Make their game $4.99

The Gift or No Gift game You wrap the gifts. They play for one.

Turn handing over a present into a game show: fill 10, 15 or 20 boxes with real gifts, IOUs, outings and the odd lump of coal, or start from our ideas. They keep one box and face the Banker's offers, round by round. Whatever is in the box they finish with is their gift.

Make their game · $4.99 Play the demo

One-time payment · Unlimited replays · Phone, tablet or TV, nothing to install

The game board of numbered mystery gift boxes, on a TV
The Banker's offer on a tablet: GIFT or NO GIFT
A box opened on a phone, revealing a gift

Put it on the TV. Film their face.

The best part isn't even the gift: it's watching them play for it. The Banker calling, a NO GIFT shouted at the screen, the last box opening. Put it on the living room TV, get everyone on the couch and keep your phone ready. That reaction is a video you'll want to keep.

Mirror a phone or tablet, or plug in a laptop. Not together this year? Send the link: it plays on any phone.

The Banker calling with an offer, shown on a large TV
Two people laughing together on the sofa
When the Banker calls
An older couple pointing at the TV and laughing
NO GIFT!
Two people smiling on the sofa, watching the screen
The last box
Two people on the sofa, watching the TV together

Everyone says "surprise me", and then the surprise lasts two seconds: paper off, a smile, on to the next one. This year, make the unwrapping the show. They'll argue with the Banker, agonize over KEEP or SWAP and cheer every lump of coal that isn't in their box. The gift is the prize; the ten minutes it takes to win it is the part everyone remembers.

How the game plays

Four rounds, about ten minutes, on whatever screen is closest.

  1. A board of numbered mystery boxes on a TV
    1

    Pick

    They choose one of 10, 15 or 20 mystery boxes. It stays on their pedestal, unopened, for the whole game.

  2. A box opened on a laptop, revealing a gift
    2

    Open

    Four rounds of opening the other boxes. Every gift they reveal is a gift that is not in their box.

  3. The Banker calling on a tablet, with GIFT and NO GIFT buttons
    3

    Resist

    After rounds 1, 2 and 3 the Banker calls with an offer you wrote, in exchange for their box. GIFT takes it and ends the game (then shows what they gave up). NO GIFT turns it down.

  4. The final reveal on a phone
    4

    Reveal

    KEEP their box or SWAP it for the last one on the board. The final box opens, and that gift is theirs.

Play the demo

The real game, with sample gifts: pick your box, open the rest round by round and take the Banker's calls. Turn the sound on.

Play the demo · 3 min

No sign-up. Like it? Make one for someone you love.

Your part takes a few minutes

  1. Tell us what they're into. Cozy, foodie, techy, outdoorsy, a kid who wants everything. Then choose 10, 15 or 20 boxes.
  2. We fill every box. Every box, plus the Banker's 3 offers, from 192 gift ideas. Type in the presents you've hidden ("Look under the bed"), add IOUs and outings, keep a lump of coal for laughs.
  3. Send the link. By text, in a card, or straight onto the TV on Christmas morning. Lock it with a PIN if you like. We email you what they win.
Fill my boxes

Coal × 6

Joke prizes. Groans guaranteed.

  • A lump of coal
  • One (1) sock
  • A hug. That's it.

Treat × 7

Small gifts and IOUs. Still a win.

  • Coffee run, my treat
  • Breakfast in bed
  • Foot rub voucher

Great × 5

Proper presents and days out.

  • Concert tickets
  • Spa day
  • Noise-canceling headphones

Grand × 2

The big one, usually your real present.

  • Your real present
  • The big gift
  • A weekend away, booked

No wrapping marathon. No slides. Works on any screen.

How it compares with the two usual ways of running a gift game show at home.

What you getGift or No GiftSlides templateWrapped boxes on the floor
Gift ideas192 to choose from, filled for youYou type them inYou buy and wrap every one
Where it's playedPhone, tablet, laptop or TV, from a linkA laptop, someone clicking alongThe same room
The Banker3 calls with offers you wrote, GIFT or NO GIFTSomeone plays the bankerSomeone plays the banker
Playing againUnlimited, reshuffled each timeReset it by handWrap it all again
Price$4.99, onceVaries, plus your eveningPaper, tape and an afternoon

When people send it

Questions

What is the Gift or No Gift game?

A gift-giving game show you send as a link. You fill 10, 15 or 20 boxes with gifts (we suggest every one of them), and the person you're giving to plays on a phone, tablet, laptop or TV: they pick a mystery box, open the others over four rounds, answer the Banker's three offers with GIFT or NO GIFT, then KEEP or SWAP and win what's inside. It costs $4.99, once.

What do I put in the boxes?

Anything you can describe in a line: presents you've hidden ("Look under the bed", "Check the garage"), IOUs and vouchers (breakfast in bed, a day off chores), outings (concert tickets, a spa day) and joke prizes like a lump of coal. Every box has a tier: Coal, Treat, Great or Grand. We fill them all from 192 ideas, and you can swap or rewrite any of them.

Do I have to buy a gift for every box?

No, but they win whatever is in the box they finish with, so every box should be something you're happy to give. Most people mix one or two real presents with small treats, IOUs that only cost your time, and coal. You also write the Banker's three offers.

How many boxes should I choose?

Ten for younger kids or a quick game, 15 for the classic, 20 for the full show. Every size plays in four rounds with three calls from the Banker. A 10 or 15-box game has one Grand prize; a 20-box game has two.

Is this the game-show gift game from TikTok?

It's our own take on the gift game people film for birthdays and Christmas: numbered boxes, a banker on the phone, keep or swap at the end. The difference is that nobody has to wrap twenty boxes or play the banker. It runs from a link, the Banker calls on screen, and it plays on the TV.

Can we play it on the TV?

Yes, and it's the best way to watch. Open the link on a laptop connected to the TV, or mirror your phone or tablet (AirPlay, Chromecast or your TV's screen mirroring). The game fills the screen in landscape, sound included.

Do they need to download an app or sign up?

No. They open the link in a browser and play. No app, no account, no email. You don't need an account either: we email you the link and a private page with every result.

How much does it cost?

$4.99, one time, paid when your game is ready to send (you can fill and change the boxes as much as you like before that). No subscription. Every replay reshuffles the boxes, so it can be played again and again.

How do I find out what they won?

We email you when a play finishes, with the gift they won and how they got it: kept their box, swapped, or took the Banker's offer. Your private results page lists every play.

Is it private?

Game links are private and kept out of search engines. You can lock a game with a 4 to 6 digit PIN, so only someone with the PIN can play. Results are emailed only to you, never to them.

What devices does it work on?

Recent iPhones and Android phones, iPads and Android tablets, Mac and Windows laptops, and any TV you can mirror or plug a laptop into. It uses 3D graphics, so very old phones may struggle; the demo is the quickest way to check.

Can I change the gifts after I pay?

No. The boxes are locked once you pay, so check them first. Want a different set? Make a new game.

Their gift is in one of these boxes

Fill the boxes, send it for $4.99. Then wait for the text that says "NO GIFT!!".

Make their game