How to Make a Surprise Ball for Gifting or an Invitation

A surprise ball is a ball of crepe paper containing little prizes that are collected as you unwind the ball.

A surprise ball is a special way to send gifts for any age. Just find the little trinkets and candies that they love, wind them in crepe paper and mail it or leave it somewhere for them to discover.

They’re a fun way to send a party invitation, a pick-me-up gift to someone with the winter blues or an I-miss-you gift for your favorite niece or nephew.

You’d be surprised at how many little gifts you can get inside a ball – in fact challenge yourself to pack 50 in one roll of crepe paper. It can be done, depending on the size and shape of the items.

How to Make a Surprise Ball for Gifting or an Invitation

Just a Tip!

Difficulty: Very Easy

Budget: Cheap

Estimated Time: Under 30 minutes

You Will Need...

Crepe Paper
Small toys & trinkets
Note Paper

Instructions

# 1

Begin at the end! Put your most important prize in the center of the ball for that Wow factor. If you're making your surprise ball as an invitation, put your name and RSP information at the end. (I have my name spelled backwards because the invitation is for a Backwards Party.)

# 2

Wrap the crepe paper around your item and add the next one. For our invitation we've added the date, time and party venue address. Wrap the crepe paper around this and add the next item - for the invitation that's the party announcement.

# 3

Start adding your prizes to the invitation in the same way: add, wrap, add, wrap. After a couple of prizes your ball has some bulk, so start wrapping in a criss-cross pattern to create that distinctive ball shape. Don’t add too much crepe paper between prizes because the idea is for them to drop out as the person unwinds the ball – just a couple of circles to cover it and ensure that it will stay in place. If you need to use another roll of crepe paper just tape the two ends together and keep wrapping gifts inside. When you’re finished, attach a note with their name or “open me” securely on the end of the crepe paper so when they peel it off the crepe paper begins to unravel. We’ve used the Sur-prize note that matches our Backwards Party theme. Depending on who will be receiving the surprise ball, you may want to include instructions for them – assuring them that it’s not some prank or terrorist plot!

# 4