This is a simple and easy idea for a sibling gift exchange.

Back when we only had two kids, it was easy. At Christmas they each gave each other a present, and that was that. Then, our 3rd child was born. After a few years of having them all give each other gifts, I decided to do things differently. We started a sibling gift exchange.

Now we have five kids….can you imagine if they all bought gifts for each other? That would 25 gifts right there! The sibling gift exchange has become a tradition for our family. We usually draw names sometime during the Thanksgiving weekend. Sometimes it ends up being a few days later, but we have been doing the gift exchange for 7 years now.

I write each child’s name on a slip of paper and put the slips in this festive santa jar.

Then the kids take turns picking a slip of paper out.

No peeking!

Each of the kids have to remember the name that was on the slip that they drew out of the jar. After all the slips have been drawn, the slips go back into the jar. That way, no one will find someone else’s slip laying on their dresser or something like that. The kids like it to be a surprise. (I go and make a little list of who got who, and keep it hidden in my room.) Especially since we still have two little ones.

We also have the kids think about what are some nice things they can do for this person (all month-long), other than just giving them a gift. We don’t really set a price range for the sibling gift exchange. The older kids usually use their own money and we help the younger kids. Because of that, the gifts are never super expensive. Sometimes, they do a combination of making things and buying things.

What I love about our sibling gift exchange, is the thought that the kids put into the person and the gift that they are going to be giving them. For example, I found Ashley in her room making a list of different things she thought her person would like. She made a “need” section and a “would like” section. The she drew pictures of her ideas. She spent at least an hour doing this! One night before bed, Emily whispered in my ear,”Mommy, I can’t wait to get something for_____!” She decided to fall asleep thinking about things that make that person happy.

The Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus to show their love for him, therefore we give gifts to others to show our love for them. We, also give gifts to help us all remember that our Heavenly Father gave us the greatest gift which was the gift of His son, the birth of our Savior. Jesus Christ then taught us the right way to live and that loving and helping others will make us happy. I can clearly see this with my kids right now. As they think about each other and what they will be doing for one another during this Christmas season, I can see that it makes them happy.

The kids will usually open their gifts on Christmas Eve. One will volunteer to start, by giving the 1st gift. Next, the person who received the 1st give will go on to give their gift. We usually pause to take a picture with each child giving their gift to the person whose name they drew. We have a good time and usually clap after each gift is opened. A lot of times, some of the kids will hug each other.

One of my hopes is that my kids will want to continue this tradition when they are adults, or that they might want to do this with their children when they are parents.I hope that my kids will try to remain close with each other. Maybe having little traditions like this, will help keep that closeness going.