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Elevate your Christmas party with our Gift Exchange Dice Game! It comes with a printable guide to make holiday gift-giving more interactive and fun.
Every holiday season my family gets together for a BIG Christmas Party. And when I say big, I mean 40+ people!
This year I was in charge of the gift exchange, which is my favorite task!
This game is a lot of fun for kids and adults, as well as small or large groups.
Supply List:
Some links may be to similar items when exact items couldn't be found online.
- 2 Dice
- Free Printable Dice Guide
- White Cardstock
- Clear plastic container to hold the dice (optional)
- Red Cardstock (optional)
- Adhesive (optional)
Free Download:
Passable Instructions Card:
Print the PDF on white cardstock.
Trim the print at the dotted line, and trim off the white edges on the side.
Glue the print on top of a piece of red cardstock to make the card more sturdy and better for passing around the circle.
Gift Exchange Game Preparation:
Before the party ask everyone to bring a wrapped present.
You can set price limits if you want, for our group we did $15.
How to Start the Game:
Have everyone sit in a large circle and place all of the presents in the middle.
Ask everyone to grab a present from the middle, making sure it is not the gift that they brought.
The oldest person in the group becomes the first player and then passes the dice to the left.
How to Play:
Shake the container holding the dice.
Then simply do whatever the matching number on the card says to do.
There is no stealing in this gift exchange game, so when you have opened your gift you are done and no longer roll the dice or swap.
How the Dice Gift Exchange Ends:
Keep passing the dice until there is only one gift left in the circle. The person who is holding that gift can then unwrap it.
Variations:
- Have the girls in the group bring a gift for a girl, and the boys bring a gift for the boys. Rule play is still the same, but when a boy rolls the dice, only the boys pass gifts, and when a girl rolls the dice, only girls pass gifts.
- Participants bring white elephant gifts.
- Each Person Rolls the dice until someone gets to unwrap a gift.
- Only pass the dice around the circle once, and then all remaining gifts are unwrapped by the person holding them.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Only one. The card can pass with the dice.
No. Once a gift is opened it is out of play.
You can choose someone else to unwrap a gift, but they must not be holding their own gift either.
Yes, it is the end of the game when everyone has opened a gift.
Sorry, Charlie. Every wrapped gift must be passed when prompted to.
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rose
so when is it the boys turn if a girl starts?
Katie
We sat in a big circle and the dice always traveled to the right. If a boy rolled the dice, the boys took the action or same if a girl rolled the dice. Or if you like you could go every other one.
Thanks for the great question Rose!
Bo
so, i opened a present, do i remove myself from the circle? since my gift is ‘out of play’ only people playing should have wrapped gifts?
Katie Adams
Correct. Once you have an opened gift you no longer pass.
Nikki
We played this last year and we kept going. One person ended up with heaps of gifts and they picked a few things they wanted and let everyone else choose a gift that missed out
Minni
What do we do if we get a 0 or a 1 on the dice.
Katie
Standard dice don't have a zero, they all start with the number 1. So if you are using two dice the lowest roll you can get is 2.
Linda
Who opens the gift the one that ends up with the gift or the person that rolled the dice
Katie
When you roll 5 you open the gift you are holding.
Melanie
You open your gift when you roll a 5 or 9
Megan
Thank you for sharing and for the free download
Katie Adams
You are welcome Megan!
Lynn
Thanks for this idea! I think to keep everyone involved for the entire duration we will change it up a little bit. We’ll allow stealing but still keep everyone in the game passing and swapping until every gift is unwrapped. Once the last gift is unwrapped then everyone keeps what they ended up with.
Katie Adams
I love it!
Becky
How many people are need to play?
Katie Adams
I would say at least 8 people.