Debt Free Christmas Challenge: Christmas Gift Giving Ideas -

SAVE FOR LATER

The pressure to have an amazing Christmas holiday with beautiful family pictures, tons of delicious food, the perfect gift for every person on your list, and making cherished memories with your friends and family can create a LOT of STRESS!

It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday rush of trying to create the perfect Christmas season. And it’s easy to go way over budget without a Christmas List and Budget.

Planning your gift giving with family and friends can help you save money and cut down on all the stress of keeping up with Christmas! Choosing a gift giving exchange will help you save money and create memories for years to come.

Set Up a Christmas Gift Giving Exchange

~ This article may contain affiliate links. I only suggest product or services I believe will benefit my readers. All opinions are 100% mine! Read the full privacy policy here ~

Talk to your family (and any groups you exchange gifts with) about creating a way to minimize the amount of gift giving. As much as we would like to give a gift to every person in our family, (or maybe only our favorite family members!) a gift exchange can cut down on the amount we spend, give us room in our budget to buy a good quality gift, and reduce holiday stress.

How to Set Up a Gift Exchange

Choose someone to be in charge.
Write each person’s name on a slip of paper, or you can use Elfster, a gift exchange generator.
Pull names and give a name to each person.
Set a budget as a group, such as Gifts Under $5, Gifts Under $20, DIY-only gifts, etc.
Each person buys a gift for the name they pulled
The gift is wrapped and exchanged on a chosen date

Christmas Gift Giving Exchange Ideas

Family Gift Giving Exchange Ideas

Pass down a family heirloom.
Family photos
Personalized Gifts – monogrammed gifts (ex. rugs, cutting boards, jewelry, baseball caps, etc.)
Family History – each person write a favorite memory they have to keep in a book or a site like Story Worth
Family Coupon – Free babysitting, Free Homemade Dinner, Free Car Wash, Free Lawn Mowing, Free Painting

Theme Gift Giving Exchange Ideas

Antiques
Aprons
Art
As seen on TV
Books
Baked Goods
Blankets
Cookbooks
DIY
Donation to Charity
Games
Kitchenware
Liquor – favorite Adult Beverages
Movie
Mug
Outerwear Accessories – gloves, scarves, hats
Pajamas
Pets
Religious
Socks
Sports
Thrift Store Finds
Choose one STORE where all gifts must be purchased at
Travel related gifts
Wine/Wine Accessories

Christmas Gift Giving Exchange Games

Playing games with your family and friends is a great way to make memories!

If you don’t know how to play the White Elephant game, you can find directions here. And if your family is like mine…then you all will probably be making up your own rules anyway!

My Favorite Things is another fun way to share the Holiday fun! This works best if you are in a small group, and I would recommend dividing into groups of guys and girls. When we played this with our church small group, all the guys just bought each other a beer. Ha! You set a budget for your group and pick a favorite thing to give to each person in the group.

You set a budget for your group and pick a favorite thing from the past year to give to each person in the group.