The document describes a common gift exchange activity played at Christmas. Each participant brings a wrapped, unmarked gift. Numbers are assigned randomly and the person with number 1 selects a gift to open from the pile. Subsequent participants can either select an unopened gift or steal an already opened gift from another player. The gift can change hands up to three times before being kept by the current holder. In this way, each person ends up with one gift by the end of the exchange. A variation described is to delay opening gifts until all exchanges are complete.

1. Christmas Activities - Christmas
Gift Exchange
There are many different variations of the gift exchange at
Christmas. This is the most common one for me.
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2. Materials
A gift from each participant. Each person brings a wrapped
unmarked gift. You may choose a cost limit or have them
bring a white elephant gift.
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3. How gifts are exchanged
A. Everyone sits in a circle and the gifts are placed in a pile in
the middle. Write numbers from 1-??, depending on the
number of gifts, on small pieces of paper. Do not number the
gifts. Fold the papers and place them in a hat or some other
container. Each person randomly picks a paper (number)
from the hat.
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4. B. Start with the person holding number “1″. He/she
picks a gift and opens it. Then the person holding
number “2″ can either pick a gift from the pile or take
the gift away from number one. If a person has his gift
taken away, he may immediately choose an unopened
gift from the pile and open it.
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5. C. “3″ can either take a gift from numbers 1 or 2 or pick
one from the pile to open.
D. There is no limit on the number of gifts one person
can open if others continue to take the gift they have
opened.
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6. E. Each gift can only change hands three times through
out the game. The person with the gift on the third
exchange keeps it.
F. Each person ends up with only one gift. A person may
end up with the same gift they brought.
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7. Variation
Play the game without opening the gifts till the end
when everyone has a gift in hand and all the
exchanging is over.
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8. Christmas Collection
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