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Don’t get angry the next time you’re stuck with a terrible Yankee Swap gift. Here’s how to even the odds for a happier outcome.

Many years ago, when I lived in Massachusetts, I learned about the fun but sometimes-unsettling holiday party game of Yankee Swap. Also known as Secret Santa, it’s essentially a group gifting game. But really, it’s a forced gift swap/stealing game. The item you choose is rarely the gift you end up with, because someone else can take it from you!

You can play it with family or work colleagues. I’ve done both, and I learned long ago that playing naughty makes the game much more fun. You just can’t allow yourself to get too attached to any of the gifts.

The Brutal Rules of Yankee Swap
Here are the basics: Everyone brings a wrapped gift, which then gets anonymously grouped with the other gifts. Often there’s a suggested gift cost, like $25-$30.

Participants pick numbers out of a hat and then each person gets their turn to choose a wrapped gift and unwrap it in front of the group. Then, they have the option to swap it with an already unwrapped gift that someone else has chosen.

Said another way, everyone gets their moment to steal away someone else’s gift. (Well, that’s not true for the first person to go.) And as you would expect, the last person can do the final swap. So that’s the best position to be in. (The number you choose matters in how well you can do in the game.)

The Ultimate Turkey
Obviously certain gifts appeal to different people. That said, there’s usually that one item that everyone wants and a couple that are stinkers.

Usually, a stinker is one that’s average and uninspired. Sometimes it’s a clear regifting moment. But one year from my Massachusetts days, I got inspired by a real stinker gift. It was hardly boring.

It was a 15lb frozen turkey! How absurdly wonderful was that? Everyone’s jaws dropped.

Sure… I suppose anyone could use a frozen turkey, unless you’re a vegetarian, but it’s a terrible gift… the ultimate turkey.

But it was still the star of the show. Everyone couldn’t stop talking about it for days.

You Can’t Stop Me
From that year on as I play the game, I’ve been drawn to the art of providing the perfect terrible gift. It wasn’t from a mean intent. Rather it was designed to maximize the fun.

But there were two problems with my strategy. First, my extended family eventually figured out my handiwork, and I got the reputation as a wacky gift giver. And then as a group response to repel my disruptive play, I would often end up with my own rotten gift. How ironic.

So, then I evolved my terrible gift choices to items that I actually liked, even if nobody else did.

I Like Terrible!
Here are a few examples of my past Yankee Swap gifts:

• Star Wars Light Saber BBQ Grill Tongs
• Red Lumberjack Winter Hat
• Giant Angry Bird plush toy (This one was an unexpected hit.)
• Huge diamond paperweight

Certainly, it’s an eclectic list. Not for everyone. That’s the point.

But I eliminated the downside, because I would still be okay being stuck with my own terrible gift.

Ho Ho Ho
So, the next time you go shopping for an upcoming Yankee Swap party, if you aren’t inspired to find a great gift, go in the opposite direction. Choose the absurd.

If it raises eyebrows, you’ve succeeded.

And if the swapping process brings it back to you, this worst gift will still bring you some holiday joy. I say that’s how to play Yankee Swap!