Fun Games for a Gift Card Swap

Easy Games

• For an easy and quick game, have guests place gift cards in envelopes and number each envelope. Write the same numbers on small slips of paper and place the numbered slips in a bowl. Each player will draw a number and select the corresponding envelope. Alternatively, tell the players they have the option to trade one time with any player. Another idea is to have players draw gift cards in order. For example, the player with paper slip number 1 must get a gift card and can keep the gift card or give it to someone else. Player number 2 must do the same thing. Each player keeps playing in order.

Left/Right Games

• Print a left/right story from online and have the guests sit in a circle holding their gift cards. Read the story aloud. Each time you say" left," they must pass the gift cards to the left. When you say "right," they must pass the cards to the right. When the story ends, the players keep the gift cards they are holding. General left/right stories are available for any type of parties, and Christmas stories are available for holiday parties.

Luck of the Draw Games

• As guests arrive to the party, have them drop the gift card into a box with a slit cut in the top. Ask the guests to sit in a circle. Cut the slit slightly bigger so the guests can reach one hand in the box. Hand the box to one player in the circle. Play music and tell the players to pass the box. When the music stops, the player holding the box will reach in the box and grab a gift card. She then exits the game. Keep playing until each player has a gift card. Another luck-of-the-draw game is to tape a gift card to the bottoms of all the chairs. Have all the players sit in a chair. They will keep the gift card taped underneath their chair.

Other Games

• Other games include war and a holiday trivia. Try a game of war using a deck of cards by dividing the players into two teams. Place the gift cards on a table. Flip up a card for the first player in each team line. The player with the highest card can go pick a gift card. Each round the player with the highest card can select a gift card. Keep playing until each player has a gift card. For a holiday game, sing the first couple of words of a holiday song like "Jingle Bells" or "Frosty the Snowman." The first player to raise her hand and sing the chorus can select any gift card.