How to Play 12 Days of Christmas Gift Swap Game

One of the highlights of the festive season has to be the group gift exchange. I have been part of many over the years and today I want share with you the 12 Days of Christmas gift swap game.

We’re big fans of the 12 Days of Christmas, we even created the 12 Days of Christmas dice game so we though it only fitting that we have a 12 Days theme to our gift exchange game.

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What You Need for 12 Days of Christmas Gift Swap game

You will need the cards that you can get from our free Fun Library (see the black box below). You will need to print the card, cut and shuffle them together. We recommend printing on card stock. Everyone should come with a wrapped gift.

Note: When inviting people to the party, you should set some ground rules. Start with a price range. Popular prices for gift exchanges are $5 or $20. The amount isn’t important as long as everyone knows it and follows it. The fun is in the game not so much in the gifts.

Next to consider is if you’d like to set a theme for the gift exchange. You could have everyone bring something red or something for the kitchen or even something they wish to re-gift.

How to Play 12 Days of Christmas Gift Swap Game

The first player draws the top card. She then reads it out loud. Next, she follows the directions. Some cards have everyone passing presents like the Six Geese a Laying card where everyone passes their present to the right and continues to do so until the player has honked like a goose six times.

Other cards have just the player swapping gifts with one other person like the Three French Hens cards where the player can trade their gift with the player of their choice. Say “merci” as they switch.

Then there are the cards that allow players to unwrap their gift like the Eleven Pipers Pipping card. This card has the player sing or hum as they unwrap their gift. When a player unwraps a gift, she should show all the players what the gift is. These cards also allow a player to freeze her gift if it’s been unwrapped.

If she chooses to freeze her gift, she no longer passes her gift and no one can swap or steal it.

The game is over when either everyone has their gift frozen or the agreed upon number of cards or rounds has been played.

If there are no cards left and players have wrapped gifts, you can do one of two things. First, the game can be over and the players get to unwrap their gifts and keep them. Second, you can shuffle the cards again and keep playing.

Pass the Fun

The 12 Days on Christmas is a fun addition to your Christmas gift exchange. The cards all have a fun 12 Days theme and are sure to bring laughter and a unique spin to your holiday party. You can get the cards for free in our Fun Library. (See the black box below to see how to access the Fun Library.)

And when all the gifts have their owners, don’t let the merriment stop! Check out our list of the Best Christmas Games here to find a crowd pleaser. And check out our holiday games in our Family Game Shelf Shop where you can find party games like 5 Seconds of Christmas, Christmas No-No (Taboo), Christmas Explosion (Outburst) and so many others that will have to partying well into the next day!