Dirty Santa Gift Exchange Ideas

Just last week I was informed over a hot cup of Starbuck’s mocha-latte that we were going to be doing a dirty Santa gift exchange here in the office and I needed to find some dirty Santa gift exchange ideas . My thoughts immediately turned to some of the younger girls in the office who have adopted me as “mommy dearest”.

So of course, I nearly spit the coffee through my nose when thinking of just what in the name of all that is holy this would be. But much to my delight, and after my mild coronary, I was informed that I need not be worried about pulling some slinky garter belt from the bottom of a Victoria’s Secret bag. Like me, if you are reading this you are probably wondering, just what is a Dirty Santa gift exchange and what are some great dirty Santa gift exchange ideas?

What is a Dirty Santa Gift Exchange?

First of all, it’s something that you can do with Grandma in the room or the little ones playing along if you like. The Dirty Santa gift exchange hasn’t been given its name for any “dirty” reason. It’s actually called dirty because you have to play a little dirty to get the gift that you want.

How to Play?

So here’s how it works, for this gift exchange game everyone will bring in a wrapped gift being sure to put no names on the present and staying within the same general price range as the rest of the bunch.

You can choose to put limitations on the gifts. For example, at office parties you might decide to make the dirty Santa gift exchange ideas non-specific to gender or age. However, the game often works out fine either way as the gift that they win might end up being something they ultimately decide to pass on to their wives or husbands . . . which for many Christmas gift givers can be just as nice in these money-aware times as they can add this gift under the tree for their sweetie.

Once everyone is ready to start the game, there will be several pieces of paper with numbers on them put into a hat or a box. For example, if fifteen people are playing, the numbers will be 1-15.

Everyone will then draw a number. This will decide who goes in what order. The person who draws the number one will also get another turn at the end of the game. That we will talk about later on but the ultimate reason that the first person will get another chance is because the first person doesn’t have many options. They will only have the option of choosing a dirty Santa gift exchange present from the table to start.

After this, as player number two steps up for their turn, player two now has the option to “steal” player one’s gift or open a new present. The very first rule of the Dirty Santa gift exchange is that if player B steals from player C then player C will not be able to steal that gift back from player B until the next round begins. Spouses cannot steal from each other either because there might be a little strategy and cheating involved!

So when do you know when a round ends? A round will end in one of these two ways . . . if someone chooses to open a gift as opposed to stealing one – the round is over. If three steals occur, the third person must open a wrapped gift without stealing and then the round comes to an end.

Now there can only be three steals in each round and if a gift has been stolen three times, the person that steals it for the third time gets to keep it. It cannot be taken after this. It is owned goods!

Last but not least, as we talked about in the beginning of the article, when the last person has drawn a number and the final round is over, the first person has the chance to steal from anyone they like – if they want. The option to open a new gift is no longer available because we know that all the gifts are now opened. If the person chooses to not steal – the game is over. If they choose to steal a gift, a new special round will begin. This round has the same rules as each round before. Again if the present is stolen three times . . . it’s locked in to the third person.

Dirty Santa Gift Exchange Ideas

So now that you know what a Dirty Santa Gift Exchange is let’s look at some Dirty Santa Gift Exchange Ideas that are perfect for the occasion. Here are a few funny ones that I’ve found searching around the internet, but you may choose to go with something more conservative.

1) Lunar Land: Yes! you can actually give someone an acre of Moon Land LOL!

2) Adult Onesie: A.K.A footy pajamas. Gaurrented to be a hit!

3) Buy a Day: Believe it or not you can own a day.

4) Gift NOT Included: A box full of batteries

5) Wall Mount Beta Goldfish: Make sure you wrap this one up carefully!

6) Pet Frog: Perfect if kids are involved

7) His & Hers KY: Throw in some edible panties or adult toys for a few laughs

8 Singing Elvis Head: Careful he’ll steal the show

9) Alcohol Gift Set: The boys will have fun stealing these from each other

10) Chia Pet: My personal favorite is Afro Obama

11) Lottery Tickets: Make sure they don’t scratch them until after the game is over!

12) Yodeling CD: Great for a good laugh

13) Sock Puppet: Just don’t name it Shoockazula lol

Didn’t see a unique gift idea on our blog that fits your needs? Take a look at some of our other unique gift idea reviews…

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