20+ Most Festive & Fun Christmas Gift Exchange Games To Try in 2025

3. Finish The Lyrics Challenge

Supplies: Finish the lyrics questions or printable sheet, pens, timer (optional), gifts

How to Play: Print the free game sheet or choose from 100 more finish-the-lyrics questions.

• Each correct answer = pick a wrapped gift from the pile.
• Miss a lyric? You must swap your gift with someone else.
• Keep playing until all the gifts are opened.

Find all the rules, the free printable, and more ways to play here.>>

4. Christmas Trivia Showdown

Supplies: One wrapped gift per participant, Christmas trivia questions

How To Play: Place all the gifts in the center of the circle. The host will ask Christmas trivia questions. Participants take turns answering the questions. If a player answers correctly, they get to choose a wrapped gift from the center and keep it.

Alternative Play Options:

• Allow younger players to work in pairs or teams.
• Have participants “buzz in” after a question is asked. The person who gets a predetermined number of answers correct first gets to open a gift.
• Allow participants to steal gifts after they’re unwrapped. Once a gift is opened, other players can bid on it by answering trivia questions. The first person to answer correctly can swap their gift with the one just unwrapped.

More Holiday Trivia To Use For All Ages:

• Christmas Music Trivia (Grab the printable cards for easy use!)
• Christmas Food Trivia
• Christmas Movie Trivia
• Home Alone Movie Trivia
• A Christmas Story Movie Trivia

5. Roll For A Gift

Supplies: Dice, one wrapped gift per participant, Christmas dice game free printable

How To Play: Players sit in a circle holding the gift they brought. Each player takes turns rolling the die. Based on the number rolled, they either pass, steal, or open a gift.

Related: Exercise Dice Game (To Get Energy Out!)

6. Never Have I Ever: Christmas Edition

*Fun with friends too!

Supplies: One wrapped gift per participant, Christmas never have I ever questions + gift exchange rules

How To Play: Each player has a gift at their feet. The first person reads a question (e.g., “Never have I ever peeked at my presents early!”). Anyone who has done it swaps spots with someone else.

The gifts remain in the same spots throughout the entire game.

After reading the question, the player unwraps the gift at their feet, and then returns it to its original spot. Continue this process until everyone has had a turn to read a question and all gifts are unwrapped. At the end of the final round, participants keep the gifts at their feet!

Related:

• Ultimate Christmas Party Games For Adults
• Would You Rather: Christmas Edition

7. Christmas Gift Auction

Supplies: 1 gag gift and 1 traditional gift per person (wrapped differently), free printable Jingle Bills, auction paddles (optional)

How To Play: Participants bring one gag gift and one traditional gift. Each gift should be wrapped differently to keep its identity a secret. Before starting, each guest receives an equal amount of Jingle Bills for the gift auction from the host. The host acts as the auctioneer.

Guests can bid on up to two gifts, using only the money they have in hand. The auction concludes when everyone has successfully purchased their two gifts.

8. Rock-Paper-Steal

Supplies: One wrapped gift per participant

This entertaining game combines the stealing aspect of the White Elephant gift exchange with the classic challenge of rock-paper-scissors!

How To Play: Each player starts with a random gift. The first player opens theirs. The next player can either open a new gift or challenge the first player to a Rock-Paper-Scissors match to steal!

1. If they win, they get to steal the gift. Their unopened gift goes to the first player.
2. If they lose, they open their current gift, and it stays with them (unless it gets stolen later).

Play moves on to the next player until all the gifts are open.

For added fun, have each player win two out of three rounds of rock-paper-scissors.

Related: Christmas Charades For Families and Hilarious Christmas 5 Second Game

9. Heads Or Tails Gift Exchange

Supplies: One wrapped gift per participant, a coin

How To Play: Each player draws a number to determine order. Player #1 unwraps a gift. Player #2 flips a coin:

• Heads: Pick a gift from the pile to unwrap
• Tails: They must steal a gift from someone.

If someone’s gift is stolen, they must flip the coin to decide their next action.

10. Christmas Minute To Win It Gift Exchange Games

Supplies: One wrapped gift per participant, timer, Christmas minute to win it games

How To Play:

1. Decide on a Christmas minute to win it game.
2. Place all the gifts in a central location. Each participant draws a number to determine their order of play.
3. The first player selects a gift and must complete a “Minute to Win It” challenge in under 60 seconds. If they succeed, they get to keep the gift they picked. If they fail, the next player in line has a chance to complete the challenge and either steal that gift or pick a new one.
4. After winning a gift, players can choose to keep their gift or steal someone else’s, but they can only steal once per round.
5. The game continues with each player completing a challenge and either picking a new gift or stealing one. Once everyone has a gift, the game is over.

Best Christmas Minute to Win It Games for a gift exchange:

• Candy Cane Fishing
• Jingle Bells
• Candy Kiss Unwrap
• Blindfold Challenge
• Candy Cane on a String
• Snowman Stack

Grab a Christmas Minute To Win It Games pdf in the printable shop to take 6 games with you to your next holiday party!

11. Favorite Things Party Gift Exchange

Supplies: 2-4 identical wrapped gifts per person

How to Play: Each guest brings 2–4 of their favorite things (all the same item) within the set price limit (usually under $20). When it’s your turn, you share a little about why you love your item, then draw names or numbers to give your gifts to that many people.

Everyone leaves with a few new “favorite things” to try, and plenty of fun stories to go with them!

Discover how to host the ultimate Favorite Things Party + gift ideas. >>

12. Reindeer Punch Cup Game

Supplies: Solo cups, hot glue, rubber bands, tissue paper, large white foam board

This Christmas Punch Cup Game is such a fun game to play for prizes or for a gift exchange! To make it a gift exchange, you can do it in two ways:

1. Instead of placing money or gifts in the cups, put numbers in the cups. The number each participant punches out will be the order of your gift exchange. Or you can have each number correspond to a specific wrapped gift.

2. Have everyone bring a gift that’s small enough to put in a cup. Then, make the punching process your actual gift exchange. How fun!

13. Christmas Gift Card Pong

Supplies: Plastic cups, ping pong balls, numbered slips or gift cards, wrapped gifts

How to Play: Do you have a crowd that likes to move? This gift card pong game is hilarious and will have EVERYONE in on the fun. But you can also turn it into a gift exchange! Replace the gift cards with numbers that correspond to gifts. If the player bounces the ball into the cup with the number, they choose to open or steal.

14. Candy Cane Gift Grab Game

Supplies: Candy canes, gifts with numbered tags

How To Play: The Candy Cane Gift Grab game is the perfect mix of competition and mystery! With candy canes wrapped with numbers, players choose a fun Christmas word game to play to try to win and steal numbers (that correspond to gifts) from each other.

Try it with:

• Xmas Danger Word Game
• Xmas Taboo
• Xmas 5 Second Game

15. Oven Mitt Madness

Supplies: One wrapped gift (or more, depending on how many times you want to play), a pair of oven mitts, 2 dice

How To Play: Players sit in a circle and pass around a wrapped and well-taped gift. One player wears oven mitts and tries to unwrap it while the person next to them rolls the dice, trying for doubles.

When doubles are rolled, the gift moves to the next player. Whoever finishes unwrapping it keeps the prize!

See all of the rules for this game here. >>

16. Christmas Scratch-Off Surprise

Supplies: DIY scratch-off cards, a mix of cash, real gifts, and gag gifts

How To Play:
Each guest chooses a scratch-off card. When everyone is ready, they scratch to reveal their fate: “CASH,” “GIFT,” or “GAG!”

If your card says “Cash,” you choose a money prize or an envelope. “Gift” means you choose and unwrap a present. Draw “Gag,” and you get one of the silly joke gifts from the pile (think whoopee cushions, socks, or something hilariously random).

No one knows what they will end up with!

17. Ho Ho Bingo!

Supplies: Christmas Bingo cards, markers, small bills or gift cards, wrapped gifts

How To Play:
Play a few rounds of Christmas Bingo with a festive twist. Each Bingo winner picks a gift from the pile.

Want to mix it up? Winners can choose to open or steal from another player. Simple, quick, and always a hit!

18. Fun Candy Cane Dice Game

Put a twist on this fun Candy Cane Dice! Istead of using candy canes, you can have all of your guests bring a small wrapped (or unwrapped) gift for the game. Then, play the game as normal, and everyone walks away with the gift they end up with.

19. Balloon Pop Prizes

Supplies: Balloons, rolled bills or gift cards, small notes, pins

How To Play:
Before the game, insert money, gift cards, numbers, or “mystery prize” notes inside balloons and inflate them.

Players take turns choosing one balloon to pop and keep whatever is inside or the corresponding gift that matches the number. Add a few “wild card” balloons (like “Steal a gift” or “Trade with anyone”) for a hilarious twist!

20. Snap & Swap

Supplies: Wrapped gifts, phones

How To Play: Before the party, everyone takes a close-up photo of their gift (no hints!). During the exchange, each person shows their photo. Players pick gifts based on the picture only.

21. Musical Gifts

Supplies: One wrapped gift per participant, Christmas Songs Playlist

How To Play: Everyone sits in a circle holding their gift. When music plays, pass the gifts around. When it stops, keep the gift you’re holding and unwrap it!

Alternative Play: Start with multiple gifts to speed things up!

22. Saran Wrap Surprise Ball

Supplies: Plastic wrap, dice, oven mitts, and three small gifts per person (gift cards, candy, gum, cash, trinkets, jewelry, lotto cards)

*Decide ahead if the host will make the Saran wrap ball in advance or if guests will each contribute three small items.

To create the ball, start by wrapping a small object in Saran wrap. As you add layers, randomly place gifts between them, leaving plenty of wrap between each for added difficulty. Continue until you’ve built a large, gift-filled ball.

How To Play:

1. Sit in a circle with one person starting with the Saran wrap ball, while the person to their right holds the dice.
2. As the first player begins unwrapping the ball, the player with the dice rolls continuously. The unwrapping player tries to reveal and collect as many gifts as possible before the dice roller gets doubles.
3. Once doubles are rolled, the ball and dice are passed to the left, and the new players continue.
4. The game continues until all of the gifts are unwrapped.

Make it harder by having players wear oven mitts when they are unwrapping!

Pro Tip: Have a few small extra gifts to hand out afterward, in case one of your guests didn’t get anything from the ball.

23. Sock Exchange Surprise

*Popular for large group gift exchanges

Supplies: One small gift wrapped inside a holiday sock

How To Play: Everyone brings one fun, festive sock with a wrapped gift inside. Pile all the socks in the middle, then draw numbers to pick a sock to unwrap (and maybe steal later!). Everyone leaves with a new pair of socks and a gift!

*Snap and Swap Gift Pictured: Stanley water bottle

Christmas Gift Ideas

• Punny Christmas Tags (Use With These Creative Gifts)
• Stocking Stuffers For Boys
• Stocking Stuffers For Girls
• Non-Toy Gifts For Kids

What’s Next?

Check out and join our family night club to get a movie, activity, and recipe each week! Perfect for holiday movie nights!

Save these Christmas Gift Exchange Games to Pinterest to use this year!