Left Right Christmas game: story and rules
Everyone sits in a circle holding a wrapped gift. One person reads the story out loud. Every time you hear LEFT, pass your gift left; every time you hear RIGHT, pass it right. When the story ends, you keep what you hold.
Upload a photo + a few interests for each person → we draw names and hand every Santa gift picks they're more likely to love.
Start with photos →Rules
- Each player brings one wrapped gift inside the agreed budget.
- Sit in a circle, gift in hand.
- The reader reads the story slowly and stresses LEFT and RIGHT.
- Pass on every LEFT and every RIGHT, including "LEFTovers" and "RIGHT away".
- At THE END, open the gift in your hands.
Upload a photo + a few interests for each person → we draw names and hand every Santa gift picks they're more likely to love.
Start with photos →The Left Right Christmas story
On Christmas Eve, the Wright family LEFT the house RIGHT after dinner. Mom said, "Did we leave anything behind?" Dad checked his LEFT pocket and his RIGHT pocket. "The car keys are RIGHT here," he said, "but the cookies for Santa are LEFT on the counter!"
They turned RIGHT around. Grandma Wright waved from the porch, holding the cookie tin in her LEFT hand and a bag of LEFTover candy canes in her RIGHT. "You forgot these," she laughed. "Go RIGHT on, I will watch the house."
At the corner they turned LEFT, then RIGHT, then LEFT again, until little Sam shouted, "Are we RIGHT? This is not the RIGHT road!" Dad admitted he was LEFT without a clue. Mom pulled out the map, turned it RIGHT side up, and pointed LEFT.
Finally they arrived RIGHT on time for the carol singing. Everyone sang, nobody LEFT early, and on the way home Sam fell asleep with one mitten on the LEFT hand and none on the RIGHT. Back home, the stockings were full, the cookies were gone, and nothing was LEFT but a note from Santa: "You got it RIGHT. Merry Christmas!" THE END.
Tips for the reader
- Read slower near the end, it builds suspense.
- Pause after each LEFT and RIGHT so gifts reach the next lap.
- Print this page so the reader holds paper, not a phone.
Want more formats? See gift exchange games and the dice gift game.
Keep planning
Questions
How does the Left Right gift game work?
Players pass a gift left or right each time the reader says the word, and keep the gift they hold at the end.
How many people can play Left Right?
Six to twenty players in one circle.
What budget suits Left Right?
$10 to $20, so every gift holds up when it lands in front of anyone.
Upload a photo + a few interests for each person → we draw names and hand every Santa gift picks they're more likely to love.
Start with photos →Updated October 28, 2026