Every year people ask for theme ideas from my family’s annual Christmas gift exchange. We first mentioned this tradition on a podcast episode in 2016, and nearly a decade later we’ve updated and collected the full list here for easy reference. If your household is stuck or overwhelmed with holiday shopping, a theme can simplify decisions and make the exchange more fun.
How Our Gift Exchange Works
For as long as I can remember, my extended family has organized a gift exchange to ease the holiday shopping load. Rather than buying for every cousin, aunt, and uncle (there were 22 of us growing up!), we draw one name at random from a hat so each person has just one recipient.
The only rules are:
- It can’t be the same person you had last year.
- It can’t be an immediate family member (sibling, parent).
We built traditions around this exchange. On Christmas morning we take a moment to watch each person unwrap their exchange gift. After Christmas dinner we fold strips of paper and draw names for the next year. Those moments are a huge part of my core Christmas memories.
We’ve adapted the exchange over the years. As cousins married and started families, we shifted from individual names to family units (for example, me + Sherry + our kids = 1 unit). As my immediate family grew, we added secondary exchanges among siblings and spouses and another among cousins. These adjustments reduce stress and cost while encouraging fewer, more meaningful gifts.
Why Holiday Gift Themes Help
At some point we added a theme to our exchange. I don’t remember who suggested it, but themes soon became a beloved part of the tradition and led to some really creative presents.
Themes started simple (for example, Food & Drink) and grew quirkier over time (for example, What’s That Smell?). We deliberately try not to repeat themes. A theme helps both the giver and recipient by narrowing the shopping focus and sparking ideas—especially useful in exchanges where you don’t know the person well, like workplaces or neighborhood swaps.
A theme acts like a writing prompt: it narrows focus, sparks creativity, and points shoppers in a specific direction beyond generic prompts like “find something Great Aunt Barb might like.” With a theme, people care less about matching personal tastes and more about clever, thoughtful, or surprising interpretations. That makes shopping easier, less stressful, and ultimately more fun—so we haven’t skipped a theme year since we started.
20 Holiday Gift Exchange Theme Ideas
Below are two decades’ worth of themes our family has used, with examples of how each was interpreted. Some of the trickier themes turned out to be the most fun. Feel free to use or adapt any of them for your own exchange.
- Say Cheese: Photo- or cheese-related gifts—state-shaped cheese boards, frames, instant cameras, or playful mouth-themed items that evoke “say cheese.”
- Travel Junk: Souvenirs and travel items collected that year—mugs, ornaments, postcards, city keepsakes.
- The Year of Granny: Gifts that reminded us of a beloved family member—favorite snacks, items in her favorite colors, or nostalgic objects like an automatic card shuffler she once owned.
- Hey Hot Stuff: Spicy foods, fire-related items (candles, firepit gear), or warming goods like socks and blankets. Broad interpretations made this one popular.
- The Great Outdoors: Gear and activities for nature—trail mix, National Parks books, headlamps and outdoor games for kids.
- Back In The Day: Retro items or nods to family history—vintage-style board games or memorabilia that evoke earlier decades.
- On The Road: Road-trip essentials and car-friendly gifts—activity books for kids, favorite car snacks, atlases or guides for scenic drives.
- Out of This World: Space- and sky-themed gifts—astronaut-style snacks, star maps, and other cosmic curiosities.
- Magic & Mystery: Mystery boxes, international snack samplers, puzzles, or murder-mystery games that invite curiosity and play.
- Be A Good Sport: Sports-related items—memorabilia, games to play together, local event tickets, or fan gear.
- Feeling Green: Eco-friendly gifts or anything literally green in color—a versatile theme that encouraged creative interpretations.
- Peace & Quiet: Relaxation-focused gifts—candles, books, sleep masks, spa items, or activities that give parents a quiet moment.
- Across State Lines: Local specialties or gifts from the giver’s hometown—a fun way to share regional favorites.
- Outside The Box: Unusual items or things that require taking something out of a box—puzzles, board games, or even adopting an animal as a charitable gift.
- Book It: Books, reading accessories, or ticket- and travel-related gifts tied to the idea of “booking” an experience.
- What’s That Smell?: Scent-focused gifts—candles, soaps, aromatic foods—or playful gag gifts with memorable smells.
- Small Business Finds: Items or gift cards that support small local businesses or independent makers.
- Trivial Pursuit: Gifts that fall under classic trivia categories like Geography, Entertainment, and History—great for trivia lovers.
- G.O.A.T.: Items you consider the “greatest of all time” in a category, or playful takes on the acronym (Go Out And Travel). Quirky gag gifts fit here too.
- Safe & Sound: Safety- or sound-related gifts—protective items, pet safety gear, or novelty noise-makers and survival guides.
How We Pick Our Gift Themes
There’s no formal process—someone suggests a theme in person or via email, and we vote or agree casually. Lately we often go with the first idea because our group has developed a good sense of what makes an adaptable, fun theme.
A strong theme invites multiple interpretations, including unexpected ones. That’s why we prefer clever names over literal descriptions: a playful title encourages creativity. For example, “Feeling Green” works for eco-friendly items but also for green-colored gifts or funny gross-out treats. The name nudges people toward creative thinking without strict rules.
If you’re creating a theme, start with a simple category—colorful things, food and drink, history—and give it a catchy title. For instance, call a colorful-things theme “Over the Rainbow” to open the door to sky- or Wizard of Oz-related gifts, gold-colored “treasures,” or lucky charms.
Other examples:
- Food & drink → “What’s Cookin’ Good Lookin’?”
- History → “Time Travel”
- Music → “Loud & Clear”
- Travel → “Pack Your Bags!”
- Toys & Games → “Press Play”
More Holiday Gift Ideas
Sometimes we’ve stretched a theme to include a great gift that didn’t perfectly fit, and you can too. If you want more inspiration, check our holiday gift guides for general ideas and to spark creativity for your themed exchange.
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