Christmas is coming up very quickly. Can you believe it? It’s really almost here. Santa is already packing his sleigh. Instead of being filled with happiness and excitement for the Holiday, we all seem to be stressing out. Money is a huge issue. There are too many bills to pay, and too little coming in. When thinking about Christmas, "I don’t have money for this," and "How am I going to be able to afford a bunch of gifts?" run through our minds. The solution is: do not buy gifts for everyone. I repeat, do not buy gifts for everyone. A gift exchange is the way to go. Trust me, my family has been doing this the last couple years and it has had amazing results. No more worrying about spending money, no more worrying about what to get people. It’s about time for a relaxing holiday for everybody.
Instead of having a typical drawing of the names, we’re going to tell a fun story and include everyone in the gift exchange. Confused? Let me explain.
First things first: find out how many people want to participate in the gift exchange. Make sure they know they will be saving money in the long run. I’m sure they’ll be in. Don’t worry about the amount of people. The more the better. Plus there will be more gift options that you may go home with. Next, you need to pick a budget. My family typically goes with $20.00 for a gift exchange. It has been lower in the past. Make sure when you choose your budget, that everyone is comfortable with it and it is not too high for anyone. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of a gift exchange for saving money. Each person can buy whatever they like–typically make it a unisex gift. Now you think you draw names, don’t you? Nope, not in this gift exchange.
Now we are going to skip ahead a little bit so we make sure everything is ready to go for your event. Here’s the fun part. You get to write a story! The organizer of the game does this on their own. This way it is a complete surprise to everyone. Typically you would only write one story. This way you are not playing the game all night, and you can get your presents sooner. The story can, however, be any length of your choosing. You just have to include the words "left" and "right" constantly, or pick "keywords" that will replace and signify "left" and "right". For example, you can say Santa means left, and Mrs. Claus means right. Now write the story, including your keywords. Make sure you have each word in there at least ten times, but make sure one word has more mention than the other. Put it in there more, for more enjoyment. Now that you have your story written we are ready for the event.
Have everyone gather in a circle, each person holding their own gift (wrapped). Now one person, normally the event planner, starts reading the story. As your keywords pop up make sure everyone passes their gifts to the left or right. The gifts will be passed each time you read your keyword. By the end of the story each person should have a different person’s gift. Your original gift should be several people away from you at this point. Now announce "open your gifts" as loud as you can!
Now your job is done. Everyone enjoyed the interactive gift exchange, and saved a lot of money in the process.
