Try the grab bag game this Christmas

Published Sunday, December 17, 2006

Remember all those T-shirts and other treasures you purchased during your travels this year?

Do you have "things" that you bought on a whim thinking that you really would use them, but you haven't?

What about gifts you received that you have little or no use for?

Now's the time to pull them out, take a second look, and then start wrapping them -- individually.


Because you're about to embark on the start of what could become a holiday tradition.

It's called the Holiday Grab Bag.

After the family exchanges gifts, before or after dinner, when there's a lull in activities, put numbers in a hat or box for how many guests you have. Each guest takes a number. Starting with number one, that person chooses the first grab bag gift and unwraps it. It may be something he/she can use or it may be deemed completely useless. As sequential numbers are called, each person may choose to grab an already opened gift or choose a wrapped one from the bag. The person who relinquishes a gift gets to pick another one either from the bag or an already opened gift (but not the one just given up).

Expect a lot of laughter, moans and groans, but most of all, it's a time-consuming event that gives everyone something extra -- and you'll gain more space in your closets and drawers.

A word of caution -- when selecting grab bag items from gifts you've received during the year, be sure the person who gave you the gift is not one of those playing the grab bag game. That could ruin an otherwise pleasant day and be the abrupt end to what could have become a fun holiday tradition.

Related Searches