Playing games and activities with your family makes any gift exchange fun and festive.
You may be planning to host a gag exchange gift with your friends and family this Christmas, and you will need to draw names that will help them in the annual gift exchange.
Instead, you can consider the games below because they will help put a smile on your family’s face as they will lift the holiday spirit in your family’s hearts.
Roll of the Dice
It is a fun game that can be played by adults and children alike. This game can be considered the perfect gift-giving edition to a Christmas girlfriend sleepover party. When playing this game with your friends or family, it’s fun as it allows you to interact simultaneously and no one has an idea of what they will end up with until the game is finished.
The supplies in this game include one wrapped gift that every person playing should have, an instruction sheet that will tell the players the things to do with the dice number they will roll, and a single dice.
When setting up the game, you need to have each person wrap a gift as everyone should have a monetary budget to work with because this will make all gifts similar in value and price. Then, everyone will sit in a circle as they hold their gifts. The first person will start by rolling the dice as they follow the instructions provided on the dicing sheet. Afterward, the dice will get rolled till each person brings to open their gift.
Musical Gifts
This game may work better when having a smaller group of maybe less than 20 people or less. It would help if you asked your guests to come with a wrapped gift like iPad cases or air pod cases while playing. When your guests arrive, you should ask them to put their gifts in a designated area. Then tell your guests to sit in a circle.
When playing the game, pick out random gifts from the table and give them to one person in the circle. Then play some Christmas gifts music as you tell your guest to start passing their gifts around the circles until the music being played stops. The moment the music stops, the people with the gifts in their hands will start unwrapping them while showing the other people in the group and leaving the circle while holding their gifts. That will be the gift they will have. Then the same can be done with a different gift and a different person till everyone in the group unwraps their gift and is out of the game.
Never Have I Ever
While playing this game, start by placing the gifts in a pile in the middle of the room. Then, everyone will stand in a circle around the pile and randomly grab the gifts and place them on the ground near their feet.
The first person that will grab a never have I ever paper will slip it from the bowl and read it aloud. For example, never have I ever cheated in a board game. Then, all the other people who have done what the card says will have to switch places with someone else who is not an immediate person towards the right or left while leaving their gift on the ground.
In cases where multiple people in the group are moving, the one that gets to the empty spot behind the gifts first is the one that gets it, and if it’s a single person moving, they will have to pick someone else to switch sports.
DIY Gift Exchange
Everyone you will invite to play it in this game should bring a homemade DIY gift instead of buying it. It will give your group players a chance to be creative. The gifts can be baked cookies, painted items, or even artwork.
Cobweb gift exchange
This game fits a small group well. You will start by purchasing some inexpensive yarn balls with different colors for each guest. When your guests arrive, start collecting their exchange gifts, then tie one end of the colored string to each package. Then choose a room where the guests are not many. Afterward, unwind the rolls and make sure they go around and other under the furniture, and the path should be as difficult as possible. Then, give each guest the string and let them start finding their gifts.
Hot Potato Presents
Kids love this game since it’s fast-paced and exciting. When the game results in a gift, it becomes more fun. If you have a gathering for your children and their little cousins during Christmas, you need to choose this game, especially for the present time. Also, you can have the game set up for your kids as there can also be a set-up for adult-friendly gift exchange games that grown-ups can play.
The supplies for the game can be music, a timer, and one wrapped gift each player should be given. Then, you will have the music cued up to be playing in the background. Although this is not a must for the game, children’s holiday tunes can help set a festive mood for the gift exchange. Then start reviewing the way your timer will work.
When playing the game, let the kids stand in a circle then turn on the music. After that, set the timer for a specific time, then tell the kids to go round as they pass a single gift around the circle. When the timer goes off, then the passing of the gift should also stop. Next, the person holding the gift should unwrap their gifts while showing the group what they got. It can continue until you’re left with one person, and the last person that will be standing will unwrap the last gift.
Santa Toss
You can choose this game to play this Christmas, and here, the players will need to stand up when a statement that applies to them is read. Then the people standing can exchange their gifts, and afterward sit back. Anyone that feels to trade their gift can do so more than once so that everyone can have a new gift. Once the reading of the statements is over, each player will open their gift.
Rock Paper Scissors
Everyone invited to play the game will grab a number from a bowl and grab a random gift from the pile. Then the people in the group will go so that when one’s turn arrives, one can choose to unwrap the gift or challenge a different person to unwrap theirs.
If you choose to challenge a different person, you can play rock paper scissors against other people. Also, if you win as the challenger, you will have to steal the gift and then open it. However, if you lose as the challenger, you will keep your original gift, and the other person can start the challenge of stealing someone else’s gift. When the challenger wins, they will open the gift as the group will also move to the next person and so on.
Hidden Treasure Hunt Gift
Start by purchasing some inexpensive gifts from a store at a dollar, then wrap them and hide them in the house. After that, ensure you have created a list of the places the gifts are hidden since there is a possibility you may miss some. If your family members have difficulty finding their gifts, then use some pre-written hints since they will help keep them from finding them in hidden places.
