Valentine's Day Left Right Gift Exchange Games

Short: The Box With No Map

Josie brought a box of chocolates to the Valentine party in Maple Grove. It was a big box, shaped like a heart, with a red ribbon. Josie set it RIGHT in the middle of the table and took off the lid. It had everything but the little paper map that says which one is which.

"No map," said Josie. "We will have to guess."

Uncle Walt did not need to guess. Uncle Walt had a system. "The caramels are always on the LEFT," said Uncle Walt, and took one from that side, and bit it.

It was coconut.

"Then they are on the RIGHT," said Uncle Walt, and tried again. That one was a cherry, the kind that runs down your chin.

By now the whole party had an opinion. Round ones are nut. Square ones are caramel. The ones with a squiggle on top are anybody's guess. The box went round the table to the LEFT, and every guest took one and made a face, glad or sorry.

When the box came back to Josie, the tray was empty, apart from one chocolate LEFT in the corner. It was a square one, with no squiggle.

"That is the caramel," said Uncle Walt. "I would know it anywhere."

It was coconut too.

So Josie lifted the empty tray to start on the layer below. And there, RIGHT under the tray, lying flat, was the little paper map.

The caramels, it said, were the four in the middle of the top layer. There were none LEFT.

Happy Valentine's Day. Whatever you are holding now is yours to keep.

All 5 stories

Show the list

Short: The Box With No Map Short, about 2 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. A box of chocolates, no paper guide and a guest with a system. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × town.
The Card With No Name Standard, about 3 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. An unsigned valentine and a morning of detective work. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × town.
Candy Boxes: The Candy Hearts For passing candy boxes, about 3 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 4. Sorting the kind hearts from the odd ones. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × town.
Friends' Dinner: The Heart-Shaped Cake For a friends' dinner, about 3 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 3. One square cake, one round cake and a trick. Gifts end two seats left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × town.
Rhymed: Hearts All Round Rhymed, 13 couplets, about 2 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. A party for friends, down to the last cookie. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × 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.

How these stories were written: All five stories were written for this site in October 2026, and none is adapted from a left right story in circulation. The host, the guest and the town are the names you type, or samples; no real person appears. Pass counts are counted from the final text. Licence: own work

How it works

In Valentine's Day left right gift exchange games, everyone passes a gift or a box of candy one seat at each LEFT or RIGHT. Press Start: give me 3 words to put your names in The Box With No Map.

Read the full guide

How to play

Seat three or more round a table or in a circle, each holding one small wrapped gift or a box of candy. One person reads, slowly. At every LEFT or RIGHT in capitals, everything moves one seat that way. After the last line, each player keeps what they hold.

Pick a story

The Box With No Map is the short one: chocolates, and a guest with a system. The Card With No Name is a small mystery. The Candy Hearts suits passing candy boxes. The Heart-Shaped Cake is a friends' dinner. Hearts All Round is 13 rhymed couplets.

Want one guest to win the chocolates? Start the box on their right: every story but The Heart-Shaped Cake ends one seat left.
Stories that name no holiday are on the funny left right gift exchange stories page.

Questions and answers

Is there a Valentines gift exchange left right story to print?

Yes, five, all free. Each prints whole with your own names in it and every LEFT and RIGHT in capitals, ready to read at the table.

How long does a Valentine's Day left right game take?

About 2 to 3 minutes a story. The Box With No Map and the rhyme take about 2 minutes, with 7 passes each. The Card With No Name, The Candy Hearts and The Heart-Shaped Cake take about 3, with 7, 9 and 8.

What do you pass in a Valentine left right game?

Small wrapped gifts of about equal value, a box of candy each, or one box of chocolates for the whole table. With three or more players, nobody ends with the one they started with.

Is a Valentine left right game only for couples?

No. These stories are about friends, neighbors and a dinner table, and nobody in them is anybody's sweetheart, so they suit a friends' dinner, a family party or a group at work.