Pass the Pumpkins
Supplies: Pumpkins and/or Gourds, music, floor space

Pass the Pumpkins Game Prep
1. You’ll need one pumpkin or gourd for each child. For young kids we like the small gourds and pumpkins as the are easy to pass, affordable and also can be used for decoration.
2. You’ll need music and a way to turn it off without the kids seeing you. We recommend playing classic Halloween songs like Monster Mash or Thriller.
3. Space – Have the kids sit in a circle on the floor or in chairs. You can have everyone face in so they can see each other, which is often easy for younger children, or have them face out which adds an element of suspense.

How to Play Pass the Pumpkins
1. At the start of the game each child but one is given a pumpkin / gourd.
2. They are told that when the music starts pass the pumpkins to their left and keep passing them until the music stops.
3. Start the music and out of sight of the kids, randomly stop the music.
4. The child / player without a pumpkin is out of the game.
5. Remove a pumpkin from the group, start the music and start passing the pumpkins again.
6. Continue playing until you have a winner.

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Pass the Pumpkins Game Tips & Variations
1. Not enough pumpkins for everyone then consider:
a. Break into smaller groups and have the top 3 or 4 in each group move on to the final game.
b. Play with all the pumpkins you have and during the first round is a large elimination round. This method gets tricky as some kids will hold their pumpkin until they get one, so you need to make sure they keep passing.

2. Unannounced prize rounds. It stinks to be the first person out so consider having 1 or 2 prize rounds where the kids get candy or temp tattoos if they are eliminated. We did the 1st person and 7th person out and once the kids noticed that they might get something they seemed to pass the pumpkins more freely.