First thing that came to my mind was $5 certificates from places like McDonald's, Wendy's, etc. If I think of anything else, I'll come back.

I agree with gadgets, gift cards. Everyone in my family likes Starbucks, even the little kids.

If you get candy, get the "better" stuff like Sees or Godiva or whatever is offered at your grocery store would work too. I got a couple of Ghirardelli Peppermint/Chocolate bars in my grocery store. I think they were around $4-5 each. They are yummy and Christmasy in candy cane packaging too.

I keep thinking of things and editing. If you are going somewhere like Target, look in the toy section for things like yo-yo's, jigsaw puzzles, card games (Uno, Skip-bo are fun). You might find some Burts Bees products in your price range; the "chapstick" is popular. You might be able to stay below $5 there.

When the game is over, people can trade gifts if they wish.

Where are you shopping? It would be good to find everything in one place, wouldn't it?

Tape some money to that box of Kleenex or cotton swabs or whatever you give.

Sue

Hand lotion, big bag of potato chips and dip, sparking cider or fruit flavored beverage that comes in a bottle that looks like wine, package of nicer pens that write smoothly, Sharpies, coffee mug or tumbler with a straw, silly string, rectangular can of International coffee or a box of peppermint tea, Tic Tacs, multipack of Cheezits or cookies, bag of trail mix or beef jerky, 6 pack of soft drinks, bag of m&m's, picture frame, slinky, Wal-Mart had $5 Christmas t-shirts in the men's section, 6 pack of toilet paper, tape measure, small screwdriver, bottle of windshield wiper fluid, specialty bars of hand soap

I realize some of these might be stretching it for you. In my family, the more unexpected, the better.

We do a gift exchange by rolling dice, and then "stealing" others' gifts when they are all chosen. We usually set a $10.00 limit but last year I got a couple of those grabber tools from Menards for $1.99 and the guys loved them...lots of stealing there. So the price isn't so important. We also played charades one year, and that was a hit. You can google Christmas games and come up with some fun ones, OK for your age group.

Oh thanks....some great ideas!.....appreciate it....and Merry Christmas to everyone!

If you're playing LCR (Left Center Right), get a couple of rolls of quarters (or more depending on how many people are playing) and play with three quarters for each person. That'll get their attention!

Jigsaw puzzle on a card table, (root)beer pong

Those "stealing" games are fun.

For a game to play, have you ever played "Apples to Apples"? It's sold at pretty much everywhere they have games and it has been a huge hit with our extended family. The idea is that one person---the 'judge' draws a green card with an adjective like scary, sweet, wild, scintillating, etc.The other players have 7 red cards with nouns or descriptive phrases. They have to select the one they think best matches the green card...examples "James Bond","sweaty palms", "first dance","substitute teachers", "charging rhinos", etc. The results are frequently hilarious as the judge reads the submitted cards out loud and picks his/her favorite. We've played with people from 7 to 75 and it gets crazy!

Hands down favorite among our stack of games---as I matter of fact, my niece borrowed it for her house---got to get it back for the holidays:)

I love Apples to Apples! Fun game!

Janga is a nice game. Where you pull blocks from a stack

Thanks to all of your for your ideas for our Christmas fun. Last night, I headed out to Dollar General and bought more than we are going to need, but it was so much fun, I couldn't stop! So here are some of the things we will be using: $5 Sonic gift card; Windshield De-Icer; Nail & toenail clippers, emory board and sparkly nail polish; Printer paper & pk of multi-colored pens; Body scrub & body sponge; 4 pk Puffs; 6 rolls Charmin; Hand sanitizer & hand wash; 2 pks Twizzlers; 2 pks Skiddles; Pk of Beef Jerky; Cheddar Dip & Bean dip; Duck Tape & Electrical Tape; 6V Flashlight & battery; Soft plaid Throw; huge container of cheese balls; carton of Mt. Dew, and for fun, a Plumber's Friend and Pk of Vinyl gloves. Now for wrapping....and that is one job I hate to do...but heck, I don't have to mess with ribbons and name tags on these! Thanks again for getting me started on this.

That sounds like a lot of fun. I love your gifts.

It will be a blast!

Oh you did a great job! Can't wait to hear all about it. (I might be in the minority, but I actually like to wrap gifts.)