Funny Left Right Gift Exchange Stories

A gift exchange story for any season: type three words, read it aloud and pass the gifts.

3 words needed.

Example, filled in with our words

Short: The GPS With Two Words

Uncle Walt bought a GPS at a yard sale in Maple Grove. It cost one dollar, and it knew two words.

"LEFT," it said, at the end of the driveway. Uncle Walt turned. "LEFT," it said at the corner, and "LEFT" at the next one, and soon they were back at the driveway.

"Try your other word," said Uncle Walt.

"RIGHT," said the GPS. So they went round the block the other way.

Uncle Walt asked it for the grocery store. "LEFT." The library. "RIGHT." The post office, the dentist, the moon. "RIGHT," it said to all three, with great confidence.

"Where are we?" asked Uncle Walt, somewhere past the water tower.

"RIGHT," said the GPS, which was no help at all.

By dark they had passed the same mailbox nine times, and Uncle Walt had begun to suspect it of following them.

So Uncle Walt wrapped the GPS in good paper and brought it along today. It may be the very thing you are holding. If you open a banana slicer instead, count yourself lucky. And if a small voice in the box says "LEFT," do not follow it home.

Short: The GPS With Two Words

Next step Playing with steals next? Draw the picking orderGo again with a story for your occasion

How it works

In a left right gift exchange, everyone holds a wrapped gift and passes it one seat at each LEFT or RIGHT the reader says. These eight stories are comedies that name no holiday. Press Start: give me 3 words for the first.

Read the full guide

How to play

Everyone sits in a circle, three people or more, with one wrapped gift each. The reader goes slowly. Each LEFT or RIGHT in capitals sends every gift one seat, to the left or to the right. When the story ends, you open the gift in your hands.

Pick one from the Story list

The GPS With Two Words and The Cart With One Stuck Wheel run about 2 minutes. The Marching Band, The Dance Lesson and The Tongue Twister run about 3. The Couch is a left right gift exchange story in two parts of about 3 minutes each, with a rest between them for a big circle.

Tips
  • Every story ends one or two seats from where it began, so nobody goes home with their own gift.
  • The Tongue Twister has the reader say the twister again and again. Hand it to your fastest talker.
  • Type bath mat, not a bath mat: the story adds a or an.

Questions and answers

Which is the left right poem for gift exchange night?

There are two. The Shoes on the Wrong Feet has 10 couplets, about 2 minutes and 9 passes. The Dog Takes a Walk has 16 couplets, about 3 minutes and 11 passes. Pick either from the Story list.

Are these left right gift exchange games only for Christmas?

No. None of the stories names a holiday or a season, so the same sheet works at a Christmas swap, an office party or a birthday.

How many passes does each story have?

From 7 in The Cart With One Stuck Wheel to 12 in The Marching Band That Could Not Turn. Each part of The Couch has 9. The list under the tool gives the LEFT and RIGHT count of every story.

Can I print a story?

Yes. Choose the story, give it the three or four words it asks for and press Print. Only the story prints, with LEFT and RIGHT in capitals.

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Browse Word Games

All 9 stories

Show the list
  • Short: The GPS With Two Words Short, about 2 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 4. A one-dollar GPS that knows two words. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × town, 1 × gift.
  • Short: The Cart With One Stuck Wheel Short, about 2 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. A grocery cart that will only turn one way. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × town, 1 × gift.
  • The Marching Band That Could Not Turn Standard, about 3 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 7. A town band, one whistle and a tuba that cannot hear it. Gifts end two seats right of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 2 × name, 1 × town, 1 × gift.
  • The Dance Lesson Standard, about 3 minutes. LEFT 6, RIGHT 5. A beginner at line dancing and two feet that look alike. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 3 × name, 1 × town.
  • The Tongue Twister Standard, about 3 minutes. LEFT 6, RIGHT 5. A tongue twister contest the reader has to get through too. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 2 × name, 1 × town, 1 × food.
  • Long, Part One: The Couch Goes Down Long, part one, about 3 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 4. A free couch and a stairwell with a corner. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 3 × name, 1 × town.
  • Long, Part Two: The Couch Goes Up Long, part two, about 3 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 4. Four floors up. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Two seats left after both parts. Asks for 4 words: 3 × name, 1 × town.
  • Rhymed, Short: The Shoes on the Wrong Feet A short left right poem: 10 couplets, about 2 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 4. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × town, 1 × food.
  • Rhymed, Long: The Dog Takes a Walk A left right poem for a gift exchange: 16 couplets, about 3 minutes. LEFT 6, RIGHT 5. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × dog name, 1 × town.

The kinds of words the game asks for

  • Name a first name; a made-up one is fine. More examples: Sir Reginald, Professor Plum, Doctor Noodle.
  • Food something to eat, like porridge. More examples: pickles, custard, cheese.

How these stories were written: All eight stories (the long one is in two parts) were written for this site in October 2026. None is adapted from a circulating left right story or poem, and none names a holiday. The names are the ones you type, or samples; no real person appears. Pass counts are counted by script from the final text. Licence: own work