“The Christmas Game”, which I came across inspired our version of this game. A few changes were made to the original.    You can read last year’s post and copy some of the tags made for last year here ►Christmas Game.

    The gifts for this game are displayed on the coffee table in the family room, keeping them separate from the other Christmas gifts.

How The Game Works

    The idea is to collect inexpensive presents for everyone who will be at the Christmas party and wrap them.  Most of the gifts I purchased were $10.00 or under.  Cash or gift cards can be hidden in some of the gifts.  One of the gifts will have a more significant amount of cash to make it interesting.   I am only wrapping one gift for each person again this year.

 

   We are having eighteen people here so eighteen numbers are printed on a piece of paper, cut out, folded, and ready to be drawn from a wooden sleigh.  Number one goes first and chooses a gift and opens it.  Number two goes next.  Then, that person can pick another gift from the pile or steal an opened one from someone else.  The person with the stolen gift can either choose another gift from the pile or steal from someone else.  

    The game resumes and the next number is in play.  Although the blogger who inspired this new tradition gave three steals before being dead, we decided a gift can only be stolen two times before it is dead and can’t be stolen again.  (Most of us have probably played a similar game with co-workers, but everyone brought a gift.)

A Twist On The Game That Will Become A Holiday Tradition!

   I thought this was a great idea, but I took it a little further and chose some cheesy sayings, which were also inspired by some pins on Pinterest, to accompany the gifts.  I am sure some of the puns will get some laughs and perhaps some will receive winces but it will be so much fun.

    Deciding to make the ‘rein-beer’ gift, which we have all seen on Pinterest, I went in pursuit of some root beer.   The store where I shop only had A&W in plastic bottles, some larger, and these I chose, which are 12 ounces.  

 

   My plan is to place them in a metal bucket.  I had been watching for a bucket on all of my recent shopping expeditions but couldn’t seem to find one.  Having seen them there before and making a mental note that they were very affordable, I knew that Lowe’s had a variety of sizes of metal buckets.

     Unfortunately, lots of people must have had a similar idea.  There seems to have been a run on buckets!  This little bucket for three dollars was the last of this size.  One size up was completely gone.

     With Tacky Glue, sparkly red pom poms, googly eyes, brown pipe cleaners, the bucket, and some red and green basket filler, the ‘rein-beer’ was created. 

 

   Last year, I hid some gift cards and some cash in some of the gifts.  Alex seemed very happy with her mints and then she found the ’20’ dollar bill hidden in the cardboard sleeve!  

    This year, I chose to forgo the gift cards and simply use cash.  Dave stopped by the bank and picked up a hundred-dollar pack of singles for me to tuck into some of the gifts.

     As I was putting this bucket together, the notion of dollar bills being referred to as ‘bucks’ came to mind.  The idea for a  ‘bucket of bucks’ was born.  So, I decided to roll a few up and tuck them around the bottles.  The ‘Bucket of Bucks!’ label is designed on Pic Monkey, printed out on card stock, and attached to the bucket with clear packing tape on both edges.

   

The original gift tag I had planned was placed in the middle of the root beers on top of some of the rolled dollar bills.  Then, the finished bucket was placed on a few sheets of tissue paper, which were offset and pulled up around the entire bucket, and then placed inside a holiday bag.  Isn’t this cute?  I have to say, this is my favorite gift this year!

    So, this year I found this gift box with Hershey cups and the ingredients for S’mores!  The sentiment for this tag is changed a little to be appropriate for Christmas.  That is the great thing about this game.  You can change the wording a little to fit the gifts you find and make them your own.

    Although there are many different ways you could package ‘candy kisses’, I liked this package, which also has a cup with a lid.  How cute is that?

    Everyone seems to like these soft throws.  This one looked so rich and soft and the neutral color would go with any decor.  The price was so affordable, it seemed a perfect pick.

   The small stuffed toy in this cup is a reindeer!  How cute is this?  And there is chocolate in it, too.  Notice the clever, or not-so-clever, play-on-words here!  Yep, I made that one up on my own!  Wince…  It did seem appropriate.

 

  This gift had a bar of great-smelling holiday berry soap, a loofah, and a sleeping mask.

   The tags for this year can be copied for your personal use here ► Tags.

   Hope these give you inspiration for some great gift ideas!  Seriously, don’t you think you Need A Fun Holiday Tradition?  You’ll Love This Game!