In this hilarious red light green light gift game, the roll of a die determines whether or not stealing is allowed or not! You can steal if it’s green but not if it’s red! It’s a fun way to change things up at your gift exchange this year or skip the gift exchange and play this as a fun Christmas gift giving game instead!
A Small Gift Exchange Game
We are always trying to mix things up when it comes to our Christmas party games so no one knows what to expect. This year I thought it’d be fun to switch out our standard gift exchange for a small gift exchange game with small gifts that are being swapped instead of big ones! The small gift exchange trend is one of my current favorite gift exchange themes, I think it’s so fun!
But I couldn’t stop there! This small gift exchange game incorporates the classic kids game red light, green light, into this Christmas game in a fun and chaotic way! It’s easy, hilarious to play, and just a totally different way to switch gifts! It reminds me of how at Brazilian steakhouses you can turn over a red and green marker to determine if you get more meat or not – in this game meat is the gifts!
If you want to try out a new gift exchange game and like the candy bar game (one of our favorite birthday party games) this year, I highly recommend this one!
Who is this game good for?
- Groups of 8+ – this game is a lot more fun with a medium to large group so there are a variety of gifts being swapped around!
- Any age – this game works for any with one caveat – the more varied the ages, the harder it is to come up with small gifts that work for everyone, other than food/candy. It’s easier to play with either kids or teens + adults.
- People who don’t mind a little stealing – one of the most fun parts of this is the stealing aspect so if your group has a problem with stealing, maybe try a left right gift exchange instead!
Supplies & Setup
This game should only take a few minutes to setup and the main supplies are the gifts, but here’s what you’ll need:
Game Supplies
- Dice printout – this is included at the bottom of this post. I recommend printing out a couple to have around your table or a big one that everyone can see easily. This is just a reminder to everyone of what the roll of the dice mean!
- Red + green light marker – I taped a red and a green plastic cup together and just used that as our red/green light marker. You could also do something as simple as putting a red and green LEGO brick together and use that. Or buy a red and green switch like this if you don’t want to DIY something.
- Dice – you need one pair of dice. I recommend a regular or maybe medium size, but not necessarily the large ones. You want the dice to be moving pretty quickly around the circle in this game (but not quite as fast as in our get a turkey game).
Small Gifts for the Game
In addition to those supplies, you’ll also need small gifts. This game is designed to work with small gifts (think stocking stuffers) because people are going to get a bunch of them, not just one. Kind of similar to how our viral dice gift exchange works!
You can either provide all the gifts as the host or you can ask everyone to bring gifts for the game. I recommend the latter, but just know that everyone is not going to end up with the same number of gifts, so people may end up with less gifts than they brought. It’s part of the game, and I personally think it’s okay – just keep it in mind when asking people to bring things!
Below is a picture of the small gifts we had in our game with ages 12+. We had a good variety of food, non-food, girl, and boy prizes.
How many gifts do I need?
I personally recommend starting the game with three gifts per person. You can do more or less, but I’ve found that three is the optimal number to start with. People will end up going home with anywhere between 1-4 gifts if you do three, and the game will take a reasonable amount of time.
If you do less than three gifts, the game will be shorter but you may end up with people just stealing the same gifts over over again. If you do more than three gifts, it’ll play fine – it just may go a little longer than you want.
How to Setup the Game
- Print out your dice printouts (using the download at the bottom of this post).
- Put together your red light green light indicator.
- Have everyone either stand around a table or sit on the ground.
- Give someone in the circle the dice to start the game. I normally go with either the youngest or oldest person!
- Turn the light indicator to red to start the game.
- Put all of the unwrapped gifts in the center of a table or on the ground in the center of a circle and explain the rules to everyone.
How to play
This game is pretty simple and moves fast. Make sure everyone knows the rules ahead of time because it’s a little different than a normal gift game!
The first person in the circle rolls the dice. What they do depends on the number they roll (just like in our 12 days of Giftmas or 67 gift exchange – we like dice games).
- Roll an odd number (3, 5, 7, 9, 11) – they can choose a gift from the center OR if it’s on a green light, they could steal a gift (actually steal, not swap) from someone else in the circle. If it’s red, they have to choose a gift from the center.
- Roll doubles – they turn the red/green light indicator to the other side. So if it’s red, they’d turn it in green and vice versa. AND they get to roll again.
- Roll any other even number (not doubles) – nothing happens, they just pass the dice to their left.
What does the red light green light mean?
In this game, the red light green light indicator means everything to the game. The color changes the choice people have when they roll an odd number:
- Red – if the light is red, they can ONLY choose a gift from the center to add to their pile, no stealing (red = stop stealing).
- Green – if the light is green, they can choose a gift from the center OR choose to steal from someone else. And to be clear, this is actually stealing the gift from someone and adding it to their pile, not swapping one of their gifts for someone else’s.
Important Game Play Notes
- Stealing means actually stealing. You can taking a gift from someone else’s pile, not swapping one of yours for theirs.
- You can’t steal if the light is red. You can ONLY choose a gift from the center pile, even if you don’t want to.
- Choose a max number of gifts per person ahead of time to make sure that everyone ends up with at least one gift.
- It’s possible someone ends up without any gift at all. Not likely if you add the max, but it is possible. I recommend as the host having a few backup gifts (candy bars, small gift cards, etc.) that you could give them as a consolation prize in the unlikely event there’s someone without any gift at the end.
- Gifts can be stolen and switched an unlimited number of times (unlike in our deck of cards gift exchange where gifts are frozen).
What if someone gets too many gifts?
I highly recommend choosing a max number of gifts that someone can go home with. We started the game with three gifts per person in the center and chose four as our max that they could end up with so that everyone ended up with at least one gift. If someone gets to the max number of gifts, they can no longer add gifts to their pile. If they roll an odd number, they have the following choices:
- Switch one of their gifts with one in the center
- Switch one of their gifts with someone else’s (only if the light is green)
- Pick one of the gifts from the center pile to give to someone else that doesn’t already have the max number of gifts to help move the game along (in case they want to keep the gifts they have).
How Does the Game End?
Keep rolling and going around the circle until the final gift is taken from the center and the game ends immediately. Because a red light means that you have to choose from the center, the game will definitely have a hard stop and you never when it’s going to happen!
Alternate Variations
If you like this idea but maybe not all of the fine print, these are some other variations that you could try with a similar feel:
- Instead of ending the game immediately once the final gift is taken from the center, give everyone one final roll.
- Instead of stealing gifts outright, turn it into switching gifts. Someone can only switch a gift on an odd roll if they have a gift to switch. If they’re empty-handed, they have to choose a gift from the center. That way people don’t just lose all of their gifts once they’ve earned one.
- Skip the game and just use the concept of a red light and green light to decide if stealing is allowed in your favorite gift exchange game. Just have people roll the dice right before their turn!
Game FAQs
How long does the game last?
Honestly, this is dependent on how your “light” is on red and how often it’s on green since people will have to choose gifts in the center when it’s red, making the game go quicker. That being said when we played with my family of 12 people with three gifts each, it took us about 20 minutes including filming and taking some pictures.
Can you play with a large group?
You can play with a large group, but I don’t recommend larger than 20 people or else this game might last a while, and it just gets cumbersome to go around the circle over and over again.
More Gift Games
If you like this fun red light green gift exchange, try out one of these other gift games that incorporate dice rolling too!
- Vegas gift exchange – this one combines cards, dice, and a lot of luck!
- December dice game – a dice centered gift exchange where you never know where the gifts will end up!
- Christmas saran wrap game – a classic game where you’re trying to roll dice to get a chance to win prizes!
- Pop a prize – another one where you roll dice to get a chance to win!
- Heads or Tails gift exchange – not quite a dice but pretty close!
Download the Game Printout and Instructions
Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the printable free download PDF. You will receive a link to download the PDF to your email within minutes. Print on card stock and you’re on your way.
If you’d prefer to not provide your email address, you can get a copy in my shop here.
If you do not see the form, click here to get to it.
If you do not see the email with the printable design templates immediately after you fill out the form, make sure to check your promotions, spam, and junk folders!
The file will include:
- Full-sheet printout (seen below)
- Four to a page printouts (to hand out around the table)
- Instructions
- Use policy (everything is for personal use only)
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