Consider new ways to celebrate Christmas with your family and friends! I love having traditions to look forward to on Christmas and after recently starting a family of my own, I hope to pass on a few traditions of my own. Lets dive into three Christmas traditions I think can be fun and enjoyed by many.

Gift Exchange Game

Every time my family hosts Christmas Eve, it’s always a big spectacle. Our Christmas Eve dinners are more like parties. That being said, a headcount can sometimes be hard to determine. Anything can happen! I’ll never know who will actually show up and who will end up coming with their own entourage. With the uncertainty of guest count I still like to be sure all our guests can participate in the festivities and not feel excluded. Gift exchange games are a perfect way to be sure all guest leave with a gift and have fun too. I love playing gift games like Secret Santa but when we don’t know who’s coming it’s hard to get everyone involved and match people up. Last year I decided to play a gift game that required minimal effort as the host. I wasn’t sure how this game would be received so I sent the game instructions as a separate page in addition to my invitation. I understand that times can be hard, especially when you have multiple children in your family that want to play the game it ends up getting pricey. So I decided that I make this gift game a $10 minimum.

I asked that any person that wanted to play this gift game to bring a $10 everyday unisex gift. The game involved  a story that included the words left and right multiple times and everyone gathered in a circle with their gift. One person would read the story and each person had to listen to the story and pass their gift left or right as the words left or right were read aloud. The game was a hit! Everyone was laughing at each other for not knowing directions, hoping they would hear one of the direction words to pass their gift along. At the end of the story each person opened their gift to reveal what they received. We did this one person at a time so everyone could see what each persons gift was and to reveal who purchased the gift. You can stop there but I thought to spice up the quick story game we should play another game with a dice with the gifts we had. If you rolled a 1, you keep the gift; if you roll a 2, you choose any gift from the circle, and so on. It was fun and the gifts were fun and usable! 

There are so many left right stories online that you can find that fits your group the best.

Here are a few examples of gifts that we used for this game:

• A towel set
• Mouth wash & tooth paste
• Laundry detergent
• Scratch offs 
• Dish soap with sponge and dish towel
• Body lotions
• Glass tubber ware

Think of an everyday item that you use that other people use! A practical gift is always a great gift. The towel set gift in our game was the one everyone wanted! It was so funny to see everyone fighting over a towel. 

Bible Verses in Secret Santa

If you’re looking for a way to remind your guests that Jesus is the reason for the season, add this spin to your secret santa game! The rules are the same but use a Bible verse to inspire the gift for the person you selected. 

Each participant can either choose the verse they want their gift to incorporate or the verse can be assigned by the giver. If your participants are not familiar with the Bible or have a hard time finding a verse here are a few Bible verses that you can assign to the participants.  

• John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
  • A gift to accompany this can be a desk globe.
• Luke 2:10: “And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.’”
  • A gift to accompany this can be something with the word joy or fear not on it.
• Psalm 23:4: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
  • A gift to accompany this can be a Christian air freshener for the car as a reminder as they travel.
• Luke 2:77 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
  • A gift to accompany this can be a blanket, robe, jacket, or new clothes.
• Matthew 2:10: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”
  • A gift to accompany this can be a room projector with stars.
• Psalm 65:11: “You crown the year with your goodness; your paths overflow with rich food.
  • A gift to accompany this can be a gift card to their favorite restaurant,
• Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
  • A gift to accompany this can be a planner or calendar.

Encourage the participants to be creative, there is no right answer. When the time comes for the gifts to be exchanged really take time to read the verse that relates to the gift and open your gift. It is a good chance to remind us that Christmas is really a celebration of Jesus and his love for us. This small addition to a basic Secret Santa game makes for a great tradition and will make the group bond over Gods Word. This twist on the familiar Christmas game can open conversation that may not have been brought up before and give each other insight on so many things.

Themed Decor and Attire

As I grew up, my family found the fun in decorating for Christmas every year. It just so happens to be my favorite time of year. At some point, it has been tradition to have a new decorative theme and attire for our Christmas Eve parties.

Not only do we look forward to what the theme of the year will be but so do our guests. I’d love to share some decoration theme ideas along with a dress attire to go with it. Of course not all attendees will be on theme but it just adds a little fun for people who like to participate and it makes the photos look nice and fun to look back on.

These decorative themes do not have to be expensive! For example, for our gingerbread themed decorations we cut up the amazon boxes we hard and made little gingerbread villages and taped them along boarders of the doors or above our chimney. Also, for our peppermint decorations we used white paper plates and painted it with red swirls to mimic a peppermint candy. These can be reused and repurposed for the following years theme. Get your family to help our in the decorations and make it fun!