Valentine's Day Gift Exchange Ideas

Valentine's Day gift exchange games as printed sheets, starting with a secret valentine week.

1: A week before February 14, every name goes into one bowl.Valentine's Day is February 14, so the draw is on the 7th.
2: Each person draws a name and tells nobody.Your own name? Put it back and draw again. The organizer keeps the only full list.
3: The organizer names one amount for the whole week.One amount for everyone keeps the gifts even. Notes cost nothing.
4: On three days of that week, leave a small unsigned surprise for your person.A note, a treat or a paper heart, left on a desk, a locker or a doormat.
5: Every note says one kind, true thing about the person.Kind the way a friend is kind. Nothing about looks, and nothing romantic.
6: On the 14th, bring one wrapped gift with only the receiver on the tag.The giver stays off the tag until the reveal.
7: In a circle, each person opens their gift and makes one guess at who gave it.Right or wrong, the giver owns up, and then opens their own gift next.
8: Say thank you out loud before the next gift is opened.The three notes can be read aloud too, if the receiver wants.

Next step A questionnaire for the name you drew More ways to run a gift exchange

How it works

These Valentine's Day gift exchange ideas are rule sheets for friends, families, clubs and offices: a secret valentine week, swaps for a group and a card swap that leaves nobody out. Print this list prints the first sheet.

Read the full guide

How a secret valentine gift exchange works

Names are drawn a week before February 14. Each person leaves three small unsigned surprises for the name they drew, then brings one wrapped gift to the reveal. The first sheet has the eight steps.

The Valentine's Day gift exchange list

Choose What to bring in the list next to Print this list for themes in words, such as Handwritten only or Flowers that last. Card-and-treat swap is the sheet for a club, a team or a class, where everyone brings one for everybody.

Tips

Notes on every sheet are friendly, not romantic: kind, true and fit to read aloud.
Name one amount for the whole week in the first message, before anyone shops.

Questions and answers

What is an easy valentine gift exchange game for friends?

Matching buttons. Drop pairs of matching buttons in a jar, each guest draws one, and the two who hold the same button swap gifts. It is on the Swaps for friends sheet.

What are good Galentine gift exchange ideas?

A brunch swap on February 13, the day usually marked as Galentine's Day: each friend brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. Compliment tags and shoebox mailboxes, on the same sheet, suit it too.

How do you keep anyone from being left out?

Use the card swap rule: bring one for every name on the list, or bring none. The organizer keeps spare cards for anyone who forgot or joined late.

When do you draw names for a secret valentine?

Seven days before February 14, which leaves time for three small surprises before the reveal. For a shorter version, draw three days ahead and leave one.

Does a secret valentine have to be romantic?

No. On these sheets it works like a secret Santa in February: a drawn name, small kind surprises and one gift, among friends, family or colleagues.

All 42 ideas

Secret valentine week 8

1: A week before February 14, every name goes into one bowl. Valentine's Day is February 14, so the draw is on the 7th.
2: Each person draws a name and tells nobody. Your own name? Put it back and draw again. The organizer keeps the only full list.
3: The organizer names one amount for the whole week. One amount for everyone keeps the gifts even. Notes cost nothing.
4: On three days of that week, leave a small unsigned surprise for your person. A note, a treat or a paper heart, left on a desk, a locker or a doormat.
5: Every note says one kind, true thing about the person. Kind the way a friend is kind. Nothing about looks, and nothing romantic.
6: On the 14th, bring one wrapped gift with only the receiver on the tag. The giver stays off the tag until the reveal.
7: In a circle, each person opens their gift and makes one guess at who gave it. Right or wrong, the giver owns up, and then opens their own gift next.
8: Say thank you out loud before the next gift is opened. The three notes can be read aloud too, if the receiver wants.

Swaps for friends 9

A brunch swap on the 13th Galentine's Day is usually marked on February 13. Each friend brings one wrapped gift and draws a number.
Compliment tags Each tag carries a kind line about the receiver in place of a name. The room works out who it is for.
Hearts choose first Deal one playing card each. Hearts pick a gift first, highest heart leading, then everyone else by rank.
Mailed by the 7th, opened on a call For friends in different towns: draw names by message, mail one package each and open on camera on the 14th.
Matching buttons Drop pairs of matching buttons in a jar. Each guest draws one, and the two who hold the same button swap gifts.
Reach into the pillowcase All the gifts go into one pillowcase as a grab bag. Reach in without looking, youngest first.
Red, pink or white piles Gifts are wrapped in one of three colors. Draw a colored bead to learn which pile you choose from.
Shoebox mailboxes Everyone decorates a shoebox with a slot. Gifts and notes are dropped in during the party and opened together.
Word pairs find each other Slips carry halves of pairs: salt and pepper, lock and key, thunder and lightning. Find your match and swap.

Card-and-treat swap 8

1: The organizer sends out one list with every name on it. First names, spelled right. A head count is not enough: people look for their own name.
2: Bring one card for every person on the list, or bring none. All or none is the rule that keeps anyone from being left out.
3: Address every card to a name, or leave every card blank. Blank cards are quicker for small children to hand out.
4: Each person sets out a bag or a box with their own name on it. Decorating the box can be the activity of the week before.
5: Walk the row and drop one card in every box. Send givers along five at a time, so the row never jams.
6: A treat, if any, is the same for everyone and follows the organizer's note. Where food is not allowed, a sticker or a pencil stands in.
7: Open the boxes together, at one signal. Nobody counts cards while others are still handing theirs out.
8: The organizer keeps spare cards in a drawer. They cover anyone who forgot, and anyone who joined after the list went out.

What to bring 8

A friendly message printed or stitched on it A mug, a card, a tote or a pillow, as long as what it says is kind.
A pair to split with a friend Two of a thing made for sharing: two mugs, two bookmarks, two bars of chocolate.
Flowers that last A packet of seeds, a bulb or a plant in a pot, in place of cut flowers.
Handwritten only Nothing bought: a letter, a list of ten good things about the person, or a drawing.
Hearts all over: on the box, the paper or the present The gift, or the box it comes in, has the shape of a heart.
Pens, paper and stamps for writing to people Notepaper, a pen, stickers, stamps or a small notebook, tied with string.
Picked with one person in mind Small, and picked for that one person. The tag says why in a sentence.
Something sweet to pass around Chocolate, candy or something baked, in a size the receiver can share with the room.

Settled disputes 9

A gift plainly cost more than the amount. It stays. The organizer repeats the amount to everyone next year, not to one person.
A giver missed one of the three days. They leave two surprises the next day. Nobody is told who slipped.
A newcomer arrived after the draw. The organizer becomes their secret valentine, and they become the organizer's.
A note reads as teasing or romantic. The organizer takes it away. Notes on this swap are friendly and fit to be read aloud.
A pair have guessed who is leaving their surprises. They keep quiet until the 14th. The reveal belongs to the whole room.
February 14 lands on a weekend. Hold the reveal on the nearest day the group is together.
I drew someone I hardly know. Ask one of their friends for a thing they like. A kind, true note needs only a little noticing.
One box came up a card short. The organizer adds a spare at once, and repeats the all-or-none rule next year.
Somebody would rather sit this one out. Their name stays out of the bowl, no reason needed, and they are still welcome at the reveal.

How this list was compiled

Written for this site by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03: five sheets in our own words for a Valentine's Day gift exchange among friends, family, a club, a team or a workplace. Nothing on them is romantic, and none is for couples. Two dates were read that day on English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day), and Galentine's Day, a day for friendship, is typically marked on February 13 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galentine%27s_Day_(observance)). A standard deck's suit of hearts is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_52-card_deck, read the same day. Every step, swap, theme and ruling is a house rule of the editors, and none is official. No shop, brand, product or price is named; the amount is whatever the organizer sets. A script compared every row with every other list on this site, and no row repeats one. Licence: own work