5 Amazing Gift Exchange Ideas You'll Love

You really can't go wrong with the classic—and it works in just about any setting, too (the office, friends, family, classrooms, etc.) If you've never done a Secret Santa or Secret Snowflake gift exchange before, it's a pretty simple concept: You set a price limit that works for your group, and then each participant draws a recipient's name from a hat without sharing who they got. The name they chose is who they have to buy a gift for. Then, gifters can either reveal their identities as they pass out gifts, or you can have everyone guess who their Secret Santa was. While it is very tempting to investigate who is shopping for your gift, you're also motivated to find something amazing in the hopes that everyone is putting in the same effort! You can easily do a Secret Santa exchange via mail if you're celebrating long-distance—you can even reveal your identities over Zoom!

Rather than draw names and shop for specific people, in a Yankee Swap, each person buys one nice, quality gift (that stays at or below a chosen price point) and wraps it, keeping their gift a secret. Come exchange day, everyone draws a number, and each number represents the order in which people get to choose their gifts. The first person will open their chosen gift before the second person chooses, and so on. Recipients can choose to steal one of the open gifts from someone who went before them (those who already opened one would get to open a new one, in this case), or open a new one.

Channel your inner child with a gift-based scavenger hunt. Have everyone in your crew buy small- to medium-size gifts and wrap them. At someone's home, hide the presents. You can limit it to a basement, the backyard, or even the whole house. Once everyone finds a present, gather in one room and have each person open the gift they found for a fun surprise—do it one at a time or all at once! Be sure to be creative when spreading the gifts throughout your home, and if you're participating, prepare to think like a curious kid!

For a little friendly competition, set a price point and have everyone buy a gift that they leave unwrapped, so everyone can see what they are. Put the gifts on display with empty cups or jars next to them. Give everyone the same amount of fake money (Monopoly money works great for this!). Have each person go up and show off the gift they bought, asking for bids. The person with the highest bid wins the gift. Do this until all of the gifts have been distributed.

A great option for coworkers, have everyone buy a new mug and fill it with small treats and goodies (again, up to a certain price limit). You can follow the Secret Santa model with each person making up a mug for a specific person in secret, go for a Yankee swap, or even use these in an auction, trivia, or musical gifts swap—how you want to exchange them is up to you, but this way all of the gifts are pretty equal.