Greatest Gift Exchange Game Ideas for Your Next Holiday Party

The holidays wouldn't be the same without a round or two of gift exchange games, amirite?

But White Elephant? Been there, done that! This year, impress your friends by switching it up and showing them a game they haven't played before. Get creative with the gifts and make sure to pick something that anybody attending your holiday party would be happy to receive. Read on for the best gift exchange ideas for your next holiday soirée!

(via Amazon)

Sock Exchange

Forget ugly christmas sweaters—funky socks are all the rage! Instead of wrapping a gift, everybody needs to purchase a fun and colorful pair of socks. Then, you literally stuff the socks with small gifts. Things like makeup, candy or your favorite set of pens will do. You then tie the top of the sock with a ribbon or bow. Everybody drops their stuffed socks in an area and then they pick up a number. The host calls out the numbers in order (one being the first person up) to pick their sock pair. When everybody has picked up a pair, the host signals for the opening of gifts to begin! Show off the results by having everybody pose in their new socks for the cutest, most colorful Instagram picture yet!

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Don't Know, Don't Tell

For this version of a gift exchange, have the party attendees wrap a random gag gift in packaging that will give away the shape but won't give away the brand or any other clues. Attendees take turns holding up their gift while others in the group try to guess what's inside the mysterious package. Whoever guesses correctly gets to keep the gift. The person who kept the gift will now hold up his or her gift and a second round of guessing begins. If it gets a bit too difficult to guess, the person who bought the gift is allowed to give out hints by answering "yes" or "no" questions.

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Gift-Giving Musical Chairs

This is one of the best alternatives to your typical gift giving game. All of your guests sit in a chair circle holding their gift. The host gets to start playing his or her favorite holiday song. When the song starts, guests need to start passing their gift to the person next to them in a clockwise motion. As soon as the song ends, everybody immediately stops in their tracks, similar to musical chairs. Whatever gift you have in your hand is yours to keep!

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Roll the Dice!

This gift exchange will require a pair of dice. Before everybody arrives, make a key for the game. For example, if you roll a total of two, the gift travels to the person in the left. If you roll a total of three, you have to pass your gift to the person to the right. A four can equal the gift being passed on to the person directly in front of you and so forth. Everybody takes a turn at the dice until they don't have their original gift. If somebody ends up with more than one gift, the person without a gift and the person with more than one will enter into a new round until everybody ends up with exactly one gift that isn't theirs.

(via Amazon)

 

Spin the Gift Bottle

This is a really fun take on the classic "spin the bottle" game. Step one is to set all the gifts in the middle of a circle you and your friends will form. The first participant grabs the bottle and starts spinning, going clockwise. The person who lands on the opening of the bottle gets to choose a gift from the pile. The same person also gets to chose who that particular gift will go to. This game works especially well with gag gifts. As soon as you receive a gift, you are out of that round. You play until everybody has a gift.

(via Amazon)

 

Now that you know exactly what games you will play with your squad during your next holiday gathering, check out THESE tips for how to buy the perfect gift for those games.