Games to Play at a Trunk Party

A trunk party is a celebration in which guests provide useful items for someone who is going away. Usually a trunk party is for a departing college student, so guests bring items the student may use in the dorm such as a sheet set, microwavable dinnerware or a class planner. Of course, trunk parties include games, which are themed around the farewell or the provided gifts.

"Stuff the Backpack" is a speed game in which each guest takes a turn filling the backpack with items the host provides. There are two ways to play this game. The first is to have guests pack the same items during their turn; the guest who puts every item in the backpack quickest is the winner. The second way is to give the guest a limited amount of time to stuff as many items in the backpack as possible. At the end of the guest's turn, everyone watches what the player grabbed as the bag is unpacked. As an extra challenge, the host may limit items to those relevant to the person who is leaving, in which case guests can explain why they picked each item.

To play "Did It or Not," each guest takes a turn telling a true or false anecdote about the person who is going away. The rest of the guests have to decide as a group whether the event actually happened. This game is a test of how well people know the guest of honor.

Colleges often provide statistics and other data about themselves, such as the number of students enrolled, the names of sports teams or where the school ranks nationally. A trunk party host can use this information to hold a trivia contest that educates the guests about the college in which student will be living.

"Pass the Parcel" traditionally is played at showers as an icebreaker, but it is adaptable to a trunk party. The host asks guests in the party invitations to wrap their gifts in multiple layers of paper. Only the outer layer needs to be wrapping paper; inner layers can be tissue paper or newspaper to cut costs. The guests pass the gifts one at a time around the group, with each guest removing one layer of wrapping. The guest who unwraps the last layer tells why the person leaving is a good friend or will be missed. Once the guest has told her story, she puts the gift in the guest of honor's trunk. Recording each guest's speech creates a nice keepsake.