Favorite Things Christmas Gift Exchange

Favorite things gift exchange rules on one printed sheet: bring three of one thing, draw three names.

1: Each guest picks one favorite thing and brings three of it, all the same.Three is the usual number. Some hosts ask for five, and the invitation says which.
2: Carry your three in one plain bag and keep it closed until your turn.Wrapping is optional. The surprise is in the telling, not the paper.
3: At the door, write your name on three slips and drop them in the bowl.The slips decide who takes your gifts home. Fold them so no name shows.
4: Sit in a circle. The host takes the first turn.Any order works. Going around the circle is the easiest to follow.
5: On your turn, hold up your favorite thing and say why you chose it.A minute is plenty. Where you found it is part of the story. What it cost is not.
6: Draw three slips from the bowl. Those three guests get one each.Your own name, or one name twice? Put the slip back and draw again.
7: Hand the three over, then pass the bowl to your left.A guest who was drawn sets the gift under their chair and goes on listening.
8: Keep going until every guest has had a turn and the bowl is empty.Each guest gave three and takes three home, each from a different person.
9: Finish with swaps, if two guests both want one.A swap takes two yeses. Nobody has to give up what they were drawn for.

Next step Compare: white elephant rules More ways to run a gift exchange

How it works

In a favorite things Christmas gift exchange each guest brings three of one thing they love and sends them home with three other guests. Print this list prints the standard game. Hosts vary the rules, and none is official.

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How to do a favorite things gift exchange

The list next to Print this list changes the sheet. The standard game runs from the bag at the door to the last slip in the bowl. Before the party (host to guests) is what to send with the invitation. Settled disputes covers what guests ask in the middle of a turn: a no-show, two guests with the same favorite, a gift over the amount.

Favorite things gift exchange ideas

Variations holds other ways to run it: five of one thing, one copy each, a draw by number, a theme for the favorites, a version by mail and a children's table.

Tips

Count the slips before the first turn: three for each guest in the room, and no more.
Put the amount for each copy in the invitation, not in a message the night before.

Questions and answers

What is a favorite things gift exchange?

A party where every guest brings several copies of one thing they love, usually three, and gives them to the guests whose names they draw. Everyone leaves with as many gifts as they brought, each from a different person.

What is a 3 favorite things gift exchange?

The usual form of the game: three copies of one favorite, three name slips each in the bowl, and three names drawn on your turn. Some hosts ask for five. The number in the invitation is the number of slips each guest writes.

What are good favorites gift exchange ideas?

Things you use up and buy again, small enough to carry three: a pen that never skips, a spice blend, a hand cream, a notebook, a snack. The Variations sheet adds themes, such as from the kitchen or for a cold night.

What happens if I draw my own name?

Put the slip back and draw again. If it is the last slip in the bowl, trade it for a slip another guest has already drawn. The same goes for drawing one name twice.

How many guests does it need?

At least four, so that each guest can receive from three different people. For a big party, run two circles with a bowl each, or the turns take all evening.

All 35 rules

The standard game 9

1: Each guest picks one favorite thing and brings three of it, all the same. Three is the usual number. Some hosts ask for five, and the invitation says which.
2: Carry your three in one plain bag and keep it closed until your turn. Wrapping is optional. The surprise is in the telling, not the paper.
3: At the door, write your name on three slips and drop them in the bowl. The slips decide who takes your gifts home. Fold them so no name shows.
4: Sit in a circle. The host takes the first turn. Any order works. Going around the circle is the easiest to follow.
5: On your turn, hold up your favorite thing and say why you chose it. A minute is plenty. Where you found it is part of the story. What it cost is not.
6: Draw three slips from the bowl. Those three guests get one each. Your own name, or one name twice? Put the slip back and draw again.
7: Hand the three over, then pass the bowl to your left. A guest who was drawn sets the gift under their chair and goes on listening.
8: Keep going until every guest has had a turn and the bowl is empty. Each guest gave three and takes three home, each from a different person.
9: Finish with swaps, if two guests both want one. A swap takes two yeses. Nobody has to give up what they were drawn for.

Show all 35 rules (26 more)

Variations 9

A children's table Each child brings one small favorite for every other child there, so nobody needs a draw.
A mixed set of three Bring three different things you love, one of each. The first name drawn chooses first.
A note with every gift Tie a tag to each copy: what it is, why you love it and how you use it.
A single copy each Each guest brings a single item, writes one slip and draws one name. The quickest form.
A theme for the favorites The host names a kind in the invitation: from the kitchen, for a desk, for a cold night, something to read.
Favorites by mail Draw names by message a few weeks ahead. Each guest mails three packages, and all open them on one call.
Five copies, not three For six guests or more: everyone gives five and goes home with five. Write five slips each.
Match the bag to the guest All the bags go on one table, unmarked. Before the turns begin, guests guess who brought which.
Numbered chips in place of name slips Guests take a number at the door. The presenter pulls three number chips from a bag.

Before the party (host to guests) 8

1: Shop for three alike of the thing you love most. Something you use and would buy again. All three alike.
2: Stay at or under the amount the host names for each one. One amount for everyone, written in the invitation, so that no gift stands out.
3: Choose something any guest could use. If children are coming, it has to suit a child.
4: Skip the wrapping. One bag for all three is enough. Tags and ribbon are welcome and not needed.
5: Be ready to say in a sentence why it is your favorite. The reason is as much the gift as the thing is.
6: Answer yes or no by the date on the invitation. The head count sets how many slips go in the bowl.
7: Arrive on time. Names go in the bowl before anyone sits down. A latecomer adds their slips before the next turn starts.
8: Pack an empty tote for what you are given. You leave with as many things as you brought.

Settled disputes 9

A guest arrived with a single copy. They write one slip and draw one name: give one, get one.
A guest does not want what they were drawn for. They say thank you and take it. Swaps wait for the end, and both sides must agree.
Do two people from one household bring one set or two? One set for each person who puts slips in the bowl.
Is a homemade favorite allowed? Yes, if you can make three alike. Say what is in it when you hold it up.
One guest came out of the bowl twice on my turn. Put one slip back and draw again. Nobody takes home two of the same thing.
One invited guest canceled that morning. Their slips stay out of the bowl. If they are already in, a drawn slip of theirs is set aside and another is drawn.
The slip I pulled has my own name on it. Put it back and draw again. If it is the last slip in the bowl, trade it for one a guest has already drawn.
Someone went over the amount. The gift stays in and nobody says a word. Next year the amount goes in bigger type.
Two guests brought the same favorite. Both stay in. A guest drawn for it twice trades one with a willing neighbor at the end.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03: a rule sheet in our own words for the gift swap usually called a favorite things party. There is no official version and no single published source; the sheet follows the form the name describes (each guest brings several copies of one favorite thing, names are drawn, and every guest goes home with as many gifts as they brought) and every ruling, variation and host's line is a house rule of the editors. The arithmetic was checked by the editors: with three slips for each guest in the bowl and three drawn on each turn, every name comes out three times, and four guests is the smallest circle in which each can receive from three different people. No shop, brand, product or price is named; the amount is whatever the host sets. A script compared every row with every other list on this site, and no row repeats one. Licence: own work