Each person brings their 4 identical gifts (okay, they don't have to be identical - you can have different colors of nail polish, or different chick flicks in your movie baskets, etc - but the idea is that each of your gifts are at least a similar theme). If you want food served, you can also asks your guests to bring their favorite dish to share (I brought cookie dough balls of course).
You can also provide some door prizes if you're the host - these can be simple things like candles, chocolate, etc. You can either draw names, put a star on the bottom of a paper plate (and who ever randomly chooses that one to eat off gets to pick a door prize, etc).
For the Favorite Things games - there are so many options for gift exchange games. You'll need as many games as you have individual gifts (so for example if you told everyone to bring 3 gifts, you need 3 games - if you told them to bring 4 gifts, then you need 4 games, etc). Each round features one gift from each guest.
One of the games could be a traditional white elephant gift exchange where everyone draws numbers out of a hat - #1 selects a present from the table. #2 can then either steal #1's gift, or they can pick a new present. #3 then goes, and can either take #1 or #2's presents, or can pick a new one, etc. You continue until everyone has had a turn. Tip: Set a limit on how many "steals" an item can have, or the game may never end if there's a hot prize!
Another game can be the "Right/Left" game (google/pinterest examples of these - there are plenty to choose from!) This is where everyone sits in a circle and someone reads a story aloud (the Night before Christmas for example) and every time the passage says "right" or "left" (they are already pre-added into the story) you pass the gift in your hand that particular direction. At the end of the story, whatever gift you're holding is yours to keep!
Another gift exchange idea could be holiday trivia (the winner gets to pick their gift first, followed by the runner up, followed by the next person, etc) - you can either add stealing options or not, it's up to you!) Another idea is simply grabbing a deck of cards - sort out 2-Ace and let everyone choose a card. You can either call them out in order (highest to lowest, or vice versa) or have a second set with the same cards, and when you pull each individual card, the person with the match gets to pick a gift (you can make stealing optional or not for this as well.
All in all, that means everyone leaves with the same amount of gifts they came with!
So if you're looking for a fun holiday party to throw, try a Favorite Things Party! It's a great way to get people to mingle/get to know each other if you have a diverse group (when you start the party, you can have everyone introduce themselves and explain why they chose the gifts they brought, etc) along with holiday food and fun!! Give it a try! :)
More holiday party themes to come (I'm throwing a "Ref" party next week - confused? Intrigued?) Check back soon!