You know that Christmas decoration you unwrap every year, look at for a second, and wrap right back up? Maybe it’s a ceramic reindeer with a face that says he knows what you paid for him. You don’t dislike him. You just haven’t found a spot for him in eleven years.
Meanwhile, your friend has a little space on her mantel and exactly the sense of humor that reindeer deserves.
That’s the idea behind a Christmas décor swap. Everybody brings one small holiday decoration they’re ready to pass along, and everybody gets to pick something different to take home. Ornaments count, but so do tabletop Santas, Christmas mugs, napkin rings, and short garlands. It’s an excuse to see your friends and send one thing out the front door before you bring one more thing in.
Tell everybody to shop their own Christmas bin
The best rule is the simplest: Bring one small, clean Christmas decoration you’d be happy to give away. No shopping required.
Think of something that fits in a grocery bag and is ready to use. A little wooden tree, a set of holiday coasters, or the red bow that looked just right in the store and roughly the size of a satellite dish on your front door. If it lights up, test it first. If it’s missing an antler, mention it. Somebody might love him that way, but let her make that decision herself.
And please leave the family heirlooms at home. If you’d be tempted to text somebody in February and ask how your grandmother’s angel is doing, she belongs with you.
Pick the kind of swap your friends will enjoy
The easy version
Put everything out where people can see it. Draw numbers, and let each person choose one item when it’s her turn. Once she picks it, it’s hers. This is ideal if you’d rather spend the evening catching up than explaining rules over the sound of a cheese ball being unwrapped.
The slightly rowdier version
Have everybody wrap what they bring and draw numbers. The first person opens a package. After that, each person can unwrap a new one or take an already opened decoration. If yours gets taken, you open a new package. Let each decoration change hands just once. That way the reindeer can have a moment without anybody needing to call a recess.
Either way, tell people how it’ll work in the invitation. And if someone comes for the company and doesn’t want to swap, save her a chair anyway.
Send this to the group chat
Come over for a little Christmas décor swap! Bring one small, clean holiday decoration from home that you’re ready to pass along. Ornaments, mugs, tabletop decorations, or little garlands are all fair game. Please don’t buy anything. We’ll have snacks, draw numbers, and each pick something to take home. And if you just want to come visit, come on.
That’s the whole invitation. If the first reply is, “Should I bring dip?” go ahead and say yes. You don’t have to make a party harder than your friends are willing to make it easy.
Keep the party smaller than the cleanup
Clear one end of the table for the swap. Put out something to drink and a couple of snacks. The rest of the house can look like people live there. In fact, if you’re still working up to getting your own tree out, our guide to decorating with what you already own is a good place to start. Or leave the bins closed until you feel like it. The party will survive.
If there are extras at the end, ask whether the person who brought them wants them back or would rather donate them. The hostess should not wake up the next morning with custody of four Santas and a wreath she’s never seen before.
A little note from Michelle and the women at Envy Stylz Boutique
If we haven’t met, I’m Michelle Engelhardt. I spent 25 years in the corporate world and a lot of my spare time making and designing things on the side. That creative work eventually became Envy Stylz Boutique, the family-run shop we have today. Here’s a little more about how Envy got started, if you’d like to get to know us.
Around here, we like the kind of holiday get-together where you can wear a Christmas crewneck, put on a pair of earrings because it makes you happy, and pull a soft throw over your knees when the good conversation moves to the couch. That’s a little of what you’ll find at Envy, right alongside the graphic tees that helped get us started.
But for this particular party, the shopping is already done. Go see what’s in that bin. And if the reindeer makes it back to your house next year, well, at least now he’s got a story.
— Michelle, Envy Stylz Boutique
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