Morning Holiday Peeps!
Today I am providing you with a totes fab way to save money for the holidays!
Grinchmas Gifts aka the Dirty Santa Game!
You're just a few lines and ideas away from having a great, fun, simplified, and money saving lower stress Christmas!
Because we all need to avoid this monster:

No touchie!

Our fam did this at the last big holiday get-together, and it was so awesome!

We played Grinchmas Gifts with a twist.
It's called Grinchmas/Dirty Santa because you steal one another's gifts.
Don't worry, everybody gets a gift.
The instructions are down below, just scroll way down to get to em'.
For ours there was a $5 cap -you can go higher if you like, one had to get a gender neutral gift, and had to wrap it, then drop it in our bag the minute you walked in the door; so nobody knew who brought what.
We all followed the regular rules and had such a blast, I was surprised how well this went over. These were some of the gifts that were at the Grinchmas gift exchange:

The jam was actually a blueberry flavour but this company has particularly good jams & a wide array of flavours, we have fig in the house this time, so that's the pic you get. Also, this jam was on special, so it stayed at the $5 price cap and it's sweetened with grape juice. Bonus!

Pop Tarts were popular, I got these at the dollar store. I checked the dates to make sure they were still good and grabbed two boxes. I was smiling because I thought these would not be appreciated but I was so wrong, there were hoots of happiness. Pop Tarts are still enjoyed by the kid in all of us.
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Nutella was another item that went over well...
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There were cat S&P shakers:
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We don't know why but the item that was fought over the most was a soap and lotion set, don't ask me because I preferred the agenda I got, but there you have it.
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Maple syrup is also a great idea, especially when it's on special for $4.99.
Just make sure to wrap gifts in things that make it tough for people to figure out what they are. One person wrapped socks in a tampax box, there was a bit of initial surprise and slight discomfort, then hilarity when the socks came out. Get creative & make sure that you all have fun. The amount you decide to spend is up to you but make sure you are considerate of everybody's financial constraints, you must insist that EVERYONE sticks to the agreed upon budget, no other gifts need be given out at the family/friend's gathering.
Privately, with immediate family, we do a few extra's but those are our choice, we stick to a budget, and usually make most of them.
So let me know any questions or stories you may have to share, and don't forget to subscribe!

Grinchmas Gifts aka Dirty Santa: How to Play the Tricky Christmas Gift Exchange Game

Ask five people how to play Dirty Santa, and you will probably hear five different answers. Here is a rundown of the basic directions for this adult Christmas game. Feel free to change them as the game goes on! No matter how you play this fantastic Christmas party game, this activity will definitely be a hit among friends and family alike!
How to Play Dirty Santa
Everyone playing the game brings a wrapped gift so there is no indication about what is inside. Place the gifts together under the tree or on a table.
The host writes a number on scrap pieces of paper for every gift and places them in a basket, bowl or hat.
Each person draws a number. Getting a higher number is actually better because you will have more opened gifts to choose from.
The person with #1 picks a gift to open from the pile. The person with #2 can choose to open another package or steal the gift from #1. If a gift is stolen, the person who had it then steals from someone else or picks another gift to open.
The game continues like this until everyone takes a turn opening or stealing a gift. The last person to go can steal from anyone in the game or open the remaining gift.
Once a gift is stolen three times, it is retired from the game.

Variations on Dirty Santa Game Play

Instead of playing your favorite Christmas games for adults the same way year after year, why not change up the game a little. These variations can make playing more of a challenge and even let you give back to your community.

Set a price

It is practically a given that some people will spend more money than others when buying a gift. Since the fun is in playing the game, ask everyone to spend about $10 on a decent gift to balance out the quality in the selection.

Choose a theme

Have guests bring a specific type of gift. It could be a tree ornament, a book or a bottle of wine.

Play for charity

Instead of gifts for participants to take home, bring toys, games and books for children. Everyone can still have fun stealing, but at the end of the party donate the gifts to a favorite charity. This is a great alternative for a White Elephant gift exchange. Just bring gently used items from home that your kids no longer play with.
Dirty Santa vs. White Elephant

Dirty Santa

The game is called "dirty" because participants steal gifts from one another trying to end up with the best, or at least not the worst, gift.

White Elephant

This Christmas party game for adults is essentially the same concept as Dirty Santa except the present is often re-gifted or an inexpensive gag gift.

These instructions come from: