This fun left right Christmas game is the perfect way to exchange gifts with friends and family for the holidays! Choose from one of four Christmas left right poems that can make a Christmas gift exchange just a little more fun! Simply read the poem, pass your gifts left and right when the words are read, and laugh along the way.
Every year my I come up with new gift exchange games including everything from a dice gift exchange to a deck of cards gift exchange.
There’s just something fun about switching things up from the typical white elephant gift exchange where people pick gifts, sometimes steal, and sometimes just watch each other open gifts.
This right left Christmas game is so fun because no one has to choose to steal or not, the gifts are constantly moving, and it’s fast – way faster than most gift exchanges (just not as fast as holiday hustle).
Plus, it’s hilarious. Trying to listen for the left right and making sure to pass on time is always a good time. I’ve never done a left right gift exchange where there wasn’t a lot of laughing involved.
What is a Left Right Gift Exchange?
A right left Christmas gift exchange is one I’ve seen played at numerous parties, and I hear about pretty much every single year. It’s simple and a great way to pass gifts around in a funny way.
Like the saran wrap game and Christmas bingo, it’s kind of a holiday tradition and something I’ve seen people play over and over again, year after year.
Some of the poems are about Santa and his round little belly, some are about a jolly old elf who works for St. Nick, and some of them – like these ones, are Christmas themed but not Christmas characters.
A left right Christmas game is perfect for doing a gift exchange with large groups because they take a set amount of time compared to the time being changed by the number of players.
The basic idea is that everyone sits in a big circle with a gift in their lap, someone reads a story with a lot of left and rights in it, and people pass the gifts to the left and the right until the story is over.
How Do You Play the Left Right Christmas Game?
A left right Christmas game is super simple to play, which is probably why it’s one of the most popular Christmas party games!
The first thing you need to do is print out a left right Christmas story that you want to use for the game. I have three free printable left right poems that you can use at the bottom of this post. The poems or stories are specifically written with lots of rights and lefts like the example below.
Have everyone bring a wrapped gift and place it on a table. When you’re ready to play, have everyone grab their gift and sit in a large circle, close enough together so that people can pass the gift to the person on their right and left.
Tip!
The four left right poems you can download in my post are designed so that the gift doesn’t end up on the exact same person as it started on, which is why I recommend everyone starting with their own gift. If people randomly grab a gift, it’s possible someone ends up with their own gift. It’s not a fun Christmas gift exchange game if you end up with your own gift!
Explain the game to everyone, making sure they understand that when you say left they pass left, when you say right, pass right.
Then read through the Christmas left right story slowly, making sure to emphasize when you say the word right and the word left, ideally pausing for a second on each. The verbal cues really help people – those and people passing gifts left and right to them!
At the end of the poem (or end of the story) everyone opens the gift that they have in their hands.
I highly recommend telling people to bring either white elephant gifts or unisex gifts that anyone will like since it’s totally the luck of pass on this one! Or you can just do regular gift exchange gifts if you want everyone to get something good and save the white elephant ones for an actual white elephant gift exchange!
If you want something that’s a little less luck of the pass, try my gift exchange card game!
It can be pretty hilarious to watch, especially if the person reads the story fairly quickly and there are a lot of lefts and rights in the story! And when I say story, it can be a story or a poem or really whatever. I chose to do a poem because well I like to rhyme!
If you like rhyming games, make sure to check out my pass the present game too!
Four Left Right Christmas Game Poems
I’ve created three Christmas left right poems that you can use for different types of parties and groups! Coming up with your own story can be a lot of fun too, but if you’re doing this last minute or don’t want to come up with a great story on your own, you can just download one of mine below!
- Sarah Meets Mr. Right – this one is kind of like a Hallmark movie and great for adult parties or girls nights
- Mickey & Friends – this one is perfect for kids or Disney loving families
- Saving Christmas – this one is a generic Christmas story and the newest edition to our right left poems, it’s great for all ages and all occasions.
- The Night of the Nativity – this is a specifically religious one about Christ’s birth, great for using with church activities and religious holiday events.
All of these left right poems follow the same pattern – a story that says the words left and right a lot and the words left and right are either colored or bolded so you don’t accidentally miss one!
All three work for any size group and any age, just choose whatever makes the most sense for you.
The Day Sarah Met Mr. Right
This Christmas gift exchange poem is inspired by all of those awesome Hallmark movies where the girl meets Mr. Right. After watching all sorts of movies the past week, this story just kind of wrote itself.
Here’s a little sneak peek! You can get the instant download at the bottom of this post!
Mickey Picks the Perfect Present
The second game is a story about Mickey Mouse and trying to pick out the perfect gifts for his friends. If you like Disney, or you’re playing with mostly kids, this is the left right story for you!
Notice I said story – unlike the one above, this one is a story rather than a poem. Still played the same way, it just won’t rhyme.
Three Friends Save Christmas
The third left right Christmas poem is a generic Christmas poem that features reindeer, and elf, and a snowman trying to save Christmas with just a little magic from a snowman’s hat!
This one is great for kids, family groups, or even adults. I made a more universal one that could be used for pretty much any occasion from Christmas classroom parties to office parties!
The Night of the Nativity
This story follows the birth of Christ in Bethlehem and has an overtly religious theme. I had a number of people ask for a religious version so wanted to add this as an option as well since I know many people have religious celebrations during the Christmas season.
This one works for kids, teens, and adults and is great for a religious or church setting. This one would be fun to do in combination with my follow the star activity.
Best Gifts for A Christmas Left Right Game
Since the gift everyone ends up with is random (unlike in this Scrooge your neighbor game), it’s important to make sure people know what type of gifts to bring.
Gifts for Mixed Age Groups
If you’re doing this with various ages and genders, I recommend having people do things that are as universal as possible. Some things that I’ve seen work well in the past include:
- Blankets
- Gift cards, cash, and lotto tickets
- Gourmet food
- Board games
- Sports stuff
- Outdoor games
Left Right Game Gifts for Adults
If you’re doing this with a more specific group of people like a girls night or an office party or something similar, good gift options could be things like:
- Electronics
- Gadgets or tools
- Sports team merchandise
- Mugs or water bottles
- Cool dishes, a serving bowl, charcuterie trays
- Books, magazines, cookbooks, etc.
- Outdoor type stuff like coolers, survival whistle, etc.
- Board games, outdoor games, etc.
- Gift cards, cash, lotto tickets (these are a last resort in my book but people do it)
Tip!
Okay, this might be biased but if it were me hosting this game, I would tell people that they can bring anything as long as it’s not something that came from a Bath and Body Works or something similar store. I can’t tell you how many times more than half the gifts are a lotion, body wash, and candle set. I personally don’t love them and from the number of times they’re stolen in gift exchanges, I don’t think other people really love them either. Make people get creative and bring something else!
Themed Left Right Game Gifts
And lastly, you can make it even more fun if you give everyone a theme for the gift. I have 50 different gift exchange themes you can choose from – then once the left right game is over, have everyone explain what they brought!
So for example if you had people bring something that starts with the first letter of their name, I could explain that I’m Britni and brought the board game! Three of my favorite things for a left right game include:
- Favorite things – everyone brings their favorite thing and explains them as the gift is opened.
- Something local – everyone brings something representative of their hometown, home state, or even something from a local vendor (instead of buying things on Amazon).
- First letter exchange – everyone brings something that starts with the first letter of their name and explains it when the gifts are opened.
Do It Yourself
If you’d rather provide all of the gifts for this game yourself instead of people bringing their own, this works really well with things like candy bars, a Christmas ornament, or we even did it with books for a classroom party one year! I like to do all of the same type of thing but different varieties. The kids LOVED it!
FAQs
How do you play left and right Christmas game?
To play the left and right Christmas game, everyone sits in large circle and starts with a wrapped gift. Then someone reads a poem or story that has the words “left” and “right” in it a large number of times. When the reader says left, everyone passes their gifts to the left. When the reader says right, everyone passes their gifts to the right. When the story ends, everyone opens their gifts and keeps what they opened.
What are the best gifts for a left right gift exchange game?
If everyone is bringing their own gifts to provide for the holiday gift exchange game, just make sure that everyone knows what the theme and price limit is. If you’re providing all of the gifts yourself, I recommend doing all the same type of gift but different varieties. For example, fuzzy socks, candy bars, mugs, or even board games. (If you need some recommendations, these are the best board games for kids).
Does the right left game work with secret Santa?
If you’re doing a secret Santa gift exchange where people chose a gift for a specific person, I do not recommend this simple game. I actually don’t recommend any game at all unless you want to do something like guess you’re secret Santa!
More Gift Exchange Games
I also have tons of unique gift exchange game ideas on my site as well with some of my favorites below!
- Grinch gift exchange – if you want a left-right Christmas game without having to read a poem, try this one instead!
- Christmas punch game – this one is always a hit as our family Christmas party, and is a great way to give out gifts without a lot of hassle!
- 12 days of Christmas ideas – this fun 12 days of Christmas themed gift exchange is perfect for work, school, and home!
- Gift exchange card game – a free printable gift exchange game with cards that tell you how to switch!
- Never have I ever Christmas exchange – a fun gift exchange game that uses the classic never have I ever game!
Get the ultimate gift exchange game bundle! The best gift exchange games all in one printable PDF – instructions, printable cheat sheets, printable playing cards, and more!
Click on the image below to check it out or buy it in my shop here!
Get the Free Printable Left Right Games
Enter your first name and email address below to get copies of both poems!
You’ll be immediately taken to the PDF to download and receive a copy with the download link to your email shortly after.
If you can’t see the form below, click here to get to the form to enter your info to get the gift game.
If you’d rather not fill out the form, click here to get a copy in my shop.
The PDF will include:
- Instructions
- One-page Sarah & Mr. Right poem (this one is best for adults)
- Two page Mickey Mouse shops story (this one is best for kids)
- One page three friends save Christmas poem (good for any age)
- One page copy of the night of the Nativity poem (good for any age, religious setting)
- Use policy – everything is only available for personal use, not commercial use. Please do the right thing.
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