Gift Exchange Party Bingo Cards (Free Printable Generator)

The word list

Half of the 40 squares are moments and half are the gifts that turn up at almost every swap. Cut the ones that do not suit your crowd and add a running joke from last year.

How a gift swap works, and where the bingo fits

If you have never hosted one, here is the usual steal-style swap in plain terms. Everyone brings one wrapped gift within an agreed budget and puts it on a table. Players draw numbers. Number one opens any gift. Number two can open a new gift or take number one's opened gift, and anyone whose gift is taken picks again. Most groups allow a gift to change hands two or three times before it is frozen, and the first player gets a final chance to trade at the very end. A secret gift exchange is simpler: each person draws a name in advance and buys for that one person.

Either way, only one person is unwrapping at a time, and the rest of the room is watching. That is where the bingo card comes in.

1. Hand out a card and a pen with each number slip, so people have both before the first gift is opened.
2. Explain that squares are covered as moments happen in the room or as gift types appear, and that the free square is everyone's.
3. Let the swap run as normal. Guests mark their cards between turns, and a stolen gift usually sets off a round of marking.
4. The first full line calls out and wins a small extra, such as the right to pick first in next year's draw.
5. Keep going for a blackout if the swap runs long.

Three ways to change the game

• Guess-the-gift cards. Before anything is opened, each guest marks the five gift squares they expect to see. Whoever guessed the most right at the end of the swap wins.
• Team tables. At a large office party, seat people in groups of four with one shared card. Tables call out together, and quieter colleagues get pulled into the fun without having to perform.
• Family version. Trim the office moments, keep the gift squares, and add family ones such as grandma keeps the wrapping paper and the dog opens a present.

Budget tips that keep everyone comfortable

A clear limit makes the swap fair, so say the number in the invitation and repeat it on the day. Twenty dollars is common in offices, and ten works for large families and groups of friends. Remind guests that homemade and regifted items are welcome when they are in good shape and honestly wrapped, and keep two spare wrapped gifts in a cupboard for the colleague who forgot and the guest who brought a friend.

Keeping the swap kind

Stealing is the fun of the game, but it is only fun when everyone has agreed to it. Say the steal limit out loud before the first turn, and give the host the job of gentle referee.

Not everyone celebrates the same holidays, and some people cannot spend much this year. Keep the gift squares neutral, keep the budget low, and make the bingo prize something that costs nothing, like going first next year.

Printing for the party

Print two cards per page so the squares stay legible across a room, and make one card per guest plus a few extras for late arrivals. The ink saver option keeps the grid light, which suits colored pens.