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Christmas Gift Exchange Ideas, With the Rules Written Out

Pick how the gifts change hands, what everyone brings and who opens next.

Christmas Gift Exchange Ideas, With the Rules Written Out

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  1. Trivia for Turn Order1. Put the wrapped gifts on a table.2. The host reads a Christmas trivia question to the room.3. The first correct answer picks a gift, opens it and is out of the quiz.4. Keep asking until one player is left. That player takes the last gift and, to make up for the wait, may swap it with any other.5. Prepare more questions than players, easy ones included, so the same two people do not answer everything.Players: 5 to 20. Time: 30 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and a question list.
  2. Grab Bag by Age Band1. Pick a wrapping color for each age band: for example gold for under 6, red for 6 to 12, green for teens, silver for adults.2. Everyone brings one gift for their own band in that color, at one cap, and parents shop for the smallest children.3. Pile each color in its own bag or corner.4. Call one band at a time, youngest first, to draw numbers and pick from its own pile, with no steals. Every gift suits whoever opens it, which one mixed pile never manages.Players: 16 to 80. Time: 35 min. Props: one color-coded wrapped gift each and numbered slips.
  3. Secret Code Gift Tags1. In early December, give every family member a secret number or a reindeer name, and write it on a list only the wrapper keeps.2. Tag every gift under the tree with the code and no name.3. Nobody can count, shake or sort their own pile for weeks, because nobody knows which gifts are theirs.4. On the day, read out the key and let everyone find their gifts.5. Change the codes every year; children remember.Players: 3 to 15. Time: 10 min. Props: the family's own gifts and a hidden key list.

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Swap games 15

  • Closest Birthday Picks First 1. Skip the numbered slips. 2. Line up by birthday, from the person born closest to December 25 to the person born farthest from it. 3. Pick and open in that order. 4. Next year, reverse the line so the summer birthdays go first. It takes two minutes to set up, needs nothing, and gets a room of cousins talking before the first gift is touched. Players: 4 to 25. Time: 25 min. Props: one wrapped gift each.
  • Gift Bingo 1. Pile the wrapped gifts in the middle and hand out bingo cards. 2. Call squares as usual. 3. The first bingo picks a gift from the pile, clears their card and plays on. 4. A player who already holds a gift and gets another bingo swaps with anyone, and does not take a second gift. 5. Keep calling until the pile is gone, then unwrap together. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 30 min. Props: one wrapped gift each, bingo cards and markers.
  • Left-Right Story Pass 1. Sit in a circle, each holding a wrapped gift. 2. One reader reads aloud a story that is full of the words left and right. 3. On every left, all gifts move one seat left; on every right, one seat right. 4. Read at a steady pace and pause after a double left so the circle can catch up. 5. At the last line, open the gift in your hands. Tell bringers not to tag a gift for one person, since nobody controls where it lands. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 10 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and a left-right story to read.
  • Musical Gifts 1. Stand or sit in a circle, each holding a wrapped gift. 2. Play a carol and pass every gift to the right in time with the music. 3. When the music stops, freeze: the gift in your hands is yours for now. 4. Play three rounds, switching direction each time. 5. After the third stop, open what you hold. Have the person on the music face away from the circle so the stops are fair. Players: 5 to 40. Time: 10 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and music.
  • Number Draw, No Steals 1. The host numbers each gift with a sticky note as it arrives. 2. Put matching numbers in a bowl. 3. Go round the room youngest first: draw a number, find that gift, open it and thank the room. 4. Nobody steals, so nobody loses a gift they like, which is why this one works with small kids and great-grandparents in the same circle. Players: 4 to 60. Time: 20 min. Props: one wrapped gift each, sticky notes and a bowl of numbers.
  • Numbers Under the Chairs 1. Before guests arrive, tape a numbered slip under every chair. 2. Number each gift with a sticky note as it comes through the door, in any order. 3. When everyone is seated, call out: look under your chair. 4. Each person collects the gift with their number, and all unwrap together. There is no choosing and no stealing, so it clears a big room in minutes and leaves the evening free for other games. Players: 8 to 100. Time: 10 min. Props: one wrapped gift each, slips, sticky notes and tape.
  • Open-Last White Elephant 1. Draw numbers as usual. 2. On your turn, take a wrapped gift from the table or steal a wrapped one from another player, judging by size, weight and rattle alone. 3. Nothing is opened during the game, and a gift stolen twice is frozen. 4. When everyone holds a gift, count down from three and unwrap together. It runs faster than the open version because nobody stops to admire a gift. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 25 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and numbered slips.
  • Pass-the-Gift Instruction Cards 1. Everyone sits in a circle holding a wrapped gift. 2. A reader turns over one instruction card at a time: pass two places left, swap with someone wearing red, everyone born in December trades. 3. Do what the card says before the next one is read. 4. Agree on the number of cards first, 15 for a short game or 30 for a long one. 5. After the last card, open what you hold. Players: 5 to 30. Time: 15 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and a deck of instruction cards.
  • Rock, Paper, Scissors Steals 1. Draw numbers and play like white elephant: on your turn, open a new gift or go after an open one. 2. To steal, challenge the holder to one throw of rock, paper, scissors. 3. Win and the gift is yours, and the loser opens a new one; lose and you must open a new gift yourself. 4. A gift that has changed hands twice is frozen. The throw gives the holder a fighting chance, which takes the sting out of steals for older kids and teens. Players: 5 to 25. Time: 35 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and numbered slips.
  • Roll-and-Pass Dice Swap 1. Everyone starts with a wrapped gift in their lap. 2. Post a roll chart where all can see it, one action per number: for example 1 swap left, 2 swap right, 3 swap with anyone, 4 everyone passes left, 5 keep, 6 roller's choice. 3. Pass one large die round the circle, one roll each. 4. Set a timer for ten minutes or play three full laps. 5. When time is up, open what you hold. Past 15 players, split into two circles with a die each. Players: 5 to 30. Time: 15 min. Props: one wrapped gift each, a die and a roll chart.
  • Snowball Number Toss 1. Write the numbers from 1 up to the head count on sheets of white paper, one number a sheet, and crumple each into a snowball. 2. On go, everyone throws snowballs across the room for thirty seconds. 3. On stop, pick up the nearest one and open it: that is your picking number. 4. Pick gifts in number order. It replaces the quiet passing of a bowl with the loudest half minute of the party. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: one wrapped gift each, white paper and a marker.
  • Three Blind Trades 1. Everyone takes a wrapped gift from the table at random. 2. The host calls three trading rounds of one minute each. 3. In a round you may offer a swap to anyone, and both players must agree; no one is forced to trade. 4. All gifts stay wrapped, so you are trading on size, weight and nerve. 5. After the third round, open together and find out who traded away the good one. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 10 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and a timer.
  • Trivia for Turn Order 1. Put the wrapped gifts on a table. 2. The host reads a Christmas trivia question to the room. 3. The first correct answer picks a gift, opens it and is out of the quiz. 4. Keep asking until one player is left. That player takes the last gift and, to make up for the wait, may swap it with any other. 5. Prepare more questions than players, easy ones included, so the same two people do not answer everything. Players: 5 to 20. Time: 30 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and a question list.
  • Two-Deck Card Match 1. Deal one deck of playing cards evenly among the players, two to four cards each, and set the rest aside. 2. The host turns over a second deck one card at a time and calls each out. 3. Whoever holds the matching card picks a wrapped gift from the table and opens it. If they already have a gift, they may swap it for anyone else's. 4. Cards nobody holds are skipped. 5. Play until every dealt card has been called. Deal the same number to everyone, because every card is one more chance to swap. Players: 6 to 25. Time: 30 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and two decks of cards.
  • White Elephant, Step by Step 1. Everyone brings one wrapped gift at the agreed price and sets it on the table. 2. Draw numbers for the picking order. 3. Number 1 opens a gift and the turn ends. 4. Each later player opens a new gift or steals an open one; whoever is robbed opens a new gift or steals from someone else. 5. A gift stolen twice is frozen with its new owner. 6. The game ends when everyone holds a gift. House rules vary, so read yours aloud before number 1 picks. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 45 min. Props: one wrapped gift each and numbered slips.

Socks, ornaments, gift cards 14

  • Cookie Tin Swap 1. Each household bakes one kind of cookie and brings one tin to swap, a dozen cookies in each so the swap is even. 2. Tape the recipe to the lid and mark nuts, eggs, dairy and wheat clearly. 3. Number the tins, draw numbers and collect yours. 4. Bring a few extra cookies of your kind for a tasting plate, so everyone tries everything. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 15 min. Props: one labeled tin of home-baked cookies each and numbered slips.
  • Gift Card Clue Envelopes 1. Each giver writes a one-line clue on the envelope, not a name: for someone who is always cold, for whoever kills every houseplant, for the person with paint on their jeans. 2. Spread the envelopes on a table, clue side up. 3. Draw numbers and choose by clue alone. 4. Open in turn and let the giver explain the clue. Those three were a coffee shop, a garden center and a craft store. Players: 4 to 25. Time: 20 min. Props: one gift card each in an envelope with a written clue, and numbered slips.
  • Gift Card Dice Swap 1. Everyone lays their envelope flat on the table in front of them, in plain view. 2. Pass one die: 1 swap with the player on your left, 2 swap with the player on your right, 3 or 4 swap with anyone, 5 keep, 6 every envelope moves one seat left. 3. Play two laps of the circle. 4. Open together. Envelopes slide faster than boxes, so two laps take about as long as one does with wrapped gifts. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: one gift card each in a plain envelope and a die.
  • Gift Card Envelope Number Draw 1. Agree on one value for every card, $10 or $20, so no envelope is worth more than another. 2. Each person seals a card in a plain envelope with no store name outside. 3. The host numbers the envelopes and puts matching slips in a bowl. 4. Draw a slip, take that envelope and wait. 5. Open together on a count of three and read out the store. 6. Allow five minutes of free trading afterward for anyone holding a store they never visit. Players: 4 to 50. Time: 10 min. Props: one gift card each in a plain envelope and numbered slips.
  • Gift Card Left-Right Pass 1. Everyone brings a gift card of the agreed value in a plain sealed envelope. 2. Sit in a tight circle and read a short left-right story, about two minutes long. 3. Envelopes move one seat on every left and every right. 4. Every envelope looks the same, so nobody can track their own, which is the point. 5. At the last word, open the one you hold. If you end up with your own card, swap with the person on your left. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: one gift card each in a plain envelope and a left-right story to read.
  • Gift Card Plus One Small Thing 1. Set the card value, then add a rule: the card must be taped to one small related item that costs $5 or less. 2. A bookstore card is tucked into a bookmark, a coffee card rides on a bag of cocoa, a hardware card is tied to a tape measure. 3. Wrap the pair so there is something to tear open. 4. Swap by number draw. It answers the usual complaint about gift card swaps, that there is nothing under the paper. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 20 min. Props: one wrapped gift card with a small item each and numbered slips.
  • Gift Card Steal Round 1. Draw numbers. 2. Number 1 opens an envelope from the pile and reads out the store. 3. Each later player opens a new envelope or steals an open card, and whoever is robbed opens a new one. 4. A card stolen twice is frozen. 5. Every card has the same value, so a steal only ever means that someone likes that store more, and the game stays friendly. Ask bringers to choose stores with a website, so out-of-town guests can spend theirs. Players: 6 to 25. Time: 25 min. Props: one gift card each in a plain envelope and numbered slips.
  • Hat, Scarf or Gloves Swap 1. Everyone brings one wrapped winter warmer in a one-size adult fit: a knit hat, a scarf or a pair of gloves. 2. Draw numbers and pick in order. 3. Open it and put it on at once; it stays on until the last gift is opened. 4. Allow one steal per item if you like. 5. Take the group photo in full winter gear in the living room. Anything nobody wants goes to a coat drive afterward. Players: 5 to 30. Time: 25 min. Props: one wrapped hat, scarf or pair of gloves each and numbered slips.
  • Kids' Handmade Ornament Swap 1. A week ahead, every child makes one ornament: salt dough, a painted pine cone, a paper star. 2. Wrap each one in tissue and write the maker's name inside. 3. At the party the children sit in a circle and pass the parcels to a carol, three stops. 4. Open together, find the maker and say thank you. Every child gives one and gets one, and no gift cost more than another. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 15 min. Props: one handmade ornament per child, tissue paper and music.
  • Kids' Picture Book Swap 1. Every child brings one wrapped picture book or chapter book, new or gently read, with the giver's name written inside the cover. 2. Sort the parcels into two piles by reading age. 3. Each child draws a number and picks from their own pile. 4. Open together, then an adult reads one of the new picture books aloud to wind the party down. Players: 4 to 25. Time: 20 min. Props: one wrapped book per child and numbered slips.
  • Mug Swap With a Filling 1. Each person brings a mug, new or a good second-hand find, filled with something to drink from it: cocoa sachets, tea bags, a bag of ground coffee. 2. Wrap it so the handle does not give it away, or do not bother and enjoy the row of mug-shaped parcels. 3. Draw numbers and pick. 4. One steal per mug keeps it moving. 5. Wash them and serve the evening's cocoa in the new mugs. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 25 min. Props: one filled, wrapped mug each and numbered slips.
  • Ornament Exchange With a Story Tag 1. Everyone brings one wrapped ornament with a tag inside that gives the year and one line about why they chose it. 2. Draw numbers and pick in order, with no steals. 3. As each ornament is opened, the receiver reads the tag aloud and the room guesses who brought it. 4. Hang it on the host's tree for the evening and take it home at the end. After a few years, each tree carries the history of the group. Players: 5 to 30. Time: 25 min. Props: one wrapped ornament each with a tag, and numbered slips.
  • Sock Exchange 1. Everyone brings one new pair of fun socks, wrapped, at a cap of about $10. 2. Pile them up and draw numbers. 3. Pick in order and open, with no steals: everyone is getting socks anyway. 4. Everyone puts the new socks on for a group photo of feet. Ask for adult one-size pairs unless the kids have a pile of their own, so every pair fits whoever gets it. Players: 4 to 40. Time: 20 min. Props: one wrapped pair of new socks each and numbered slips.
  • Stuffed Sock Swap 1. Each person buys a new pair of socks and fills one sock with small treats up to the cap: candy, lip balm, a tea bag, a pen. 2. Tuck the second sock inside and tie the top with ribbon. 3. Pass the socks round the circle to music: three stops, then keep what you hold. 4. Empty your sock on the table and compare. It gives a $10 swap more than one thing to unwrap. Players: 5 to 30. Time: 15 min. Props: one stuffed pair of socks each and music.

Gift-opening games 11

  • Clue Tags Instead of Name Tags 1. Write every gift tag as a clue, not a name: to the person who burned the rolls last year, to the only one who likes licorice, to whoever drove the farthest. 2. The gift elf reads each tag aloud. 3. The family votes on who it means, and that person opens it. 4. If the vote is wrong, the giver corrects it and the real owner opens the gift. Keep the clues kind: a habit or a story everyone laughs about, the owner included. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 40 min. Props: the family's own gifts with clue tags.
  • Family Quiz Opens the Next Gift 1. Before the day, write 20 questions about the family: whose first car was green, who broke an arm at the lake, what was the dog before this one called. 2. Read one out. 3. The first right answer opens one of their gifts. 4. Anyone who has opened two more gifts than the slowest person sits out a question, so the little ones keep pace. 5. Save three questions about the newest family member for the end. Players: 4 to 15. Time: 40 min. Props: the family's own gifts and a question list.
  • Guess Before You Open 1. Before opening any gift, the receiver may lift it, tilt it and shake it gently, then makes one guess out loud. 2. A helper keeps a tally: one candy cane for a guess in the right category, two for naming the thing itself. 3. Givers must keep a straight face and may not give hints. 4. Most candy canes when the floor is clear chooses the afternoon movie. Wrappers who disguise a book as a pillow are playing the same game from the other side. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 40 min. Props: the family's own gifts and candy canes for scoring.
  • Hot and Cold Gift Hunt 1. Hide one gift per child somewhere in the house before they wake up, and leave a card under the tree that says: one of your gifts is missing. 2. One child hunts at a time while the family calls warmer or colder. 3. Helpers may only say hot, warm, cool and cold, with no pointing. 4. When it is found, the next child's hunt begins in a different room. Hide gifts below the child's shoulder height and away from stairs, stoves and cupboards with cleaning products. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 20 min. Props: one hidden gift per child.
  • One at a Time, Youngest First 1. Choose one gift elf, usually the youngest reader, to hand out gifts from under the tree. 2. The elf delivers one gift to the youngest person, who opens it while everyone watches. 3. Then one to the next youngest, and so on up to the oldest, before the round starts again. 4. The opener says who it is from and thanks them before the next gift moves. Rounds get shorter as piles run out, which winds the morning down by itself. Players: 3 to 15. Time: 45 min. Props: the family's own gifts.
  • Oven-Mitt Unwrap 1. Wrap one shared prize, such as a big box of chocolates, in five or more layers of paper and tape. 2. Put it in the middle with oven mitts, a Santa hat and a scarf. 3. Pass a die. Whoever rolls a six puts on the hat, the scarf and the mitts, then starts unwrapping. 4. The die keeps going round, and the next six takes over the gear and the parcel at once. 5. Whoever tears off the last layer shares the prize out. Players: 4 to 15. Time: 15 min. Props: a many-layered parcel, oven mitts, a hat, a scarf and a die.
  • Roll a Six to Open 1. Everyone sits with their own pile of gifts. 2. Pass a die round the circle. 3. Roll a six and you open one gift while everyone watches; any other number passes the die on. 4. House rule for small kids: a five opens too. 5. Play until every pile is gone. It turns a ten-minute paper storm into a slow morning in which every gift gets seen and every giver gets thanked. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 40 min. Props: the family's own gifts and a die.
  • Santa Hat Picks the Next Opener 1. The youngest person puts on the Santa hat and opens one gift. 2. They then walk the hat over to anyone who has not had it yet, and that person opens one. 3. When everyone has worn the hat once, the round is over and the last wearer starts the next. 4. Whoever wears the hat also fetches the gift for the person they choose. It spreads the choosing around, which ends the argument about who goes next. Players: 3 to 15. Time: 40 min. Props: the family's own gifts and a Santa hat.
  • Secret Code Gift Tags 1. In early December, give every family member a secret number or a reindeer name, and write it on a list only the wrapper keeps. 2. Tag every gift under the tree with the code and no name. 3. Nobody can count, shake or sort their own pile for weeks, because nobody knows which gifts are theirs. 4. On the day, read out the key and let everyone find their gifts. 5. Change the codes every year; children remember. Players: 3 to 15. Time: 10 min. Props: the family's own gifts and a hidden key list.
  • String Trail to the Big Gift 1. Tie one end of a ball of yarn to the biggest gift and hide it in another room. 2. Unwind the yarn through the house: round chair legs, under the table, along the hallway. 3. Tie the loose end to a small box under the tree with a note that says follow me. 4. With two or more children, give each their own color and let the trails cross. 5. Each child winds up the yarn as they go. Keep the yarn at floor level, off the stairs and away from anything that can be pulled over. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min. Props: yarn, a small box and the hidden gift.
  • Wrapped-Ball Unwrap 1. Roll small treats into a ball of plastic wrap, adding one every few turns of the roll, with the best prize at the core. 2. Hand the ball to the first player and a pair of dice to the player on their left. 3. The first player unwraps as fast as they can and keeps whatever falls out, while the neighbor rolls for doubles. 4. On doubles, the ball moves one seat left and so do the dice. 5. Play until the core is reached. Leave out small parts and hard candy when children under five are playing. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 15 min. Props: a plastic-wrap ball of treats and two dice.

For big families 9

  • Charity Draw 1. The adults skip gifts for each other and agree that each household gives what it can manage, privately, to one organizer. 2. Each household writes the name of a registered charity it cares about on a slip and says one sentence about why. 3. A child draws one slip, or three if the pot is to be split. 4. The organizer makes the donation in the family's name and shares the receipt in the group chat. 5. The children still get their gifts. Nobody in the room wins anything. Players: 10 to 80. Time: 15 min. Props: charity name slips and a hat.
  • Cousins-Only Name Draw 1. The adults agree to stop buying for each other, and the cousins take over the exchange. 2. Every cousin's name goes in a hat and each draws one, redrawing a sibling or their own name. 3. Set a cap a teenager can afford, $10 to $15, and let parents help the under-tens. 4. Each name slip carries three wish-list ideas written by that cousin. 5. On the day the cousins open in a circle of their own while the adults watch. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 25 min. Props: one gift per cousin and name slips with wish lists.
  • Draw Names by Household 1. List the households, not the people: one slip per address. 2. At Thanksgiving or in the group chat, each household draws another. 3. Set one cap per household gift, $40 to $60, and buy something the whole house will use: a board game, a waffle iron, a basket for movie night. 4. On the day, open youngest household first. 5. Keep last year's list so nobody draws the same household twice running. Seven households means seven gifts in total, not one for every cousin. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 30 min. Props: one gift per household and name slips.
  • Family Recipe or Photo Swap 1. Nobody buys anything. 2. Each household chooses one family recipe, or one old photograph with its story written on the back. 3. Make one copy per household taking part. 4. At the gathering, each household stands up, tells the story in a minute and hands the copies round. 5. Everyone goes home with a full set, and one volunteer scans the lot into a shared album. Print recipes on card stock if you can; recipe cards get used. Players: 10 to 60. Time: 30 min. Props: copies of one recipe or photo per household.
  • Generation Swap 1. Make one hat per generation: grandparents, parents, kids. 2. Everyone draws a name from a hat that is not their own generation's. 3. The gift is small, $15 or less, and comes with something from your own era: a teenager adds a playlist, a grandparent adds a handwritten recipe or a photo with the story behind it. 4. Open in pairs, giver beside receiver, and let the giver explain the extra. 5. If the hats are uneven, the largest generation also draws among itself. Players: 9 to 40. Time: 40 min. Props: one gift per person and three hats of name slips.
  • Grab Bag by Age Band 1. Pick a wrapping color for each age band: for example gold for under 6, red for 6 to 12, green for teens, silver for adults. 2. Everyone brings one gift for their own band in that color, at one cap, and parents shop for the smallest children. 3. Pile each color in its own bag or corner. 4. Call one band at a time, youngest first, to draw numbers and pick from its own pile, with no steals. Every gift suits whoever opens it, which one mixed pile never manages. Players: 16 to 80. Time: 35 min. Props: one color-coded wrapped gift each and numbered slips.
  • Kids-Only Exchange 1. Adults give no gifts to other adults; every child under 18 gets exactly one from the family. 2. Put each child's name, age and one interest on a slip. 3. Each adult or couple draws one slip, redrawing their own child. 4. Cap it at $20 to $25 a child. 5. The children open oldest to youngest for once, so the little ones get the last word. If adults outnumber children, pair up; if children outnumber adults, some adults draw two. Players: 10 to 50. Time: 25 min. Props: one gift per child and name slips.
  • One Gift per Household White Elephant 1. Each household brings one wrapped gift that any household could use, at a cap of about $30. 2. Households play as teams: draw one number per household. 3. On its turn a household opens a new gift or steals an open one after a ten-second huddle. 4. A gift stolen twice is frozen. 5. Send one adult from the household to carry out the pick or the steal. With eight households, the whole game is eight turns and a handful of steals. Players: 15 to 60. Time: 25 min. Props: one wrapped gift per household and numbered slips.
  • Rotation List, No Draw Needed 1. Write every adult or household in a circle on one sheet of paper, in any order, keeping partners apart. 2. In year one, everyone buys for the name one place to their right; in year two, two places; in year three, three. 3. Pin the sheet in the family chat, so the question of who has whom never needs a meeting. 4. Add a new in-law or a grown-up grandchild at the end of the list and carry on. It removes the draw, the redraws and the person who forgets to draw at all. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: one written list.

Secret Santa reveals 8

  • A Rhyme With Every Gift 1. Borrow a custom from Dutch Sinterklaas evenings: each giver writes a short unsigned poem about the receiver and tapes it to the gift. 2. Four to eight lines is plenty, and it can tease gently about a habit the receiver laughs about too. 3. The receiver reads the poem aloud before unwrapping. 4. Then they guess the poet. Tell nervous writers that bad rhymes are part of the fun. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 40 min. Props: one named gift each with a poem attached.
  • Clue Trail to the Gift 1. Each Santa hides their gift somewhere in the house before the party and writes three short clue notes. 2. The receiver is handed note one, which leads to note two, which leads to note three, which leads to the gift. 3. Run two or three trails at once so nobody waits long. 4. The last note is signed, so the reveal happens at the hiding place. Keep trails to one floor, and out of bedrooms when you are a guest in the house. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 30 min. Props: one named gift each and three clue notes per gift.
  • Disguise the Gift 1. Another Sinterklaas custom, where it is called a surprise: the wrapping is a handmade disguise built around the receiver. 2. Hide a small gift inside a cardboard guitar for the guitarist, a papier-mache soccer ball for the striker, a shoebox painted as their own house. 3. Set a low gift cap, $10, since the effort goes into the build. 4. Line the disguises up on a table and let the room guess whose is whose before anyone opens one. 5. Each Santa owns up as their build is taken apart. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 40 min. Props: one named gift each in a handmade disguise.
  • Guess Your Santa From Three Clues 1. Each Santa writes three clues about themselves on the tag, hardest first: a fact few people know, then a hobby, then something obvious. 2. The receiver reads clue one and guesses; right first time scores three points. 3. Clue two is worth two points and clue three one. 4. After the third clue the Santa owns up either way. 5. Keep the tally on the fridge: the best detective opens first next year. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 30 min. Props: one named gift each with a three-clue tag.
  • Match Every Santa Sheet 1. Open all the gifts first, in any order, with no reveals. 2. Hand everyone a sheet that lists every receiver's name with a blank beside it. 3. Give the room five minutes to fill in who they think bought for whom, going on the gifts alone. 4. Reveal round the circle, each Santa standing up in turn. 5. Most correct matches wins the first slice of pie. Ban reveals during the opening, or the sheet is pointless. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 25 min. Props: one named gift each, a name sheet per player and pens.
  • Open in Trivia Order 1. Pile the named gifts under the tree. 2. The host asks a quick Christmas question. 3. Whoever answers first opens their gift next, then gets one guess at their Santa. 4. A right guess earns a candy cane; a wrong one keeps the secret going until the end. 5. When every gift is open, all remaining Santas go and stand beside the person they bought for, on a count of three. Players: 5 to 25. Time: 30 min. Props: one named gift each and a question list.
  • Santa Stands Up Next 1. Pick one person to start; they open their gift and make one guess at who bought it. 2. Right or wrong, the real Santa stands up. 3. That Santa opens their own gift next and guesses in turn. 4. If the chain loops back to someone who has already opened, the youngest person still waiting restarts it. There is nothing to prepare, and the reveals set the order of play. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 25 min. Props: one named gift each.
  • Two Truths and a Lie From the Giver 1. The tag on each gift carries three statements about the giver, two true and one false, and no name. 2. The receiver reads them aloud and says which is the lie. 3. Then they name the person they think wrote them. 4. The Santa stands, reveals the lie and takes the next turn. It works best in groups that know each other a little but not completely: a new team, a club, the in-laws. Players: 5 to 25. Time: 30 min. Props: one named gift each with a three-line tag.

What to bring 15

  • A Board or Card Game Rule: every parcel holds a game that plays in under an hour and explains in under five minutes, so the swap can turn straight into game night. Cap: $15 to $30. Examples: a classic card game in a tin, a wooden dominoes set, a cooperative family game for ages 8 and up. Invitation line: "Theme is games. Bring one wrapped board or card game, $25 or less, that a group can learn in five minutes."
  • A Book You Loved Rule: a book you finished and pressed on friends, new or your own clean copy, with a signed note inside the cover that says why. Cap: $20, or nothing for a copy from your own shelf. Examples: a novel you read in one weekend, a cookbook with your three best pages flagged, a picture book your kids wore out. Invitation line: "Theme is a book you loved. Wrap one, new or from your shelf, and write inside the cover why you chose it."
  • A Second-Hand Find Rule: it must come from a thrift store, a charity shop, a yard sale or a used bookstore, and the price sticker stays on as proof. Cap: $10. Examples: a heavy glass vase, a vintage board game with all its pieces, a wool blanket that needs one wash. Invitation line: "Second-hand swap. Bring one wrapped find from a thrift store or yard sale, $10 or less, sticker left on."
  • Breakfast in a Bag Rule: the parcel makes one good weekend breakfast, and nothing in it needs a fridge before it is opened. Cap: $15 to $20. Examples: pancake mix with a small bottle of maple syrup, granola and a jar of honey, ground coffee with a loaf tin and a banana bread recipe. Invitation line: "Theme is breakfast. Bring one wrapped bag that makes a weekend breakfast, $20 or less, nothing that needs a fridge."
  • Cozy Night In Rule: everything in the parcel is for an evening on the sofa, and nothing needs a plug. Cap: $15 to $25. Examples: a fleece throw, cocoa mix with a bag of marshmallows, a 500-piece puzzle with a pair of thick socks. Invitation line: "Theme is a cozy night in. Bring one wrapped gift for an evening on the sofa, $20 or less, nothing that needs a plug."
  • Favorite Things Rule: bring something you use every week and would buy again tomorrow, and be ready to say why in one sentence. Cap: $15 to $25. Examples: the hand cream that lives in your bag, a jar of the jam you always run out of, a pack of the pens you hide from coworkers. Invitation line: "Theme is favorite things. Bring one wrapped thing you use every week and would buy again, $20 or less."
  • Fits in a Stocking Rule: the gift must drop into a standard Christmas stocking without forcing it, and the host hangs a stocking by the door to settle arguments. Cap: $10 to $15. Examples: a pocket flashlight, a deck of cards with a tin of mints, a bar of good chocolate and a lip balm. Invitation line: "Stocking-size swap. Bring one wrapped gift that fits in a Christmas stocking, $15 or less."
  • The Five-Dollar Challenge Rule: the cap is so low that cleverness is the only way to win, and the room votes for the best use of five dollars after the last gift is opened. Cap: $5, receipt in the parcel. Examples: a dollar-store frame with a photo of the group in it, a single perfect pear in tissue paper, a handwritten booklet of the bringer's five best recipes. Invitation line: "Five-dollar challenge. Bring one wrapped gift that cost $5 or less, receipt inside. Best idea wins applause."
  • Made Within Ten Miles Rule: the gift was made, grown or roasted within about ten miles of the party, and the label says where. Cap: $15 to $25. Examples: honey from a local beekeeper, soap from the Saturday market, a bag of beans from the roaster in town. Invitation line: "Theme is local. Bring one wrapped gift made within ten miles of here, $20 or less, label left on."
  • One Color Only Rule: the host names one color, and everything inside the paper must be that color, though it can be anything at all. Cap: $10 to $20. Examples: with red as the color, a red enamel camping mug, a box of cinnamon candies, a red clip-on bike light. Invitation line: "Theme is red. Bring one wrapped gift, $15 or less, where everything inside is red. What it is, is up to you."
  • Regift Only Rule: nothing is bought. Bring something in good condition from your own home that deserves a better owner: an unopened gift, a duplicate, a thing you never used. Cap: $0. Examples: the fondue set still in its box, a candle in a scent you do not like, the second copy of a cookbook. Invitation line: "Regift swap. Spend nothing. Wrap one good thing from your own home that someone else would use more than you do."
  • Something for the Garden Rule: it helps something grow or helps someone sit outside, and it must survive a month in a cupboard until spring. Cap: $10 to $20. Examples: three packets of seeds with a hand trowel, a pair of good gardening gloves, a window bird feeder. Invitation line: "Theme is the garden. Bring one wrapped gift for growing things or sitting outdoors, $15 or less. No live plants, please."
  • Something Handmade Rule: you made it yourself, in the kitchen, the workshop or at the craft table, and the cap covers materials only. Cap: $10 of materials. Examples: a jar of spiced nuts with the recipe tied on, a set of knitted dishcloths, a framed drawing of the host's street. Invitation line: "Theme is handmade. Bring one wrapped thing you made yourself, $10 of materials at most. Baked counts."
  • Something to Do Together Rule: the gift is an activity for the receiver's whole household, not a thing for one person, which suits a draw between households. Cap: $25 to $40 a household. Examples: a movie night box with popcorn and a family film on disc, a cookie decorating kit, a bird-watching checklist with child-size binoculars. Invitation line: "Theme is something to do together. Bring one wrapped activity a whole household can share, $35 or less."
  • Starts With Your Initial Rule: the gift begins with the first letter of your own first name, and the receiver has to work out who brought it. Cap: $10 to $20. Examples: Maya brings marmalade and a mug, Ben brings a bird feeder, Tess brings a tin of tea. Invitation line: "Theme is your initial. Bring one wrapped gift that starts with the first letter of your first name, $15 or less."

How it works

Christmas gift exchange ideas come down to three choices: how the gifts change hands, what everyone brings and who opens next. Under More filters, Works with young kids hides every game with steals, so no child loses an opened gift.

Read the full guide

Match the swap to the room

Allow three minutes a person for any game with steals, so white elephant drags past 20. The gift exchange games for small groups are the ones where every gift moves at once, such as Left-Right Story Pass. For a big group, Numbers Under the Chairs takes ten minutes. A big family can start with fewer gifts: Draw Names by Household.

Put the cap in the invitation

What to bring holds 15 Christmas gift exchange theme ideas, each with a cap. Socks, ornaments, gift cards holds a sock exchange Christmas game, a Christmas ornament exchange game and six gift card swaps. With kids, set the lowest cap, such as Fits in a Stocking. Secret Santa reveals holds eight, and Secret Santa reveal ideas has more.

  • Take away all but one game with ×, then choose What to bring and press again: the game stays and themes fill the other rows.
  • Read the house rules before number 1 picks: how many steals freeze a gift, and whether number 1 swaps last.
  • Try the 11 Christmas gift opening games, or Disguise the Gift, where the wrapping is the present.

Questions and answers

How does a white elephant gift exchange work?

Everyone brings one gift and draws a number. Each player in turn opens a new gift or steals an open one, and whoever is robbed chooses again. Gifts commonly freeze after two steals. For a white elephant game with playing cards, see Two-Deck Card Match.

Can I print these Christmas gift giving games?

Print prints the ideas on screen with their steps, so White Elephant, Step by Step comes out as a rules sheet. For free printable Christmas gift exchange games, follow the link that appears with Gift Bingo, Roll-and-Pass Dice Swap or Left-Right Story Pass.

How do you keep a gift card swap fair?

Fix one value for every card, $10 or $20, and seal each in a plain envelope with no store name outside. Under More filters, Gift cards lists six swaps. Gift card exchange games has more.

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