The Gift Game

Years ago Mars introduced us to a game that she grew up playing as a child. It was something special her mother shared with her, that she shared with us (and I now share with some of the kiddos in my life). I wanted to share it with you too. You can play it on any holiday, birthday, celebration…. really anytime you want to bring out the recklessness in your favourite people.

The Gift Game is violent and exciting and it’s become one of my favourite holiday traditions. You need a gift that is wrapped in many tough-to-open layers, oven mitts, and a pair of dice. Everyone sits in a circle and takes a turn rolling the dice until they get doubles (two 6’s, or two 3’s for example). Whoever rolls the highest pair gets the oven mitts and starts the game.

The objective is to get to the gift at the centre of the present. The starting player puts on the oven mitts and tries (desperately) to open the gift. While this is happening the person in the circle to their left is rolling the dice over and over trying (also desperately) to roll another pair. As soon as they roll a pair they can grab the mitts off of the starting player, put them on, and start their turn trying to open the gift. The person to their left grabs the dice and starts rolling for a pair so they can steal the oven mitts and take their turn assaulting the box. Everyone else in the circle is shouting and cheering the mitt-wearer and the dice-roller. The box makes its way around the circle over and over while we thrash and shout. It’s absolute enthusiastic chaos.

Sometimes you’ll roll a pair right away and the mitt-wearer doesn’t even get a chance, other times it takes several minutes to roll a pair and the box loses a few layers of wrapping and cardboard. There is one safety rule: NO USING YOUR TEETH. The game gets everyone so riled up, at first the ripping and tearing is more polite but soon enough we are smashing and punching the box, trying to get past yet another layer of tape and wrapper, being reminded of the no teeth rule because we have gone feral. We quickly find out who among us has a competitive streak. Flor in her chic black dress tearing into the box wildly yelling “DON’T LOOK AT ME!” was a highlight.

The packing-tape-armoured boxes are torn away and reveal, like nesting dolls, a smaller box inside. Eventually we get to the middle and the gifts break loose. Last year it was lube, hair-scrunchies, and fake tattoos. This year moist towelettes, cute charms, and oversized pins to hang them on.

Here we are foraging through the charms after the game was over. Everyone found ones that resonated and made their own little keep sake. Such a good idea, thanks to Mars.

(Here’s mine… a shooting star to wish on, a little bunny, and Cupid’s arrow.)

Once again the game was a huge success. It’s nice to start new traditions with people you like, before you know it a few years have passed and it feels like home.

Wedding Belles - January 2025