Christmas Gift Dice Game: Gift Exchange Roll Charts to Print

A dice game for a Christmas gift exchange: pick a chart, set the clock and roll a real die, and every number moves a gift.

Christmas Gift Dice Game: Gift Exchange Roll Charts to Print

  1. 2: Swap gifts with the player on your right.Rolled this twice running? The same two gifts change places again. That is the game.
  2. 4: Everyone passes their gift one place to the left.The host counts to three so every gift moves at once and nobody ends up holding two.
  3. 6: Roller's choice: call any row from 1 to 5.Say the number out loud before a gift moves, so nobody changes their mind halfway.
  4. 5: Keep your gift and pass the die.The quiet roll. Enjoy it while it lasts.
  5. 1: Swap gifts with the player on your left.Left means your own left as you sit. Both players hand over at the same moment.
  6. 3: Swap gifts with any player you choose.Nobody can say no. Shake and squeeze before you pick, because nothing is unwrapped yet.

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Next step Pass the gift instruction cards

Christmas Gift Dice Game: Gift Exchange Roll Charts to Print: how it works

This Christmas gift dice game needs one phone, one chart and a real die. Everybody brings a wrapped gift, the host picks one of six roll charts, and each roll tells the roller what happens next: swap left, pass every gift round, steal, freeze or keep. Set the clock for ten or fifteen minutes. When it stops, everyone keeps the gift in their hands.

Pick a chart and start the clock from one phone

The page opens on Gentle swap, six rows for one die. The chips above it change the chart: Steal and freeze, Unwrap as you go, and three charts for two dice. Keep one chip pressed, because All mixes rows from several charts. A two-dice chart has eleven rows, one for each sum from 2 to 12, so press 11 in the size control to see them all. Rows appear in the order they were dealt, which is why each starts with its number. Choose 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes on the clock, tick Sound, press Start timer and send the die round. The page does not roll for you.

The rules, with options

Everyone brings one wrapped gift and starts out holding one that is not their own. Roll, read your row aloud, do it, pass the die left. When the clock stops you keep what you hold, and on the Gentle chart that is when everyone unwraps. For Steal and freeze, open every gift first. A steal is a forced trade, and the host puts a tally mark on the tag: after its second steal a gift is frozen and stays put. Two steals is the common limit, but rules vary, so agree yours before the first roll. For groups over 15, use a two-dice chart and send two or three pairs of dice round at once. A 7 comes up 6 times in 36 rolls, a 2 or a 12 once, so the rare rows hold the wild moves.

Print a chart, and what the phone remembers

Print puts the page heading and the rows on screen onto one sheet in two columns, host rulings included, so check first that the whole chart is showing. That sheet is the Christmas dice game printable most hosts are after: print one per table. For a file, choose Save as PDF in your browser's print window, which turns the Steal chart into a white elephant dice game pdf. Share makes a link that opens the same rows on another phone, and the address keeps your chart, so the steal chart can be bookmarked. The full list further down sorts as text, so two-dice charts start at 10.

Tips

  • No die in the house? Write 1 to 6 on slips of paper, draw one from a cup and drop it back after every turn.
  • Once the clock is running, leave New rows alone. A fresh deal reshuffles the chart and restarts the countdown.
  • Seat everyone in a circle first. Left, right and across only work when each player has a fixed seat.
  • With small kids, play Gentle swap with wrapped gifts and stop at ten minutes. Nobody watches an opened toy walk away.
  • Ten minutes suits up to eight players and fifteen suits a dozen. For a bigger room, add dice, not time.

Questions and answers

How do you play a gift exchange dice game at Christmas?

Everyone sits in a circle holding a wrapped gift that is not their own. Put a roll chart where all can read it, set a clock for ten to fifteen minutes and pass one die to the left. Each player rolls, reads the matching row aloud and does what it says. When the clock stops, everyone keeps the gift they hold.

Does the page roll the dice for me?

No. There is no roll on the screen, and that is on purpose: a real die going from hand to hand gives everyone a turn and keeps eyes off the phone. The page supplies the chart, the game clock and the printed sheet.

What is the difference between a steal and a trade?

Both swap two gifts. A steal can be aimed at any unfrozen gift in the room and earns a tally mark on its tag. After two steals the gift is frozen: it stays with its holder, who stops rolling. A trade is with a set neighbor and earns no mark. Two steals is the common white elephant limit, but houses differ.

Is the Christmas gift exchange dice game a free printable?

Yes. Pick a chart, check that all its rows are showing and press Print. You get the heading and the rows on one sheet, with no sign-up. For a different kind of swap, the pass the gift game deals instruction cards about the players, and the number generator draws a picking order.

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All 46 rows

Gentle swap (one die) 6

  • 1: Swap gifts with the player on your left. Left means your own left as you sit. Both players hand over at the same moment.
  • 2: Swap gifts with the player on your right. Rolled this twice running? The same two gifts change places again. That is the game.
  • 3: Swap gifts with any player you choose. Nobody can say no. Shake and squeeze before you pick, because nothing is unwrapped yet.
  • 4: Everyone passes their gift one place to the left. The host counts to three so every gift moves at once and nobody ends up holding two.
  • 5: Keep your gift and pass the die. The quiet roll. Enjoy it while it lasts.
  • 6: Roller's choice: call any row from 1 to 5. Say the number out loud before a gift moves, so nobody changes their mind halfway.

Steal and freeze (one die) 6

  • 1: Steal any gift that is not frozen. Its holder takes yours in return. Put one tally mark on the gift's tag. After its second steal the gift is frozen and stays with its holder.
  • 2: Trade gifts with the player on your left unless their gift is frozen. A trade is not a steal, so no tally mark. If your neighbor is frozen, trade with the next player along.
  • 3: Trade gifts with the player on your right unless their gift is frozen. If your own gift is frozen you do not roll at all. Wave the die past.
  • 4: Freeze your own gift if you want to keep it. If not, pass the die. A frozen gift goes under your chair. It cannot be stolen or traded for the rest of the game.
  • 5: Keep your gift and pick two other players. They trade gifts. Neither of the two may hold a frozen gift. No tally marks for this one either.
  • 6: Roller's choice: steal, trade with anyone, or freeze your own gift. Only the steal earns a tally mark. Announce which of the three you are doing before you move.

Unwrap as you go (one die) 6

  • 1: Take a wrapped gift from the pile. Already holding one? Pass the die. Nobody holds more than one gift at a time in this version.
  • 2: Unwrap the gift you hold. Empty hands? Take one from the pile. Hold it up so the whole room can see what is now in play.
  • 3: Swap with any player who holds a gift. Empty hands? Take one from the pile. Wrapped for open is a fair swap, and so is open for wrapped.
  • 4: Put your gift back on the pile and take a different one. An open gift goes back open, and anyone may take it later. Empty hands, or an empty pile? Pass the die.
  • 5: Pick a player with empty hands. They take a gift from the pile. Everyone already holding one? Then you may unwrap yours, or pass the die.
  • 6: Roller's choice: take a gift, unwrap yours, or swap with anyone. The game ends when the pile is empty and every gift is open, or when the clock runs out.

Big group swap (two dice) 11

  • 10: Pick any two other players. They swap gifts. You keep yours. Choose two players who are far apart to stir the room.
  • 11: Everyone passes their gift one place to the right. The host calls it so that all the tables move together.
  • 12: Double sixes. Swap with any player, then roll again. One roll in 36. Your second roll counts even if it is another 12.
  • 2: Snake eyes. Roller's choice: call any row on this chart. One roll in 36. Say the row number out loud first.
  • 3: Everyone passes their gift two places to the left. Pass once, wait for the room, then pass again.
  • 4: Swap gifts with the player sitting across from you. In an odd-sized circle, pick either of the two players facing you.
  • 5: Swap gifts with the player two seats to your right. Count two chairs along. The player right beside you is safe this time.
  • 6: Swap gifts with the player on your right, then pass the dice. Five rolls in 36, so the right-hand swap comes up often.
  • 7: Swap gifts with the player on your left, then pass the dice. The most common roll: six in 36, the same one-in-six chance as any face of a single die.
  • 8: Swap gifts with any player in the room. With several tables, this is the row that lets a gift change table.
  • 9: Keep your gift and pass the dice. Four rolls in 36. A short rest.

Big group steals (two dice) 11

  • 10: Keep your gift and pick two players with unfrozen gifts. They trade. No tally marks. Pick the two who look most comfortable.
  • 11: Thaw one frozen gift. It can be stolen one more time. Rub one tally mark off the tag. Its holder starts rolling again too.
  • 12: Double sixes. Roller's choice: steal, trade with anyone, or freeze your own. One roll in 36. Only the steal earns a tally mark.
  • 2: Steal any gift that is not frozen, then freeze it on the spot. One roll in 36, and the strongest move on the chart. The old holder takes your gift in return.
  • 3: Freeze your own gift if you want to keep it. If not, pass the dice. Frozen gifts go under the chair, and their holders stop rolling.
  • 4: Trade gifts with the player across from you unless their gift is frozen. If they are frozen, trade with the player beside them. A trade earns no tally mark.
  • 5: Hold your gift up and give it a ten-second sales pitch. Then pass the dice. A good pitch gets your gift stolen. A bad one gets you stuck with it. Choose wisely.
  • 6: Trade gifts with the player on your left unless their gift is frozen. Frozen neighbor? Trade with the next player along on that side.
  • 7: Steal any gift in the room that is not frozen. Its holder takes yours. Six rolls in 36, so a steal is as likely here as on the one-die chart. Tally every steal on the tag.
  • 8: Trade gifts with the player on your right unless their gift is frozen. If that player is frozen, keep going right until you reach a gift that is still in play.
  • 9: Keep your gift, pass the dice and breathe out. Four rolls in 36.

Doubles only (two dice) 6

  • 1 and 1: Swap gifts with any player you choose. No double? Nothing happens. Pass the dice to your left straight away.
  • 2 and 2: Swap gifts with the player two seats to your left. Skip one neighbor and swap with the next.
  • 3 and 3: Everyone passes their gift one place to the right. Shout it, because other dice are still rolling somewhere in the circle.
  • 4 and 4: Pick any two other players. They swap gifts. You keep yours.
  • 5 and 5: Swap gifts with any player, then roll once more. The extra roll only counts if it is another double.
  • 6 and 6: Roller's choice: call any double on this chart. Any double at all is a one-in-six roll. One named double is one in 36.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors for this page in September 2026: six roll charts for a gift exchange played with real dice, three for one die (rows 1 to 6), two for two dice (the eleven sums, 2 to 12) and one that acts on doubles only. Every row starts with its die number, its sum or its double, and every row carries a host ruling. Each row was checked so that it leaves every player with one gift: a swap or trade moves two gifts, a pass moves them all the same way, and a steal hands the roller's gift to the player who lost theirs. In the pile version nobody holds more than one gift. The word steal and the limit of two steals per gift follow the rules section of Wikipedia's article White elephant gift exchange, which says a gift can only be stolen a set number of times, commonly two, after which its holder keeps it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_gift_exchange, checked 2026-09-19). Frozen, thaw and the tally mark on the tag are this page's table words for that limit, not terms from the article, and rules vary from house to house. The odds quoted for two dice are counted from the 36 equally likely pairs of two fair dice. No row involves money, a gift card value, alcohol, phones, removing clothing or food, and no row sorts players by age, looks, income or relationship status. Licence: own work