How To Host an Ornament Exchange Party

Creating lasting memories and spending time with friends and family is our favorite part of the holiday season. There are so many ways to gather and celebrate the love and festivities of Christmastime while embracing traditions, one festive gathering to host during this time is an ornament exchange party. 

 

What is an Ornament Exchange Party?

 

An ornament exchange party is an engaging and interactive way to gather during the holidays. Ornament exchanges are similar to White Elephant or Secret Santa parties, except each guest brings one ornament of their choice to swap with someone else. 

You can choose an ornament you already have in your collection to swap, or you can purchase a new one for the event. Regardless, everyone can have fun picking out an ornament to gift and receiving one in return. There are a few different game methods you and your guests can play to facilitate the ornament swaps, but feel free to get as creative with it as you want. 

 

 

Why Host an Ornament Swap or Exchange?

 

Hosting an ornament swap is a fun and memorable way to bring your friends and family together for the holidays {without too much hassle}. Since everyone participates and puts effort into picking out the perfect ornaments, these parties help guests feel involved in the fun in a meaningful way. Your gathering will allow people to share the holiday spirit {and ornaments} so everyone can get excited for the holidays and grow their ornament collections. 

Ornament exchange parties are often easier to host than other more  formal Christmastime gatherings, thanks to their casual nature. While it is completely up to you to decide how you want to host your party, we personally don’t bring in catering or have a formal plated meal when we host one. We recommend you choose to make a couple of big dishes or have guests bring food potluck style. 

Most of all, this lowkey party can start a yearly ornament tradition and make your house a gathering place for loved ones. Special ornaments can be swapped for many years to come so that people look forward to the exchange every year. Any time a new ornament is added to your tree, you’ll have fond memories of that year’s party – and each one of your guests will have that experience, too. 

  

 

Types of Ornament Exchanges

 

While the “rules” of your ornament exchange are completely up to you, let your guests know what to expect and bring so that they’re prepared. We like to do one of these three types of ornament game styles: 

• White Elephant – Names are drawn at random to determine whose turn it is to pick from the assortment of wrapped ornaments (great for when guests don’t all know each other).
• Secret Santa – Get secretly assigned to someone and pick out a thoughtful and personal ornament (turn it into a guessing game to enhance the fun).
• Free swap – Everyone swaps ornaments freely; this way, each guest will end up with an ornament they love.

 

White Elephant Ornament Exchange

When hosting a white elephant-style ornament exchange, make sure to decide on your rules before the party and explain them to all guests. While there are specific white elephant rules, there are multiple variations that guests may have participated in elsewhere. This ornament swap is great for a larger group of people or friends from different parts of your life, as it doesn’t require knowing people’s personal preferences. 

To start, everyone writes down their name on a piece of paper and places it in a bowl or bag. The bowl is shaken to mix up the names, and names are drawn to select who gets to choose an ornament. When a guest’s name is drawn, they get to randomly select a wrapped ornament or “steal” someone else’s ornament instead of opening a new one. 

 

Ornament Styles for White Elephant Ornament Exchange

 

For this gathering, because they are often wrapped and unidentifiable by the recipient, more general ornaments are preferred. If you want to add personalization to the ornament, we recommend making it the year or date of the party, or even something fun like “Sara Kate’s Ornament Exchange,” added to our annual year ornaments to remind them where the addition is from. 

Lean into the holidays with ornaments like these: 

 

Gleaming Lights Ornament	Christmas Bells are Ringing Ornament

 

Vintage Ornaments Glass Ornament	Frosted Christmas Cookies Ornament

 

If the gathering is a work party with similar professions or hobbies with ornaments like these: 

 

Special Teacher Ornament	Bookworm Glass Ornament	Basketball Glass Ornament

 

 

Secret Santa Ornament Party

A fun take on a holiday classic, this Secret Santa style party is a popular method for an ornament exchange. Essentially, before the gathering, the host assigns each guest to bring an ornament for another guest. To make it more anonymous, you can also have everyone choose a name from a hat or use a Secret Santa generator. 

The recipient won’t know who is bringing their ornament, so it will be a surprise to them, adding some extra fun and mystery to the party. The person you bring the ornament for will keep this ornament - it won’t be swapped.

 

 

Ornament Styles for Secret Santa Ornament Exchange

  

Since each ornament will be given with a specific person in mind, you can add personalization to the ornament for an extra special touch. That way, the ornament will instantly turn into a meaningful keepsake that your designated recipient can treasure forever. 

If you know your Secret Santa ornament receiver well enough, you can also choose a special commemorative ornament to give in the exchange. You can pick a hobby ornament or milestone ornament that represents them or any accomplishments they had that year. This way, not only will they remember the ornament exchange party fondly when looking at their gift, but also their milestones, memories, and year. 

Special commemorative ornaments to gift:

 

Collegiate Ornaments	Born Southern Ornament

 

Friends are the Best Present Glass Ornament	You’re the Best Ever Ornament

 

Ornaments for the animal lover:

 

I Love My Cat Ornament	I Love My Dog Ornament

 

 

Freestyle Ornament Swap 

 

Another fun ornament exchange style is a Freestyle party, where everyone brings an ornament of their choice, and guests can freely mingle and exchange ornaments with each other as they please. This is a great way to encourage plenty of conversation and lively interaction between guests as they find out who brought what ornament.

This type of exchange is free of rules and takes much less party planning than Secret Santa or White Elephant exchanges. Guests will also feel less stress because they can simply choose to gift an ornament that they like without any nerves that the selected person won’t like it – this way, everyone will be happy with their choice. 

 

 

Ornament Styles for Freestyle Exchanges

 

For this type of ornament swap, merry and festive styles that lean into the holiday season are perfect. You can choose a holiday design that really represents the festivities of the year, or you can choose a unique ornament that can be showcased year-round on an ornament stand. 

Fun ornaments that can be displayed all year:

• Citrus Glass Ornament
• Oyster Glass Ornament
• Shells Glass Ornament
• Lobster Glass Ornament

 

Citrus Glass Ornament	Oyster Glass Ornament

 

Shells Glass Ornament	Lobster Glass Ornament

 

Ornament Personalization Ideas

 

A personalized ornament is always a great gift that shows you put thought into it so that it’s more meaningful. There are many different ways you can personalize an ornament to make it special for any sort of ornament exchange.

• Names – great for a Secret Santa exchange, personalizing an ornament with names or initials will make your gift receiver feel extra special
• Location – try customizing an ornament with the location of that year’s exchange so the person who receives it will remember the party fondly
• Date or year – customize an ornament with the date or year of the exchange party so that anyone can have a special ornament to remember that year’s festivities

 

 

5 Tips and Tricks for Hosting an Ornament Exchange Party

Because the holiday season is full of parties, gift shopping, family commitments, holiday events, and so much more, it’s important to get your ornament swap on your future guests’ radars sooner rather than later. We recommend sticking to our Party Prep Timeline to get a head start on planning and executing the party. Some helpful tips for your ornament exchange party are: 

1. Clearly describe what type of ornament exchange your party will be (white elephant, secret Santa, freestyle) when you send out the invitations – this will prevent an awkward and disorganized party.
2. Ask for any diet restrictions so you can plan your menu accordingly and have no day-of surprises. 
3. Choose a few extra ornaments to keep on hand in case a guest forgets one {trust us, this happens}; that way, everyone can still participate in the holiday fun.
4. Feel free to ask guests {especially anyone who arrives early} for help setting up (think lighting candles on the table or mixing Christmas cocktails); they’ll feel involved, and you can enjoy the assistance. 
5. Make a playlist specifically for the gathering and make sure your speaker is charged – you can also choose a premade holiday party playlist or ask a friend to make one if that’s their “thing."

Favorite Dishes and Drinks for an Ornament Exchange Party

Food and drinks are a key part of any gathering, as they set the mood and maintain the guest’s energy. For this type of party, since it is casual and people will be moving around, we prefer appetizers or light bites. It is also a good idea to have a drink station complete with wine and cocktail fixings (or have the resident mixologist whipping up drinks for guests). 

Here are some recipes that we like to include at our ornament swap party: 

• Crudite platter
• Charcuterie board
• French 75 cocktail
• Classic old fashioned
• Chocolates (our favorite is Coco Chocolatier)
• Christmas cookies (homemade, store-bought, or bakery-bought are all great options)

 

Ornament Exchange Serving Ideas

 

We think that buffet-style serving is usually the easiest set-up for this type of gathering. Create a buffet table anywhere you can fit it – whether that be in a separate dining room, on a kitchen island, or even on the coffee table. 

Choose some holiday themed Christmas Collection platters and plates, or go neutral with our Everyday Collection to place on the buffet. Depending on the size of your guest list, scale up and down the size of your buffet and the number of offerings. And don’t forget those festive cocktail napkins to keep hands and furniture dry.

 

Tablescape Inspiration for a Festive Ornament Swap

 

You can design a tablescape in many ways for an ornament swap - the choice is yours. Once you establish your menu (are you making light bites and festive cocktails, charcuterie and a signature drink, or a full dinner?), you can plan your tablescape. 

To decorate your tablescape, consider filling bowls, like our Best Bowl or appetizer bowls, with ornaments, or display your baubles on an ornament stand to play into the party theme. You can choose to drape a fresh fir garland, Pom Pom garland, or Gold Star Garland along the table and hang ornaments from them. It is also nice to add a subtle glow to the room by perching our favorite Jinglenog candles in a Ruffle Knobbed Candle Holder on the table. 

 

 

Decorating for your Party

 

If you have already decorated your holiday home and the halls have been decked with boughs of holly, it may not be necessary to add anything else to your space for your ornament exchange party. If you haven’t, consider putting up your Christmas tree and hanging stockings and lights. 

 

 

An Ornament Favor

 

Here at Coton Colors, we give commemorative ornament favors to our work family at our annual holiday party. We love to give ornaments as party favors – and what better occasion to do so than an ornament swap? You can personalize our Santa Starter Pack ornaments with your guests’ names or the year of the party or gift an ornament displaying the year. Regardless of the option you choose, your guests will remember your party forever as they proudly display their ornament on their tree each year. 

 

Hosting ornament exchange parties is an amazing way to spread Christmas cheer as you spend time with family and friends. You can create traditions that last, and every guest’s tree and ornament collection will slowly grow to reflect the memories of the party. We hope that your ornament exchange and holiday season are filled with laughter, joy, and festivity.