Two Christmas gift exchange poem ideas 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.
With all of my other gift exchange games, I’ve had a ton of people email me and ask for a printable left right Christmas gift exchange poem. I’ve only ever played the game two or three times so never wrote my own poem up until now.
But it’s a super fun game, so I thought it was time! And you know I like to rhyme, or you should if you’ve ever seen any of my scavenger hunt ideas!
I’ve created two Christmas left right games by two of my favorite things – movies and Disney! One is more for adults (Sarah meets Mr. Right) and the other is more kid-friendly following the story of Mickey and his buddies.
What is a Left Right Gift Exchange?
The 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.
How Do You Play the Left Right Christmas Game?
The game really just consists of everyone bringing a wrapped gift, everyone sitting in a circle, and everyone passing gifts left or right when someone reads the words “left” or “right” (or write) in a poem.
The poems or stories are specifically written with lots of rights and lefts like this one.
So first start by having everyone sit in a large circle. Then hand out wrapped gifts to everyone. And then you’re ready to start the gift passing game!
Read through the story slowly, making sure to emphasize when you say the word right and the word left. The verbal cues really help people – those and people passing gifts left and right to them!
Then 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!
Two Left Right Christmas Gift Exchange Poems
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!
Both of these poems follow the same pattern – a story that says the words left and right a lot. The first one is more adult-friendly since it follows a woman throughout her day meeting Mr. Right.
The second is definitely the more kid-friendly as it follows Mickey Mouse and his friends as they shop for Christmas presents.
Either works 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.
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.
FAQs
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.
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).
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
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!
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 Free Printable Left-Right Game
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 little kids)
- Use policy – everything is only available for personal use, not commercial use. Please do the right thing.
Diana says
I am excited to play the left right game!
Britni Vigil says
It’s fun!
kathi hagman says
Love this game
Britni Vigil says
I’m glad you had fun with the game!
monica says
Thank you!
Britni Vigil says
No problem, hope you have fun playing!
Betty says
This is a fun game have played before with different poem
EMA says
GOOD SITE
BritniV says
thank you
Suzanne says
Any new year games?
BritniV says
These are my fav NYE games –> https://www.playpartyplan.com/printable-new-years-eve-games/.