Gift Exchange Games for Family Gatherings

My extended family has 23 people. If everyone bought a gift for everyone else, that's 253 gifts. Nobody has the time, budget, or wrapping paper for that.

Gift exchange games fix this. Everyone brings one gift, and the game decides who gets what. It's cheaper, more fun, and you avoid the sad reality of buying 22 generic candles. We've tried most of these formats over the years, and some work way better than others depending on your family's vibe.

Classic Secret Santa

The OG. Everyone draws a name and buys one gift for that person. Nobody knows who's buying for whom until the reveal.

Best for: Families who want thoughtful, personal gifts. This format works because you can actually put thought into one gift instead of spreading your budget across a dozen mediocre ones.

The catch: Someone has to organize the name draw. If your family is spread across different cities, the “names in a hat” method doesn't work. You either need someone to coordinate it (and that person knows all the matches), or you use something like GiftDice to do it digitally. Everyone gets a private notification with their match, no one can peek at the spreadsheet, and the organizer doesn't have to keep secrets.

One family we heard from does this every year with 15 members across four states. They set up the group in GiftDice, share the link in the family group chat, and draw matches two weeks before Christmas. Their words: “It takes longer to argue about the budget than to set up the exchange.”

White Elephant (Yankee Swap)

Everyone brings a wrapped gift. You take turns picking from the pile or stealing an already-opened gift from someone else. Chaos ensues. Feelings get hurt. Christmas is saved.

Best for: Competitive families who love drama. If your holiday gatherings already involve heated Monopoly games, White Elephant is your format.

The rules that matter: Set a steal limit (3 per gift is standard) or you'll be there all night. Agree on a budget — $15-30 works for most families. And decide ahead of time: are gag gifts allowed, or do you want things people actually want?

GiftDice's White Elephant mode handles the turn order randomly so there's no argument about who picks first. Surprisingly, this is the #1 source of pre-game conflict in most families.

Gift Auction

Give everyone the same amount of play money ($100 in fake bills works well). Wrap all the gifts and auction them off one by one. Highest bidder wins each gift. It's basically eBay with your family, and it gets wild.

Best for: Families who enjoy strategy. The fun is in the bidding — do you blow your whole budget on the first big item, or save your money and hope the best gift comes later?

Pro tip: Have one person act as the auctioneer. Give them a gavel (or a wooden spoon). The theatrics make it.

Musical Gifts

Sit in a circle, each holding a wrapped gift. Play music. Pass gifts around. When the music stops, you keep what you're holding.

Best for: Families with young kids. It's simple, fast, and there's no stealing or strategy to explain. Everyone ends up with something and nobody cries (usually).

This is also a good option if you have a mix of ages and attention spans. The whole thing takes 10 minutes, which means you can get back to eating.

Gift Bingo

Number all the gifts and create bingo cards. Play regular bingo (someone calls numbers). When you get bingo, you pick a gift by number. First bingo gets first pick.

Best for: Large families who want structure. When you have 20+ people, games like White Elephant take forever. Bingo keeps things moving and everyone stays engaged because they're playing.

Variation: Instead of numbers, use holiday-themed bingo cards with phrases like “someone mentions fruitcake” or “grandpa falls asleep on the couch.”

Tips That Apply to Every Format

• Agree on a budget beforehand. Nothing makes an exchange awkward faster than one $10 gift sitting next to a $100 one. $25-50 is a comfortable range for most families
• Set stealing limits for White Elephant (3 steals per gift max). Otherwise one popular gift circulates for 45 minutes
• Have a few backup gifts wrapped and ready in case someone forgets theirs. It happens every year. Don't make it a big deal
• Take photos. These are the moments that become family inside jokes for years. The expression on Uncle Dave's face when his gift gets stolen for the third time? Priceless
• Don't force anyone to participate. Some people just want to watch. That's fine. The best family traditions are the ones people opt into

Getting Started

Pick a format that matches your family's personality. Competitive? White Elephant. Sentimental? Secret Santa. Chaotic? Gift Auction. Kids running around? Musical Gifts.

Whatever you choose, GiftDice handles the logistics — matching, turn orders, budget tracking — so you can focus on the actual fun part: watching people open gifts.