With large families, getting a gift for every person may not be financially possible, especially with rising prices. From Secret Santa exchanges, cookie swaps, and scavenger hunts and games, holiday gift exchanges can be an excellent way for large families or friend groups to show their love and gratitude for one another without breaking the bank.
Here are five creative ways families can organize gift-giving this holiday season!
Secret Santa
With large families, it can be overwhelming and expensive to buy a gift for everyone. In this classic holiday gift exchange, the name of every family member is written on a card and placed in a hat, and each person takes turns drawing a name. Each person will buy one gift for the person they have drawn.
A price limit can be set to manage costs, keep it fair, and prevent overspending. Preferred gift ideas can also be added to the name card so that it takes the guesswork out and everyone is happy with what they get.
Some gift ideas that we think everyone would enjoy include:
White Elephant Gift Exchange
This is also known as the "Dirty Santa Gift Exchange" because it involves stealing other people's presents. Everyone sits in a circle and all the presents are piled in the middle. Each person takes turns drawing a number from a hat.
The person who is No. 1 goes first. They get to pick a gift from the pile and unwrap it, revealing to everyone what it is. Then the person who is No. 2 goes. They can either pick a new gift from the pile or "steal" the opened gift. If someone has their gift "stolen" they get to go again, either stealing or picking from the pile. The exchange keeps going until everyone has a gift.
Some gift ideas we think everyone will want to steal include:
Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn't love a fun little game during the holidays? This one takes some planning and organization beforehand but it's definitely worth the effort. You will need to prepare clues, hide the treasure, and play game master.
Divide into teams and provide each group with a game card. On the card, there can be riddles, clues, trivia or quests to solve. The location of the treasure will be revealed once the final clue is completed.
The treasure can be simple and inexpensive and enjoyed at the moment. Some examples could be a box of chocolates or a few bottles of wine. Or you make the treasure another game to keep the fun going. Some games we love include:
Exploding Kittens Original Edition — Card Games for Adults Teens & Kids
Gift Category
Everyone chooses a category from which they want a gift. A price limit is set.
Some categories can include books, gaming, fitness and health, self-care, cooking, baking, beauty, music, movies, outdoors, and fashion. A tally is made for each category. Each person is randomly assigned a category to buy a gift.
At the party, gifts are wrapped and labeled with their category. Guests leave with a gift from the category that they originally chose and open them up at home for a surprise.
Cookie Swap
Holidays and treats go hand in hand. Guests bring their homemade cookies and the host takes care of packaging them up. Everyone leaves with a tin or container full of different cookies. Be sure to inform the group about food allergies, such as nuts, dairy, eggs, and gluten so guests can prepare.
If you're not the baking type, we love these delicious cookies that you can buy online:
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