How to Organize a "White Elephant" Gift Exchange

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

A white elephant gift exchange is a light way to have fun with your co-workers or family gatherings. White elephant gifts are traditionally gifts that are considered extremely bad taste or that do not suit the recipient's preferences. The line of thinking behind this giveaway exchange is to give everyone a chance to get rid of the bad taste gifts, and invariably get a new one! Exchanges of “white elephant” gifts can be managed in several ways. Some have rules under which the item must be used by the person giving it before they give it back, which means that you give back an unwanted item or useless trinket. Others buy a new, generally inexpensive, tacky item for the party. The aim is to choose gifts of little use, fun and capable of making a few smiles. If you don't know what to give, just pop into your city's second-hand shop.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: General Rules

Step 1. Determine the rules for your group

Is this a party where gifts received in the past will be exchanged or will attendees have to buy something new? How much can they spend? Make sure everyone understands the rules, such as whether to buy new things or not, and that they know the maximum amount they can spend on the gift. You don't want one person to buy a brand new video game console while another a used pen holder.

Step 2. Find the perfect white elephant gift

Request that they pack it for you in the store or wrap it yourself, and sneak it to the party.

• If you're having trouble coming up with a gift that is as absurd as it is appropriate, consider these gift ideas:
• Bad jewels.
• Unpleasant smelling perfume or lotion.
• Cheap and ugly statues or other decorative trinkets.
• Quirky paintings you might find at a local second hand shop.
• A horrible t-shirt, sweater, tie or bow tie.
• Training videos, particularly those with Richard Simmons.
• A book on a subject that is obscure and / or out of date, such as worm farming or 14th century love poetry.
• A framed picture of your boss, but only if he has a good sense of humor.



Step 3. Do not disclose anything about your gift

The idea is that people don't know who the gift comes from. Once you get to work, put it in the gift box along with all the others.

Step 4. Write consecutive numbers on small pieces of paper

Create them based on the number of people who will participate in the gift exchange. For example, if there are 15 participants, write the numbers 1 to 15 on small pieces of paper, fold them once or twice and place them in a small bowl or envelope.

Step 5. Ask each participant to draw a number

The number will indicate the order in which the gifts will be chosen.



Step 6. Start with the person drawing the number 1

The first person chooses any of the gifts wrapped in the gift box and opens it. His shift ends.



Step 7. Ask the next person to choose whether they want to steal a previously opened gift or an unopened one from the gift box

• A person whose gift is stolen can either steal one from someone else or choose a replacement gift from the gift box.
• You cannot immediately steal the gift that was stolen from you. You must wait for at least one spin before stealing a gift that was previously in your possession.
• A gift cannot be stolen more than once per turn.



Step 8. Repeat in the order of the numbers

The person with the following number chooses a gift from the gift box or steals a gift from someone else. People whose gifts have been stolen can choose a gift from the gift box or steal items that have not yet been stolen during that round.

Method 2 of 2: Variations



Step 1. Agree and implement any desired game variations

There are many variations for an exchange of “white elephant” gifts. Consider a couple of them and decide which ones you want to adopt before the game starts.

• Do not unwrap the gifts until the end. This speeds up the game and adds a touch of mystery - no one really knows what he's stealing, unless they can guess what it is.
• If possible, mark the gifts as appropriate for a particular sex. Label a gift as appropriate for a man, appropriate for a woman, or unisex.
• The cards containing instructions they can be wrapped to look like gifts and placed in the gift box. The instructions contain rules such as "The recipient of this card chooses two gifts, opens both and puts one back in the gift box" or "The recipient of this card chooses a gift, which cannot be stolen." If you decide to work with these cards, consider two factors:
• The people who make the cards with the instructions must bring both a card and a gift. There won't be enough gifts to be exchanged if the people writing the cards don't bring gifts.
• The instruction cards are more difficult to implement if you decide to open the gifts at the end. Obviously, it is impossible to "open two presents and choose one" if you don't discard them to the end.
• The first player could be given the option to exchange gifts with another player at the end of the game. Since the first player does not have the option to steal, it may be granted to him at the end of the game. This option works best when the gifts are wrapped until the end, otherwise, the first player will have a net advantage.

Step 2. Experiment with "thefts"

There are many different variations for stealing during a white elephant gift exchange. Play with a couple of different variations:

• An article that is stolen three times is frozen. After an item passes from one hand to the other three times, it can no longer be stolen and remains with the third person who had it in its possession. Make sure you keep track of how many times an item is stolen on a notepad to avoid confusion.
• Alternatively, a limit may be placed on the number of times a person is stolen (instead of the number of times the item is stolen). If, for example, you set a limit of three, an item can be stolen as many times as you want, provided it is stolen by someone who has not reached their limit of three.
• Set a limit on the number of "thefts" per shift. For example, if you limit the theft to three gifts per turn, after the third gift is stolen, the player from whom the gift was stolen must choose a gift from the gift box.