Happy New Year friends Can you use diamonds to buy gift boxes if you run out, or is “trading” the children for some the only way to get more? They drop so slowly, and there is still quite a lot of time left for the winter event. I have never run out before. I have just a few left but still want to gift, I am stumped! Thanks much! Miss D

As far as I know, dropping randomly or trading with the kids is the only way.

Use the drop down at the caroling kids. 

Gift boxes cost just 5 xmas items. 

(wands cost 7...I never swap for those, I purchase wands with diamonds)

When you run out of Holiday Wands, Carrots, or Ghost Traps, the message presents that you have none, but that you can purchase one with diamonds.

However, the message players get when trying to gift a friend in Santa's Sack is: "Sorry you don't have any gifts for your friends right now."

That means you do not have the option to purchase them with diamonds.

They cannot be gifted to friends using the social section of the game, so you cannot put them on your wish list for other players to donate to you.

A bit of history: In the beginning of the game, we occasionally received these Gift for a Friend boxes at HOS completion. There was no use for them. Players even tried to delete them. They could not be sold. They just stayed there gathering dust and increasing over time. Players complained on the original BF site to the Devs many times with no answers forthcoming.

With the creation of Christmas Room 1 (Winter 2015), players were able to finally use those boxes by leaving a gift under the tree for a friend.

THEN, the players started clamoring that they didn't have enough of them!!! Winter 2016 only made more slots available in the Christmas Room 1. We didn't get Christmas Room 2 until Winter of 2017.

I don't remember whether it was added in Winter of 2016 or 2017, but during one of those events, the Devs added the option to trade with the kiddos for additional gift boxes. 

Many years ago, Gohill got curious and figured out on average how many HOSs a player needed to play to receive one of the Gift for a Friend boxes. She concluded that on average, you get one every 38-40 HOSs visited. Sometimes you can go 200 HOSs and get none. Then you get a bunch in a row. But the percentage holds based on other players confirming her results.

I have found that if I keep at least 20 in my inventory, the gift boxes drop much more frequently in the HOS. :)

In my Honey game (my main game) I started the event with over a thousand boxes. I now have a little over 600 and they drop pretty frequently from the HOS - but with my new baby games, (started during this event) I started with no boxes and when I finally did get some, I never got up to 20 before I ran out. They don't drop near as often in any of my three baby games as they do in my main game.

So try to keep 20 in your inventory for them to drop more frequently. :)

As with any item in the game, it appears that it really likes you to have at least 20 in inventory at a minimum for it to continue to bless you with random goodies. 

And, I also believe that when Gohill did her analysis, she probably maintained some in inventory.