Last night a bunch of friends got together for our annual Christmas gathering.  We get together every year at this time for lots of food, lots of laughter, and a gift exchange…with a twist.  “Yankee Swaps” are really popular around here, and they are a fun way to hold a gift exchange (if you don’t know what a Yankee swap is, check out this e-How post.)  Usually there is a monetary limit set to the gifts, around $20 for most. 

My group, however, does it differently.  Instead of buying a gift, you have to bring something that you already have that you don’t want anymore.   It makes for a wide range of gifts (this year we had a pair of shorts, fake Hallowe’en teeth and a mini green house among the gifts…)  It’s also a great way to have fun and give and receive gifts, without spending any money!  (and good for the environment too!)

Here is my contribution to this year’s swap:

A candle I received as a gift but never used, and one of the scarves I crocheted last winter when I decided to pick up crocheting again, but don’t really need as I already have 6 scarves and most of them are handmade.

What I came home with is this:

If you know what these are, you already understand my excitement on opening up this gift!!  (And even more exciting is the fact I actually got to keep them when I was only the second person to pick a gift!).  If you are not enlightened into the use of these wonderful words – they are fridge words, meant to be placed all over your fridge so you can make poetry like this:

Or, so relatives can leave you messages about their wonderful home provinces, like this:

Or, just for general messages meant to instruct or inspire:

And it makes your fridge look like a poet’s playground.

We also have fridge chess and a magnetic puzzle on our fridge, you really can’t go wrong with fridge fun!

I’m not always that lucky at these exchanges – last year I ended up with Christmas ornaments which I actually gave away before I even left the party!  But hey, if ten ladies can get together with junk from their houses and turn it into an event that is the cause of a tonne of side-splitting laughter, than I would call it a success! 

Hope you are enjoying some pre-holiday fun too!

By the way, what’s on your fridge?