Exchanging Christmas gifts at a party is truly a present.
Christmas may be a time of religious worship, family visits, caroling and decorating, but starting even before Thanksgiving, the stores begin pushing the idea of presents. Christmas gifts bulk up lists for everyone from friends to coworkers, but a gift-exchange party can take some of the load off your list. Christmas exchange parties offer the ability to gift with a theme or game, a present you may truly appreciate. Does this Spark an idea?
Handy and homemade
When Bankrate, one of the most prominent websites on banking and investments, states that "the best gifts come from the heart, not the wallet," take their quote as inspiration and run with a homemade gift for your Christmas exchange. Declare a rule that all gifts must be homemade, but let participants' creativity run wild. A homemade gift exchange allows you a peek into other peoples' hobbies. You may unexpectedly find out that friends and family members are skilled knitters, clay modelers or screen printers. For some exchange groups, setting a limit will reign in peoples' spending on craft supplies. It can also trigger creative juices to flow to see just what people can make for under $10, under $5, or whatever your limit may be.
Dirty Santa
The game name "Dirty Santa" goes by a number of different monikers, including "Yankee Swap," "White Elephant" or "Take Away." If you're looking for a way to exchange gifts with a large group of people and want to reduce your spending to just one gift, try a round of "Dirty Santa." To play, guests contribute one wrapped gift each (indicate a spending limit or theme for the gifts prior to the game). Players then draw numbers and the first number (1) selects a gift from the pile. He opens the gift and shows it to everyone. The next person (2) has the option of "stealing" the first person's gift or opening a new present. If the gift is stolen, the person it was stolen from opens a new gift. Many groups place a limit of three "steals" and then the gift is "locked" with the last person to steal it. To end the game, the first player gets the option to take any unlocked gift, since he started the game, or he can keep his current one.
Discount dollars
You may be surprised at the bounty a local dollar shop may yield in terms of gifts for a Christmas exchange party. Aside from aisles of actual Christmas-themed goods such as ornaments, tree decors and gift wrappings, dollar shops have loads of inspirational ideas. Consider making a game out of the exchange, where each person has a certain dollar limit (say, $5) to make a gift basket or bag full of dollar store items. For $5, a person could assemble a nice spa kit, with a basket filled with soaps, bubble bath, bath salts and a candle. Dollar shops also have quite a few options to make a basket to tempt someone with a sweet tooth or who is a pet enthusiast.
Tags: Christmas exchange, Dirty Santa, Christmas gifts, Exchanging Christmas, homemade gift, opens gift