SECRET FORMULA FOR A PERFECT PRESENT

photo www.countryliving.com 

LEVEL: B1 AND ABOVE
TOPIC: CHRISTMAS GIFTS

1.       A WARMER

Stick post-it notes with names of presents (eg a book, flowers, jewelry) on the students’ backs.The students have to mingle and ask each other closed questions to guess what it is. Early finishers can write whether they think it’s a good or a bad present.

2.       WHAT’S THE BEST GIFT FOR …

Ask the students to work in pairs and think of a gift for each of the people in the photo. Encourage them to explain why they chose a particular gift for each person.

USEFUL LANGUAGE HANDOUT

If you want to make the activity a little bit more challenging, you can set the time limit, ask the students to write down the ideas and after the time is over, put the pens on the desk and compare the ideas with the other students. The students will get points only if their gift idea is different from the other students'. 

Photo www.gettyimages.ie 

You can download the photo here

3.       A SECRET FORMULA FOR A PERFECT PRESENT

Tell your students that a secret formula for a perfect present has been revealed. The formula is

(L x 2) + O + E2 – PD + EM = PP

Each letter in the formula stands for a word, for example L might mean love or laughter.

Ask the students to work in small groups and try to guess what each word in the formula means.

4.       READING

The students skim through the article to see if their guesses were correct and do the exercise.

5.       THE PERFECT GIFT FOR YOUR PARTNER

Ask the students if they know what an experience gift means. Explain that as opposed to material gifts, experience gifts  allow the recipient to have an experience, such as skydiving, kayaking, race car driving or touring a vineyard. Split the students in pairs (preferably not the partner they'll normally sit with) and give each pair a handout with experience gift ideas. The students have to choose a perfect gift for their partners asking them questions about their preferences. Encourage the students to avoid questions which are too direct (like "Would you like to have a go at driving a truck?") as this would spoil the surprise and ask them to observe their partners and listen carefully to their answers.

EXPERIENCE GIFTS HANDOUT STUDENT A  

EXPERIENCE GIFTS HANDOUT STUDENT B

Alternatively the students can go online and do the activity using the suggested ideas. 

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