before), and two dice. Sit around the table and place the ball in the middle.  Start by giving one person the dice.  They get one chance to roll “doubles” (the same number on both die). If they do, they say “doubles” grab the ball and start unwrapping it.  If they do not they pass both dice to the person on the left who gets one roll attempt at doubles.  This continues around the table until someone gets doubles.  Once someone starts unwrapping the ball, it is their turn until someone else rolls doubles and steals it.  As they are trying to unwrap the ball everyone else is trying to steal it from them by rolling doubles.    The perk, you get to keep everything that falls out during your turn.

So, quick recap.  Everyone gets one chance to roll, if you roll “doubles,” you start unwrapping the ball and keep every prize that you unwrap out of the ball during your turn.  When someone else gets doubles, it is their turn and so on until the ball is completely unwrapped and all the prizes are claimed.  It is a bundle package of thrill and amusement.  It brought about a few belly chuckles.

 

If you would like to start this tradition, here are a few tips/tricks.

Making the Ball:

Funny Story, My husband and I were in charge of making the ball, and may have taken that job a little more seriously than need be. We used industrial wrap, and packing tape to make it more difficult.  We figured with adults it would last longer.  It was intense, but hilarious at the same time.

  • Stretch Wrap works great and you don’t need to tape it.  However, if you want to make it slightly more difficult break the wrap every once in a while and start wrapping in a different direction.
  • We have used this same game for variations of events (Girls Nights, Birthdays, Christmas, but we have settled that it will be our Thanksgiving Tradition)

Stuffing the ball: 

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  • Start with a round bell.  It is a good round base and adds to the excitement because you can hear the jingle as you near the end.
  • Put the best prize toward the center “save the best for last” concept.
  • Approach this  a few ways:
    • 1) Host the ball. Create the ball yourself supplying all the goods.

or another option is

    • 2) Gather Donations.  Allow other players to contribute prizes, by donating either monetarily toward the purchase of prizes, or if they have access to prizes or services (donating merchandise or service time).
  • Cost:  When I have created the ball without donations it costs between $25-$60, with 3 gift cards ($5, $5, $10).  During Thanksgiving with our friends we had everyone donate items, or services, because it can get pretty spendy.  Our Thanksgiving ball had $150 worth of goods in it.  Keep in mind that includes about 4 gift cards; 1 for dinner ($50), 2 ice cream/yogurt/cupcake, and 1 home improvement.  If you do not include gift cards you can complete the ball for a lot less.
  • Ideas:  Consider your receivers and what they would like.  Gift Cards (Food, Gas, Services, Home Improvement). Candy varieties: (chocolate may melt says experience).   Random Extras: chapstick, nail polish, hand tools, oven mitt, hand towels themed for the season, makeup, carwash stuff, the sky is the limit.   We use tokens for the bigger prizes, just write the number on it and they get the prize that lines up with the number.

I hope that you give this a try, and enjoy it as much as we have.