How to Host a Gift Swap

Have you ever participated in a gift swap? Hosting a gift swap can be a fun way to make a few fun gifts and to get a few awesome handmade gifts in return, too! At our December meeting of The Chicago Modern Quilt Guild, we held our own little swap of handmade gifts which included everything from coasters and mug rugs to zippered pouches and drawstring bags. It was really fun to see what everyone made, and each person who participated got a wonderful handmade gift!

A basic gift swap works like this:

• Each person brings one (or more) handmade gifts fitting the theme of the swap, usually wrapped in an easy to open gift bag.
• When all the participants have arrived at the party, all the gifts are placed together at one table.
• Participants take turns picking out gifts, one at a time, until all the gifts have been picked out. Each person can take as many gifts as they brought to the swap – if you bring one gift, you take one gift – if you bring three gifts, you take three gifts.
• After all the gifts have been swapped, have a little show and tell to see all the great gifts.

You can have a lot of fun planning a party and picking a theme for the gifts, such as a specific holiday (like Christmas or Valentine’s Day) or a specific type of craft (like stitched gifts or paper crafts). Of course some snacks and drinks always make a party more fun, too!

We recently saw a great crafty gift swap at Heirloom Creations using Pinterest as inspiration. Check out the video to see this fun gift swap including a show and tell of all the hand crafted gifts.