This is a fun Christmas tradition for kids. This will add a splash of mystery on Christmas morning if you have more than one child in your household.
If you have younger kids, they will no doubt wake up super-early. As parents, it is your duty to make them wait for a while before opening gifts.
(In our house, we love to try to “sleep in” for 10-15 minutes, then dilly-dally by making coffee, finding a bunch of distractions, and generally let the kids get to fever-pitch excitement. As a good parent yourself, I’m sure you do this as well. It “teaches” the kids “patience.” Or maybe we just want to annoy them back for waking us up so early.)
Anyways, this little gift wrap tradition will add a little excitement and mystery to their waiting because they won’t know which gifts go to which kids.
Here’s what you do.
The Gift Wrap Match
- Wrap each child’s gifts in a specific pattern of gift wrap
- DO NOT label them
- Put a scrap of the child’s special gift wrap into their stocking, or, if you prefer to do stockings later, write their name on the back of the scrap and have them find it or solve a puzzle/riddle to get it
- Once they have their wrapping paper pattern, they can match it to the gifts under the Christmas tree to identify which gifts are theirs
Sounds fun, right?
How about a variation with even more mystery….
Related: Left-Right Game Gift Exchange (+ Story Ideas)
Double Mystery Gift Wrap Match
- Do everything above
- Then wrap ALL the gifts in simple brown paper
- Kids will have to open all the gifts not knowing whether it is theirs or not, then find the actual recipient before “pre” unwrapping another gift
- Once everyone has their own gifts, the official opening can begin
This version is double the wrapping on your end, but c’mon. It’s also double the fun.
For more exciting gift exchange games that the whole family can enjoy, check out these holiday gift exchange games and ideas!
Read next: 15 Meaningful Family Christmas Traditions
