The smaller children may be excited for Santa and gifts but that doesn’t mean the grown ups can’t have a little fun as well. Whether you are looking to host a gathering at home or celebrate with your co-workers you can make gift exchanges fun with these creative ideas. You can also set a theme for your gathering like ugly sweater, pajama night, or have all the guests stick to a theme for all the gifts such as wine, ornaments, or cookies.

We’ve found two ideas that are sure to bring smiles and holiday cheer. The basic concept is to set a price range and every participant purchases a gift to exchange. Select one of the following games and have some fun!

Game: Left Right Left

Game Rules:

• Gather Gifts: Each participant brings a wrapped gift and holds it. Ideally, the participants would stand in a circle.
• Choose a Story: Select a Christmas-themed story with frequent use of the words “left” and “right”.
• Read the Story: The host reads the story aloud, pausing at each “left” or “right” to allow for gift passing.
• Pass the Gifts: When the story says “left,” guests pass their gift to the person on their left. When it says “right,” they pass it to the person on their right. 
• Keep Your Gift: At the end of the story, everyone unwraps and keeps the gift they are holding. Of course, the rules can be changed, and gift exchanges can be allowed if agreed upon.

Game: White Elephant

Game Rules:

• Gather Gifts: Each participant brings a wrapped gift.
• Select the Order:  They get assigned an order to unwrap a gift. Ideally, pull a number from a hat.
• Select Your Gift: When it’s your turn, you select a gift at random and unwrap it so everyone can see the gift
• Keep or Steal:  You can keep your gift, or you can “steal” one of the other unwrapped gifts. This continues so that each participant has a turn.

Variations:

• There are many variations to these rules regarding stealing gifts.
• Example: Gifts can be stolen up to 3 times. After the third steal, the person holding a gift is “safe” and gets to keep it.

Fun and games aren’t just for the little kids! Enjoy this holiday season and be sure to follow us for more cool ideas. 

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