Gift Exchange Games for a Holiday Group Trip

Pick a game by group size and ages

The right game depends on how many people are playing and how old they are. Stealing games are the most fun for teens and adults, while name draws suit families who want everyone to get something they will use.

Most mixed-age groups do best with two games: a short kids' exchange first, then a white elephant or dice game for everyone over about 12. If your group is planning the whole holiday week together, our guide to Christmas and New Year in a vacation rental with family covers booking, decorations and the New Year's Eve plan.

Set the spending limit and the rules early

Agree on the limit, the game and the date of the exchange at least two weeks before the trip. Put all three in the group chat so the people who are not organizing can shop without guessing.

A good limit is one the person with the tightest budget is happy with, not the average of what everyone would spend. In a family, that is often a young adult, a student or a household paying for several kids. Many groups pick a round number such as $20 or $25 per adult and a lower one for children, but the right figure is whatever your group agrees.

Write the rules down in a short message:

1. The game you are playing and how turns are decided.
2. The spending limit, and whether gift cards count.
3. One gift per player, or one per household.
4. Whether joke gifts are welcome or the group wants gifts people will use.
5. When and where the exchange happens during the trip.

If your group is already splitting the cost of the house, keep gift money out of the same spreadsheet. Our guide to splitting costs on a group vacation rental covers the shared costs, and gifts work best as each person's own spend.

White elephant: the classic for a crowd

A white elephant is the easiest game to run for a big group because everyone brings one gift and no one has to know who they are buying for. The game goes by several names, including Yankee swap and Dirty Santa.

How to play:

1. Everyone brings one wrapped gift at the agreed limit and puts it in a pile.
2. Players draw numbers to set the turn order.
3. On each turn, a player either opens a new gift from the pile or steals a gift someone has already opened.
4. A player whose gift is stolen either opens a new gift or steals a different one.
5. A gift can be stolen only a set number of times, commonly two, and then it stays with whoever holds it.
6. The game ends when everyone has a gift.

The steal limit is the rule that matters most with 15 or more players. Without it, the most popular gift moves around the room for twenty minutes. Some groups also let the first player swap once at the very end, since they had no gifts to steal from on their turn.

The dice game: fast and loud

The dice game is the quickest option for 10 to 20 people and works for children from about eight. Everyone brings a small wrapped gift, and the dice decide where the gifts go.

How to play:

1. Each player starts with one wrapped gift in front of them, sitting in a circle.
2. Set a timer for five to ten minutes and pass one or two dice around the circle.
3. When a player rolls, they act on the number. A common set of rules: 1 means pass your gift left, 2 means pass it right, 3 means swap with anyone, 4 means everyone passes one seat left, 5 means steal one gift, and 6 means roll again.
4. When the timer goes off, everyone unwraps what is in front of them.

Write the dice rules on a card in the middle of the table so no one argues about them. If a few gifts are much bigger than the rest, players will chase them, so a tight spending limit helps this game more than any other.

Name draws and quieter games

A name draw suits families who would rather give one real present than play for a joke gift. Each person is assigned someone to buy for, often in secret, and gifts are opened one at a time on the night.

Draw names before the trip, not at the house, so people have time to shop. A free online name generator handles the draw and can exclude couples from drawing each other. Ask each person to add two or three ideas to a shared list, so the giver is not guessing what a cousin's teenager wants.

Two variations work well for a group that wants a little more play:

• Guess the giver. Each gift comes with a short clue card. The person opening it reads the clue aloud and guesses who bought it before the giver is revealed.
• Group pick. Small teams of three or four pool their limit and choose one gift together for someone else in the group. This works for teams and friend groups who don't know each other well.

Name draws take longer per gift than a white elephant, because each one gets its moment. With 15 or more people, open gifts in two rounds with a break for dessert in between.

Kid-friendly versions

Give children their own exchange with their own rules. Kids under about ten care more about having a gift to open than about the game, and a stealing game can end in tears.

Options that work:

• Kids' basket. One adult buys a gift per child at the same limit, and each child picks a wrapped gift from the basket in turn. No stealing.
• Cousin name draw. Older kids draw names among themselves with a small limit and shop with a parent.
• Book or ornament swap. Every child brings a wrapped book or ornament, and the group swaps in a circle. This keeps the gifts similar, which avoids comparisons.

Check the age label on every toy that goes into a mixed-age pile. A gift meant for a ten-year-old can have small parts, magnets or button batteries that are not safe for a toddler who ends up with it.

Getting the gifts to the house

The simplest plan is to wrap gifts at home and pack them in the car or in a suitcase. Wrapping paper and tape add up for a big group, and the rental will not have them.

If you are flying or don't have room, there are three options:

1. Ship to the rental, only with the host's written yes. Ask the host before you order anything. Packages can arrive days before check-in and sit on the porch, and some homes do not accept deliveries at all.
2. Ship to a store for pickup. Order from a store near the house that offers in-store pickup, and collect everything in one trip after you arrive.
3. Shop after you arrive. Plan a shopping run on the first full day, then wrap at the house. Bring paper, tape and scissors from home.

Whatever you choose, give the organizer a count of who is bringing what, so you find out before the night, not during it, that a gift is missing.

Running the night at the house

Play after a meal, in the biggest room, with everyone seated where they can see the gift pile. A large living room in a group home makes this much easier than a set of hotel rooms.

A few habits keep the evening smooth:

• Number the turns on slips of paper and hand them out at dinner.
• Use a phone timer of about one minute per turn for a white elephant.
• Keep one or two spare gifts at the limit for anyone who forgot.
• Put a trash bag next to the pile for wrapping paper as it comes off.
• Take a group photo with the gifts before the first one is opened.

If you are still looking for a house where 10 to 20 people can sit in one room, browse our homes for groups or our family reunions page. For a group spanning grandparents to toddlers, our guide to multigenerational family trip planning covers bedrooms, schedules and quiet time.

The bottom line

For a holiday trip with 10 to 20 people, run a white elephant with a two-steal limit or a quick dice game for everyone over about ten, and a separate no-stealing exchange for the younger kids. Agree on one spending limit early, wrap gifts at home, and only ship to the rental if the host has said yes. Play after dinner in the biggest room, and keep a spare gift on hand.