Gift Exchange Games
Gift exchange games are great aids to spice up your celebrations. They can be easily planned for a party at home or in your office. These games are the easiest ways of getting away with unwanted gifts but there are also chances that you may end up with a gift, more weird than the one you got rid off.
White Elephant Game
In this game every guest is asked to bring along a gift. The gift should be simple and inexpensive. It can be anything from candles, trinkets to handmade cards or small art. The guests are asked to sit in a circle and a bag containing all the gifts is circulated among them. The first guest will choose a gift and unwrap it. The second one can either choose another gift or steal from the first person. The process is repeated until all the gifts are distributed. You can set your own rules, like a gift cannot be stolen more than three times, a person cannot steal more than five times, etc.
You can also bring in variations such as make numbered tabs and ask each guest to pick up one paper and distribute the gifts according to their numbers. Or you can ask simple general knowledge questions and only those guests who can give the correct answer are given the option of stealing; while others will have to take a new gift.
Secret Santa
In this game all guests have to get gifts with no names on them (neither donor nor recipient). Names of all guests will be written on chits and circulated. Each guest has to pick up a chit (make sure it does not contain your own name). Don't disclose the name to anyone. Write that name on your gift and place it on the table. Give a hint about yourself. Now it is the recipients turn to guess who their 'secret Santa' is? There is another way of playing this game. It can be played for many days. Everyday, right from the start of the game; leave a small gift for your recipient with a small hint on it. If the recipient cannot guess your name until the last day; you can give your name on the last gift.
Treasure Hunt
Hide all the gifts and make a clue chit about the location of each gift. Every guest can pick up one chit. They have to search for the hidden gifts with the help of the clues. Don't give direct clues. Make the guesswork of the hidden place as difficult as possible. You can also hide all the gifts at one place. Prepare different clue chits and distribute them among the guests. The first guest to get to the place is the winner. At the end of the game the winner gets the privilege of stealing someone's gift.
The Left-right Game
This game is similar to the musical chair. Make all guests sit in a circle with the gifts they have brought with themselves. Tell one of them to stand in between the circle and read a short story. The person should stop in between and say left or right. When he says right the guests should circulate the gifts in clockwise direction and when he says left, they should start circulating their gifts in the anti-clockwise direction. At the end of the game everyone gets the gift they are holding.
The best part of these party games is that you can make as many variations to the games as you want. Design your own set of rules to make the game more attractive. You can give all sorts of funny gifts like perfumes with weird smell or some funny art work.
