With a large extended family, we decided years ago to skip buying gifts for all 20-some people, and asked everyone to bring one $15-$20 gift instead. We look for fun gift exchange games to try each year to make getting just one present more fun than getting a whole bunch! Some of our favorites include The Night Before Christmas game, Now You Have It, Now You Don’t, and good old Yankee Swap. Most of these games are also great with friends and coworkers.
Here’s how to play some of our favorite gift exchange games:
Yankee Swap or “White Elephant”
This game is great for both family and friends. With friends, make it fun by asking them to bring a gift that’s either new or used to add to the surprise. Knowing you might get a great gift or a hilarious gift keeps everyone laughing! Simply start by drawing numbers out of a hat to see who gets to pick a gift first. Player No. 1 chooses and unwraps a gift, then shows it to everyone else. Player No. 2 then either “steals” that present or picks and unwraps another one from the pile. Player No. 3 can then steal either gift, or choose to unwrap another, and so on. Any player whose gift is stolen gets to pick again. The game continues until everyone has a gift.
This game is great for both family and friends. With friends, make it fun by asking them to bring a gift that’s either new or used to add to the surprise. Knowing you might get a great gift or a hilarious gift keeps everyone laughing! Simply start by drawing numbers out of a hat to see who gets to pick a gift first. Player No. 1 chooses and unwraps a gift, then shows it to everyone else. Player No. 2 then either “steals” that present or picks and unwraps another one from the pile. Player No. 3 can then steal either gift, or choose to unwrap another, and so on. Any player whose gift is stolen gets to pick again. The game continues until everyone has a gift.
The Night Before Christmas GameThis game is great for family and very kid friendly! Start by asking everyone to sit in a circle, holding the gift they brought. Remind them to pay close attention to the reading of The Night Before Christmas – because each time you say the word “right” they will pass their gift to the right, and each time you say the word “left” they will pass the gift in their hands to the left. The gift in their hands at the end of the poem is theirs to keep! Click here for the special version of The Night Before Christmas poem you will need for the game.
Musical Chairs Gift Exchange GameThis is a fun one for kids or adults! Start by asking everyone to sit in a circle. Play some music and begin passing your gifts around the circle – but like musical chairs, make sure there’s one less gift than there are people in the circle. (Set the “extra” gift to the side, as it will come into play later on) When the music stops, the person without a gift is out and gets to pick a gift from the circle to ensure there’s always one less gift than participants. This continues until there’s a winner. The only person without a gift at this point is the 2nd place player who can either choose the “extra” gift that was set aside at the beginning, or “steal” a gift from someone else. If a player’s gift is stolen they may pick the “extra” gift or “steal” from someone else. When everyone has a gift, open your presents to see what everyone was fighting for!
Not sure what to bring to a gift exchange? Good Buys All the Time has got you covered. A $10 gift card to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts is even better with a cute holiday mug or a bag of chocolate covered pretzels! Or purchase some minty Burt’s Bees lip balm – great for guys or gals. Another great way to make your $15-$20 go a long way is to re-use a basket you already have and fill it with a variety of items for a fun night out, or a relaxing night in. Maybe it’s gourmet coffee, a $5 gift card to your favorite local coffee shop, and some sweet treats; or a spa basket filled with nail polish, foot creme, nail files and other inexpensive accessories. Create a basket for kids with their favorite Hello Kitty products, Fisher Price toys and more! There’s still time to order whatever it is you need from our Amazon store – just visit Good Buys All the Time.
