75 days to Christmasdays

Left-Right Gift Exchange

Pass wrapped gifts left and right as the words appear in a Christmas story, then keep whichever gift ends up in your hands.

Players
6–20
Ages
7+
Time
about 15 min
You need
Something to buy or bring

Choose

Pick a story to read aloud

Everybody sits in a circle holding a wrapped gift. One person reads, and every time they say the word left or right, the whole circle passes the gift they are holding one place that way. When the story ends, you keep what you are holding.

Reading from paper beats reading from a phone when you have a circle watching you. Every story works with 6 to 20 players.

How the Left-Right Gift Exchange works

Everybody brings one wrapped gift and sits in a circle holding one. Somebody reads a Christmas story aloud, and every time they say the word left or the word right, the whole circle passes the gift they are holding one place that way. When the story ends, you keep whatever is in your hands. Nobody chooses, nobody steals, and nobody has to be good at anything.

The hard part has always been finding a story with enough lefts and rights in it. The 6 stories above were written for this game rather than adapted to it, with every cue marked so the reader cannot miss one mid-sentence — and each one is built so the gifts genuinely end up somewhere new, whether there are six of you or twenty. Read from the screen or print one out. These are the rules the game is built on.

What it is

Left-Right Gift Exchange is a Christmas gift game in which wrapped presents travel around the group as someone reads a story containing the words left and right. Every time one of those words is heard, players pass the gift they are holding in the corresponding direction, creating an unpredictable exchange without stealing or choosing presents.

It works well for families, friends and workplace Christmas parties because everyone participates at once and nobody has to compete for a particular gift. When the story ends, each player simply keeps the present that has landed in their hands.

Setting up

Ask every player to contribute one wrapped gift within an agreed budget or theme. Seat or arrange everyone in a circle and give each player one gift to hold. Choose one person to read aloud and open a story on this page, where every left and right is highlighted so the reader cannot miss one; print it out if the reader would rather hold paper. Make sure everyone understands which direction is left and which is right before the story begins.

How to play

  1. Arrange the players in a circle and give each person one wrapped gift.
  2. Choose one person to read a Christmas left-right story aloud.
  3. Whenever the reader says the word "left," every player passes the gift they are holding one place to the left.
  4. Whenever the reader says the word "right," every player passes the gift they are holding one place to the right.
  5. Continue passing gifts as the story is read, following every left and right cue.
  6. When the story ends, stop passing immediately.
  7. Each player keeps and opens the gift they are holding at the end.

Rules

  • Pass only one position in the direction stated each time the reader says left or right.
  • Players should pass the gift they are currently holding rather than trying to keep or retrieve a particular present.
  • The reader should use the left and right cues exactly as written rather than adding extra ones during the game.
  • Keep gifts wrapped until the story has finished unless the group agrees otherwise.
  • Agree on the gift budget and any theme before participants choose their gifts.
  • For workplace exchanges, keep gifts appropriate for the group and workplace.

Variations

  • Themed Exchange: Set a theme such as ornaments, useful gifts, funny gifts or a specific spending limit.
  • Kids Exchange: Use a shorter story with slower reading and fewer direction changes.
  • Fast Story: Read the story more quickly for a livelier round once everyone understands the rules.
  • Two-Round Exchange: After the first story ends, read a second short left-right story before anyone opens the gifts.

Keep playing

More games for your group

Three that go well after Left-Right Gift Exchange — or let the Finder choose.