It’s the holiday season, the time of year when many of us feel an interesting mix of both love and hate. Alongside getting gifts for the family there is always the potential for grabbing a gift or two for your workplace as well. Does your workplace hold a Secret Santa? Yankee Swap or White Elephant? Hot gift potato? Are you looking at a couple of these and wondering what in the world am I talking about?
Let us break down all of these oddly fun office party and at home gift exchange games. Perhaps this year you can hold a meeting dedicated to gift exchange ideas, not the gifts themselves, but the games! Of course, we’ll also be covering some great Secret Santa gift ideas to make the gift of giving that much sweeter.
What Are Some Fun Gift Exchange Games?
Gift exchange games can be a fun and festive way to celebrate the holidays. They can also help to promote teamwork and camaraderie, and they can be a great way to get to know your coworkers better. As mentioned a few game titles above, Secret Santa, Yankee Swap and White Elephant. Let us break down what the rules of Secret Santa, Yankee Swap, and White Elephants, so you can determine the best gift-purchasing strategy. First, we’ll discuss one of the more well-known gift exchange games
Secret Santa: Classic Christmas Exchange Tradition
The rules are simple, each individual places their name on a piece of paper, folds it, and places it into a hat (or bowl, or cup, whatever is handy really.) Each participating individual will then take a name and purchase a gift for their chosen individual. Names are not shared and kept secret through the gift opening! Participants then get to guess who their secret Santa was based on what they got.
Fun Yankee Swap & White Elephant Games
These two games are actually one and the same and depending on where you’re from, this game may be called Dirty Santa or Yankee Doodle. The rules seem simple enough. Each participant brings an unmarked, wrapped gift, and then takes a number in numerical order. The person with the 1 gets to grab a gift of their choice, open it, and show it off to the group. Then goes number 2, they too get to choose a gift and open it.
Now here is where the twist comes into play, number 2 gets to decide if they want to keep their gift or swap it with number 1’s gift. The game continues on through every participant, with each individual given the choice to choose any other opened gift for a swap. At the end of the game, number 1 gets their turn for a swap and gets to choose from all of the opened gifts. A great gift exchange idea for this, and the following games is some customized drinkware!
Hot Gift Potato: Pass the Parcel Gift Exchange
Hot Gift Potato is a fun gift exchange game that can be done at home or work. Either standing or sitting, to the beat of a timer, a wrapped gift is tossed from one person to the next. When the beat stops, whoever is holding the gift gets to keep it! The game is then repeated until everyone has their own gift.
Ever heard of the Number Facts game? Similar to Secret Santa, this game also has the guessing aspect. Once all the gifts are gathered, they will each be assigned a number. From there, the person who brought in the gift will write their present number along with a fun fact about themselves on a slip of paper. These fun facts will then be read out loud to the group. Whoever correctly guesses the facts associated with the individual wins the prize!
Grab Bag Exchange & Guess The Gift: Mystery Games
The next two gift exchange games are very similar. We have the Grab Bag Exchange, and the Guess The Gift game. Much as they sound, each person brings in a gift. With a Grab Bag, each gift is placed into a box or bag! Participants will pick a number from a hat (Or mug!) and pick their gifts in numerical order. The twist is they can’t look! They have to blindly feel the gifts and decide which one they get based on touch alone. A customized stainless steel straw set is sure to catch the participant’s interest!
Guess The Gift is similar, only it is a wrapped gift that is held up for all to guess the contents! Clues are given to help participants guess, and whoever guesses correctly first, gets to keep the prize!
Mug Exchange: Coffee Lover’s Gift Swap
We’ve got one final game we’d love to review before we move on! This game is perfect for offices and families who love their coffee! It’s the mug exchange game! In this game, each individual brings in a wrapped mug, a number is placed on each mug and participants then choose a number and get the associated customized mug as their own! This is one of our favorite ideas as it’s quick, easy, and fun with long-lasting memories of the holiday season. It also takes the guesswork out of gathering together your gift exchange ideas in the search for the best Christmas gift!
Can I Get Some Gift Exchange Ideas?
The pressure is real for some of us who are confronted with a gift exchange event. Whether at work or home among family and friends, finding the best secret Santa gifts can be an intimidating task. For this reason, we are now going to fully cover some gift exchange ideas to help spark your imagination so that you can find the perfect holiday present!
Bamboo Carving Board: Perfect For Gift Exchange
Your gift exchange ideas don’t have to be a traditional workplace associated gift. Spice up your gifts this year by stepping out of the box and grabbing something unique! Our first example is the above small 11″x7″ Bamboo Carving Board. Smaller gifts like this are a great way to share with coworkers and loved ones alike, as it gives them something to take home and use. The option to personalize this little board makes it even better as you can add your own permanent laser engraved text or design!
Perhaps you’d like to get more personal with your gift? Does your co-worker talk about a favorite vacation or home state? Perhaps your loved ones have fond childhood memories in another state or another favorite vacation? If you find yourself nodding along to any of these, then consider grabbing a custom cutting board like the destination board below!
Texas Destination Cutting Board – Best Secret Santa Gift
Our destination boards come in many different varieties, choose a favorite state or country and enjoy reviewing the laser engraved popular landmarks of each board. These destination boards originate from the top brand Totally Bamboo, where they use naturally antimicrobial and highly durable bamboo for all their cutting boards and products.
Switching gears, did we mention the option to give a unique Christmas gift this year? If you’re looking for other ideas that let you step out of the ordinary and really wow your gift recipient then consider a gift set! There are tons of gift set options available on the market, so try to find one that really fits the individual you’re shopping for.
Campground Gift Set: Best Secret Santa Gift for Outdoor Enthusiasts
A great example of a custom gift idea this holiday season is a custom laser engraved lighter. Better yet, make it a gift set with the above Zippo & Knife gift set combo. This authentic Zippo lighter and tactical rescue knife is the perfect combo for those individuals who love the outdoors. Built with durability in mind, this survival gift set is perfect for those who enjoy camping and hiking!
After gift sets, you can look at specific individual items that may be more relatable. For example, instead of getting a gift set with a knife and zippo, get just an engraved knife instead!
Black Rescue Knife: Gift Exchange Idea – Budget Friendly
This black rescue knife is a fantastic Secret Santa gift exchange idea that is sure to delight the outdoors lover or rescue personnel. Features of this engravable rescue knife include a seat belt cutter, window breaker point, and pocket clip. This knife is perfect in a vehicle emergency and a great companion for those on the go. As with all of our examples, this Black Rescue Knife includes optional laser engraved text.
Looking for something a bit different? Perhaps less outdoors-related. Consider something that is both elegant and useful. A gift idea that has gradually been growing in popularity over the last decade and has proven to be well received by both men and women alike.
Stainless Steel Hip Flask: Budget Friendly Yankee Swap Gift Idea
Don’t let the groomsman design on the above flask fool you. That is just one example of the infinite design options to choose from for our custom engraved flasks, not to mention the option to use your own designs and text. This 6-ounce flask is a blank slate ready for you to customize. The laser engraving is smooth to the touch and permanent. It will never wash, fade or chip away, allowing you complete freedom to personalize this Secret Santa gift idea.
Looking for some funny Christmas gift exchange ideas? Have we got the one for you!
Personalized Man-Card Bottle Opener: Funny & Budget Friendly Christmas Gift Idea
This laser engraved stainless steel “Man Card” bottle opener is a humorous Christmas gift that will have the men in your life laughing and joking around. The best thing about this custom bottle opener is it is not only functional but perfectly sized to fit inside a pocket or wallet, allowing him to carry it around everywhere he goes. The inclusion of a split-ring corner hole means he can even add this bottle opener to a key-ring attachment. Be sure to take a look at our selection of personalized credit card shaped bottle openers.
Now for the final item in our gift exchange ideas list. Another delightfully unisex gift option and perfect for one of your Yankee swap gift ideas.
Stainless Steel Insulated Mug: Budget Friendly Yankee Swap Gift Idea
If your co-workers need their coffee, be sure to add this mug to your list of gift exchange options. Holding an impressive 30 ounces your coworkers will be ready to go for the day as they sip their still-hot coffee. This vacuum-insulated personalized stainless steel mug is great for use all day long and will keep beverages both hot and cold for hours.
Personalize this mug not only with permanent laser etched text and design, but by mug color as well! Here at Lazer Designs, we have a solid 16 different color options for you to choose from.
Want To Review Our Gift Exchange Ideas?
Now that you’ve had a chance to read through the article, you may be thinking “Where do I start?” So rather than scrolling back up to re-read or picture hunt through everything, We’ve taken the liberty of putting together an easy-to-navigate list just for you. We have tons of budget-friendly gift ideas that can be personalized with our free laser engraving. So don’t hesitate to take a closer look at all we have to offer!
