Gift Giving
A low-barrier improv game that teaches making your partner look good and daring to be average, as players mime giving a gift and the receiver decides what it was.
Group Size
4–30
Duration
5 to 15 minutes
Formation
Circle
Setting
Indoor
Energy Level
Low
Activity Level
Inactive
Physical Contact
None
How to Lead It
Players sit or stand in a circle, usually seated. The leader models giving a gift to their neighbor, using object work to show the rough size, shape, or weight of the gift, whether it is a box, a ball, or a squirming animal. The giver does not say what the gift is.
The receiver mimes opening it, then tells the giver what the gift was and thanks them for it enthusiastically. The giver accepts that and responds in kind. Play continues around the circle until everyone has given a gift.
Variations
Play in pairs, or in a line instead of a circle.
Leading Tips
Every gift received is amazing and the receiver loves it. The giver accepts whatever the receiver names as the offer for the scene and responds accordingly.
Origin: Improv folk tradition
Leaders Who Teach This
Instructions and tips are ECRS's own descriptions. Any linked recordings or media belong to their original rights holders.