Are you thinking of organizing a gift exchange game this year? A gift exchange game is a fun and social way to enhance the Christmas celebration together with family and friends. There are many ways to play, and with the right gifts and rules, you can create a memorable moment filled with laughter and surprises. Here we have gathered everything you need to know to succeed with this year's gift exchange game!
What is a Christmas gift game?
The Christmas gift game is usually a type of game where participants take turns choosing, opening, and sometimes "stealing" gifts from each other. The game involves everyone bringing one or more gifts (often within a predetermined price range) and then following rules for how to exchange, steal, or choose gifts. This way, everyone participating has a chance to go home with a fun or unexpected Christmas gift, and no one knows in advance what will be in the packages.
Christmas Gift Game Rules
The dice game is the simplest and most popular variant of the Christmas gift game. Here is what you need and how to play!
This is what you need:
- 1 die
- A mobile phone for timing
- 1–3 Christmas gifts per person
This is how you play the Christmas gift game
Preparations:
- Decide how many packages each person should bring and what price range you want to stay within, for example, 50, 100, or 200 SEK per package. It is common for everyone to bring 1–3 packages each.
- Inform the participants about the game in advance so that they have time to purchase their packages.
- Sit around a table and place all the packages in a pile on the table.
Below is some inspiration on how to proceed. You can choose to play with or without stealing packages. If you want to play a bit nicer to avoid sad faces, you can change the rules so that a 1 means you have to give a package to a chosen person instead of someone stealing the package. If you instead want to make the game more difficult, you can also play with two dice, where both dice need to show the same numbers to take a package.
1. First round – Choose a package from the pile:
The order is determined and the youngest player starts.
The players take turns rolling the dice. If you roll a 1 or 6, you can choose a package from the pile. Continue until all packages are gone.
2. Second round – Steal the package:
Set the timer for about 10 minutes (longer time if there are many players) and make sure no one can see the time. The oldest player starts rolling the dice. If you roll a 1 or 6, you can take a package from another player instead of taking from the pile. When the timer rings, the round is over, and everyone opens their packages.
3. Third round – Final round:
Set the timer for about 5 minutes. The players roll the dice as before. If you roll a 1 or 6, you can take an opened gift from any person. When the timer rings, the game is over. Those who have been the luckiest now have the most gifts!
Secret Santa - how does it work?
Another fun variant of a kind of Christmas gift game is to play secret santa. Here, like the gift exchange game, you can decide on a price for the gifts before you start. The point of the game is that you are assigned a person in the group to whom you should buy a gift without their knowledge. When the person then opens their package, they can guess who gave it! A simple way to save money and resources while creating a lovely Christmas atmosphere when you have a larger group of friends or family.
5 tips on gifts under 100 SEK for Christmas gift games
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5 tips on gifts under 200 SEK for Christmas gift games
Buy the product online: Vega Heat Stand, Krissi Spice Mill Stainless Steel 2-in-1 (also available in black), Loke Onion & Vegetable Chopper, Wallberg Hamburger Press, Garli Garlic Press
5 tips on gifts under 500 SEK for Christmas gift games
Buy the product online: Samara Bowl Set Rotating Tray, Frona Breakfast Tray, Art Barset, Sundby Bioethanol Lantern Black (also available in stainless steel), Akira Knife Set brown handle (also available in black)
Celebrate Christmas with Dorre
We at Dorre wish you a wonderful Christmas in the company of loved ones. On our inspiration page, you will find several articles with tips on everything from Christmas recipes to gifts.