For our Holiday parties at PADT, we generally have over 50 employees, so a traditional Secret Santa gift exchange takes too long. At some point, we downloaded a right-left gift exchange story from the internet, and it was a big hit. When we ran out of stories on the internet, we started writing our own, usually in some sort of over-the-top style that fits the theme of our holiday party.

How Does The Gift Exchange Work?

Everyone gets the gift they brought and forms a big circle in the middle of the room.  Someone with a strong voice (or a microphone) reads the story, and every time the word LEFT is read, everyone passes the package they have to the left. Every time the word RIGHT is read, everyone passes the package they have to their right.  You should pause a bit at each LEFT/RIGHT to give people a chance to pass. Once the story is over, you end up with the gift you are holding.

You Can Find Previous Gift Exchange Stories Here:

These stories are for everyone’s use, free, and with no strings attached. So please copy and paste the text into your word processor and enjoy. And if it all goes well, please share a picture with us at info@padtinc.com.

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Our 2024 Holiday Party was in the middle of some pretty stressful times for many of us, and the organizing group was not feeling the holiday spirit. So we wondered what it would be like if a town forgot Christmas.

The Town that Forgot Christmas

The day after Halloween? That is what many people now feel is the right time to start celebrating Christmas. I, for one, feel that the right time is right after you have left-overs from Thanksgiving. Either way, we eventually get the tree up, and lights hung on the left and right sides of the house and we listen to Christmas classics, and the Christmas spirit is upon us. 

But, right now, I want you to think long and hard about what it would be like if you lived in a town that forgot Christmas. Yup, a few years back I ended up in a town that left it right off their calendar. 

It’s nestled right there in the mountains of Idaho, a quaint little town with a square with a big pine tree right in the middle, an old courthouse on the right side, and one of the best independent toy stores left in the country, on the left side.  But when we left our little AirBnB right outside of town and walked to a little restaurant that December night, something felt left out. 

I looked right down main street, and there were no Christmas lights, no decorations. That big pine tree stood right there in the center of town with not one colored ball or twinkly light. Right then, I realized what was not … Correct. This town forgot Christmas, and there were only two weeks left!

We went into the toy store to ask someone what was going on. Standing right behind the counter was a huge man with long white hair and a huge white beard and a massive stomach. He was sitting on a stool, and the leftovers of a cookie and a half-dunk glass of milk were left next to the old-fashioned cash register. 

“Ho Ho…. caugh cough… I mean Hi hi!  What brings you to Christopher’s Toys? We have some great winter deals left, but they end right at midnight on the 24th.

I said, “Um… winter deals? What about Christmas? Does this town not celebrate Christmas?”

He looked at me in a way that left me feeling almost naked, like he was judging if I was good or bad. With his left hand, he stroked his long beard and, standing up, he put his right hand on my shoulder.

“You must be from out of town. It might be best if you just left now.” 

I was left stunned, but I was not ready to back down, not right away.

I asked, “Why don’t you celebrate Christmas here? “

He looked right at me again and pulled on his beard with his right hand. 

“Look, I can tell you have mostly been a good boy, so I’ll let you know. Right now, I’m just tired.  Year after year after year, it has left me worn out and left me feeling a bit done with Christmas.”

He sat back down, right there on that stool, and slumped over. 

Then I heard the voice of a small child behind me

“No Christmas?” he asked.

I turned and saw a little boy looking right at me, then right at the store owner, and I could see tears forming in his left eye and in… his other eye. 

The old man kneeled down on his right knee in front of the child and asked, “You remember Christmas?”

“Of course I do, silly. Who could forget Christmas?”. 

The old man gave the little boy a huge hug right there in the toy store. And then he looked right at me and smiled and said “Ho Ho Ho” and nodded his head three times. 

I felt a little dizzy and my vision was a little fuzzy for a few seconds. Then I looked around me. The store was full of Christmas decorations, and I looked right out the window and saw the most beautiful Christmas tree I had ever seen, right in the middle of the square. 

The old man stood up and patted the boy on the head and said, “Last year I was left with some doubt if anyone cared. But this little boy reminded me that I left out what lives in the human heart. Now, everything is right back where it should be. Ho, Ho, Ho.”

# The End #