28 Gift Exchange Theme Ideas

Last week I shared a detailed post on how to host a gift exchange. If you need help organizing your gift exchange, be sure you read that post first.

Today we’re getting creative, and I’m sharing Christian-themed gift exchange ideas and some general gift exchange themes. You’re welcome to grab an idea and make it your own.

Gift exchange themes can add a unique twist or challenge for your participants.

I must admit, I’m partial to the Christian-themed ideas below. Far too often, women’s ministry events and activities are labeled as lacking substance. On the surface, a gift exchange could appear to be just another fluffy, fellowship event.

Gift exchanges provide an opportunity for us to offer:

1. Fellowship
2. Service
3. Spiritual message

Let’s embrace the opportunity to point women to Christ in every activity and event.

14 Christian-Themed Gift Exchange Ideas

A Christian gift exchange can, and should, include a spiritual message. Selecting a theme that points women back to God’s Word is one way to keep the focus on Christ and not on the gift.

1. Beauty Bits (1 Peter 3:3-4) – Gifts for a personal spa night or gifts that are beautiful.
2. Clean (Psalm 51:10) – Gifts that can be used to clean.
3. Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9) – Garden-themed gifts.
4. Joy (Psalm 16:11) – Gifts related to joy and happiness.
5. Feathered Friends (Matthew 6:26) – Bird-themed gifts.
6. Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) – Fruit-themed gifts.
7. Keep Warm (Ecclesiastes 4:11) – Gifts to keep the giver warm (blankets, scarves, hot drinks, fuzzy socks, etc.).
8. Light of the World (John 8:12) – Light-themed gifts.
9. Love One Another (John 13:35) – Valentine’s Day exchange or give a gift you love (favorite thing). You’ll find ten other “love one another” verses here.
10. Pieces of Peace (John 16:33) – Gifts that are calming or bring about peace.
11. Proverbs 31 (Proverbs 31:10-31) – Any gift that’s related to the verses in Proverbs 31.
12. Refreshers (Acts 3:20) – Gifts that provide physical or spiritual refreshment.
13. Sonshine Gifts (John 20:31) – Ask women to send a gift that’s yellow or only contains items that are yellow. You can find some fun Sonshine gift ideas and tags in this post.
14. Taste & See (Psalm 34:8) – Food-related gifts or restaurant gift cards.

14 General Theme Ideas for Gift Exchanges

With a little creativity, you might be able to pair each of these with a Scripture verse too.

1. Accessory Swap – Necklaces, scarves, and earrings.
2. Alphabet Exchange – Pre-select a letter from the alphabet. Gifts must begin with that letter.
3. Book Exchange – I was a member of a writing group that hosted an optional Jolabokaflod (in short, an Icelandic tradition of giving books). Encourage your women to send a favorite Christian book to one another. 
4. Favorite Things – Give one of your favorite things. Encourage women to include an explanation of why it’s one of their favorite things.
5. First Letter of their Name – Gifts must begin with the first letter of the recipient’s name. Or the gift must start with the first letter of the giver’s name – have the recipients guess who the giver’s identity.
6. Game Exchange – Ask women to send their favorite board or card game to each other.
7. Gift Card Exchange – Ask women to limit their gifts to gift cards of a certain amount ($5 or $10). One of our former Youth Group leaders would do this at Christmas, and they gave out a prize for the most unique gift card given. You’d be amazed at the random gift cards you can purchase!
8. Green Things – All gifts must be green. You could do the same for other colors—for example, a Purple Parade or a Pink Party.
9. Holiday Décor – Ask women to give an item the recipient could use to decorate for an upcoming holiday (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, 4^th of July, etc.)
10. Kitchen-themed Gift Exchange – All gifts must be something they would use in a kitchen.
11. Mug Exchange – Ask women to give a mug and their favorite tea or packaged beverage. Invite everyone to share a photo of the mug they received in your Facebook group.
12. Snack Swap – Ask women to give a snack they love or a snack they think the recipient will enjoy.
13. Sock Swap – Ask women to give the gift of socks. My son’s girlfriend mentioned they have a crazy sock exchange at work every Christmas. The socks range from crazy to comfy, and it’s a lot of fun. Encourage women to post a photo of their socks online or wear them at your women’s retreat.
14. Tiny Gift Exchange – The item or items must fit inside a brown paper lunch bag.

I hope these gift exchange themes have inspired you and your team to get creative with your next gift exchange.

You may also want to read:
How to Host a Gift Exchange