Woman reveals how her family took a different approach to Secret Santa gift exchange and it's amazing

Giving gifts during Christmas can be a tricky affair. People have different tastes and it can take a lot of research to find a gift they need. Most people do not have the time or energy for this, which is why most people end up getting simple but bland gifts for Christmas. TikTok influencer @theprettypinkstudio shared how her family decided to take a different approach to how they gave gifts during their white elephant gift exchange game during Christmas. The video has got 303.5K views and 92 comments on the platform.

The woman begins the video with a voiceover stating how she and her family wanted to change up their gift-giving tradition into something that was more "meaningful and exciting." She explains, "Instead of gifting each other a gift that we probably don't need and will likely get rid of in a couple of years, we decided to gift each other a toy that we would have loved as a child." The rules of the game were straightforward. Family members would draw a name and that is who they would have to get a gift for.

The woman's mother-in-law's giftee was her dad, who happened to be a big fan of soccer. He ended up getting a wonderful mini foosball set. She states, "He was really excited and most likely wanted to keep it." Interestingly, all the toys that the family gifts each other are collected and donated to a local toy drive. This made the exchange of gifts even more special to the family. The woman concludes the video by sharing how their dog, Maddie, also had a great time during the holidays.

People loved the family's approach to gift-giving and shared their opinions about it in the comments section. @everydayclair said, "This is a wonderful idea!! Knowing kids will have their Christmas is gift enough." @andysdorm shared, "That's fun. I have no use for a gag gift nor the budget to waste. But this is a wonderful tradition. I like it a lot." @shaughnessyxoxo commented, "My work does this and it is so much better than receiving ANOTHER generic candle or mug Secret Santa gift and a great way to give back to the community, highly recommend it."

It seems that a lot of people end up with useless gifts. @jai.beeon TikTok shared a video where she talked about why gifts should be more practical. According to her, practical gifts were just as important as ones that were luxurious or had emotional value. She said, "If you ask them what they'd like for Christmas or birthday and they say, 'Can you pay a bill?' 'I'd love gas money; I'd love grocery money, the daily facial cleanser that I use, I'm running low on, if you could buy me one of those?' And if you go, 'That's not a gift.' You're wrong."

The woman also pointed out how people who refused to give practical gifts were just adhering to a tradition and did not care much for what the gift was. She explains, "You're buying it to make yourself feel like you've done something and that is not how gifts are supposed to work." The woman also pointed out how people would not want overly luxurious items if they were struggling to afford basic things. She also added, "On that note, if you give someone cash as a gift and they don't use it in the way you want them to, that has nothing to do with you."