Probably the easiest Holiday Party game ever! If you’re hosting a White Elephant Party or want a fun Christmas party game you’ll love this! This Christmas Gift Auction Game is simple and super fun for all ages!
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Christmas Party Gift Auction
Alright so you’re looking for a Christmas party game that’s simple, quick to throw together, and fun for all ages? This game is a winner. No pun intended. 🙂
Back in our pre-parenthood days, we had the best group of friends that we would get together once a month for a fun party or outing. Our good friends the Adams hosted a Christmas party and introduced us to the most fun game…
A Christmas Party Gift Auction!
Everyone was asked to bring one good gift (with a dollar limit) and one tacky/white elephant gift wrapped. (See our alterations on this below!)
We were then given Christmas Cash to use to buy our gifts! One of our friends was the “auctioneer” and started auctioning off each gift. Whoever bid the highest won that gift.
The best part about this Christmas party game…
Since each gift was wrapped, we didn’t know what we were going to get! I paid big money for a roll of toilet paper, while others ended up with gift cards and other awesome prizes.
A Family Christmas Party Tradition Was Born…
Since that first gift auction many years ago, my husband and I have continued this game with both sides of the family throughout the years.
We recently held a “Christmas Kick-off Party” over Thanksgiving Break and played this game. And our families keep asking for it year after year.
If you’re throwing an ugly sweater party, white elephant gift party, cookie exchange or even better a “Sockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” Tacky Sock party, this game would be a perfect fit!
This game plus our Christmas Movie Trivia Game are our favorite go-to Christmas party games!
Why this Gift Auction is a perfect Christmas Party Game!
- All ages can play!
- It’s simple to play, with minimal effort to prepare
- Playing will create a friendly sense of competition
- Laughter is inevitable
- It’s a perfect last-minute game
If you’re looking for a fun, last-minute Christmas Party Game idea, do a Gift Auction!
- Scissors
- Gift bags and wrapping paper- no perfect wrapping required!
- A fun group of party guests
Christmas & Holiday Cash Printables Available Here
6. For extra fun, the hosts should put together one “Grand Prize” for the end. This grand prize can be awesome or not… the person with the most cash at the end automatically wins the Grand Prize.
I’ve designed 2 versions of Cash: Christmas Cash or Holiday Cash, depending on what you prefer! Use it for this gift auction party or job charts, good behavior rewards, or Christmas stores in your classroom.
For just a few dollars, you’re on your way to a fun and simple Christmas party game!
Christmas & Holiday Cash Printables Available Here
What About Some Gift Ideas?
The whole fun of a white elephant gift auction is that some gifts will be awesome and some will be terrible! Here’s a few of the most popular gifts we’ve seen throughout the years:
- Gift cards (with only a few cents on them!)
- Cash
- Toilet paper
- Extra “Christmas Cash”
- Christmas food
- Coloring books, stickers, play dough for kids
- Christmas CD
- Dollar store items
- Bar of soap
- Can of food
- Christmas movie
Tip: Make sure you give your party guests a dollar limit so that everyone’s gifts will be equal.
To Recap:
To do a gift auction, print off the Christmas/Holiday Cash and separate into piles for each person. Have a your party guests bring a few wrapped gifts. And then auction off the gifts!
Check out the Christmas Movie Trivia Game for another fun Christmas party game!
Have so much fun at your Christmas Party!
Pin this before you forget!
14 comments
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we are doing this for Christmas! looks so fun
Is each person only allowed to win one time or can they get multiple gifts?
You can win as many gifts as you have cash for!
Is there a limi,t how many gifts a person can win, and won’t that leave people with no gift at All?
we haven’t set a limit– so if you have cash left, you can buy the gift. you might spend all your money for one gift (if the bid gets that high) or you might get mulitple gifts if you don’t have to spend very much on them.
A great way to change up the gift exchange, with minimal expense. I think I’ll buy the gifts and wrap them in decorated snowman and reindeer lunch bags.
oh, that’s such a great idea!
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If everyone is giving the same amount of money how can you outbid someone? Say both of you are willing to spend the Mac that was given?
Good question! I suppose that could happen! But, usually with all the gifts there are, it’s unlikely that everyone will have the same amount leftover. If you wanted to avoid this, you could play a game beforehand to earn different amounts… it always works out.
This was the perfect game! We have such a wide variety of ages, that it was a challenge to find something everyone could enjoy. This was ideal because it allowed everyone to participate . We’d outgrown our traditional “right-left pass the present and swap” white elephant game and we’ve struggled to find a replacement. But everyone really loved this twist! The chance of getting a decent gift kept the interest high and the fact that you could bid as long as you have Christmas Cash kept people engaged the whole time instead of checking out as soon as they had a gift. Thanks so much for sharing!!
This makes me smile. I’m so glad your family loved this gift auction!