How to Organize a White Elephant Gift Exchange
Set the gifting rules for your group., Find that perfect white elephant gift., Some great "White Elephant Gift" Ideas., Find Other Low-Cost Fun Gift Exchange Gifts., Be secretive about your gift., Write out consecutive numbers on small pieces of...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Set the gifting rules for your group.
Is this a re-gift party or are folks supposed to buy something new--or does it matter? How much is the spending limit? Is there some sort of challenge or theme? Make sure everyone understands the rules like whether they have to buy new things or not.
Be careful of sticking to overly stringent rules.
After all, not everyone has a regiftable present laying around.
Not everyone is good at picking out gifts.
The focus of this game is on fun not making it a picky rules-bound affair.
Be aware that very elaborate rules or themes (such as it has to be edible, or red or green, or some such) may be fun for some but may be an annoyance and stress for another.
In general, keep it simple.
Gift spending limits avoid putting people in a position to pay an uncomfortable amount for a gift.
What may be comfortable for the vice president will not be the same as the junior secretary.
Price limits keep gifts more or less on the same level of value.
You don't want one person to get a brand new video game console and another person to get a used pen protector. -
Step 2: Find that perfect white elephant gift.
Get it gift wrapped or wrap the gift yourself, and bring it to the party stealthily.
And feel free to have some fun with this.
Feel free to do a really silly wrapping job.
Use plain brown paper, or even just stick it in a plain mailing envelope.
Do something silly.
Feel free to wrap it with a different theme than expected.
For a New Year's gift exchange, wrap it in birthday, baby gift, or graduation themes.
If you enjoy wrapping, feel free to do an excellent job.
Go overboard, do every elaborate flourish. , If you're having trouble coming up with a gift that is both off-the-wall and appropriate, consider these gift ideas:
Hideous or tacky jewelry Perfume or lotion with an unpleasant scent.
Cheap, ugly statues or other decorative knick-knacks.
An obnoxious T-shirt, sweater, tie, socks, or bow-tie.
Workout videos, particularly those with obnoxious aerobic instructors Bargain bin DVDs of Grade-B movies...the worse the better.
A framed picture of your boss, (perhaps autographed) but only if the boss has a good sense of humor.
CD of awful or weird music , Although "White Elephant" or "Yankee Swap" gifts often aim to be wacky and goofy, there is nothing wrong with a gift that is sensible.
It is OK to go with something that you are pretty sure will not get tossed in the bin.
Sometimes trying to find the perfect crazy gift is just adding too much stress to holiday shopping.
Some perhaps more boring but welcome exchange gifts:
Lottery tickets Water bottle, mug, or coffee travel cup Small gift certificate to local eatery Winter hat, scarf, or gloves Good quality tea or coffee gift set Kitchen items, such as measuring cups, spoons, oven mitts , The idea is for people to not know who the gift is coming from.
Once you get to work, place the gift into a gift box along with all the other gifts. , Make numbers for however many people are participating in the gift exchange.
For example, if there are 15 people participating, write out the numbers 1 through 15 on small pieces of paper, fold them once or twice, and throw them into a small bowl or bag. , The number will signify the order in which they choose a gift. , The first person chooses any wrapped gift in the gift box and opens it.
Their turn ends.
The first player will be given the option to exchange gifts with another player at the very end. , A person who has his/her gift stolen from them gets to either steal a gift from someone else or choose a replacement gift from the gift box.
You cannot immediately steal back the gift that was stolen from you.
You must wait at least one round before stealing back a gift that was once in your possession.
A gift cannot be stolen more than once a turn. , The person with the next-highest number either chooses a gift from the gift box or steals a gift from someone else.
People who have gifts stolen can choose a gift out of the gift box or steal items that have not yet been stolen that round. , There are lots of variation to the white elephant gift exchange.
Look through a couple and decide which ones you want to implement before the game begins.
Mark gifts as gender-appropriate, where possible.
Label a gift male-appropriate, female-appropriate, or unisex.
Cards containing instructions can be wrapped up to look like presents and placed into the gift box.
The instructions contain rules such as "Recipient of this card chooses two presents, opens them both, and places one back into the gift box," or "Recipient of this card chooses a gift and cannot have their gift stolen." If you choose to work with these cards, be mindful of two things:
People who make cards with instructions have to bring both a card and a gift.
There won't be enough gifts to go around if people who write cards fail to bring gifts.
Cards with instructions are tougher to implement if you choose to open the gifts at the very end.
Obviously, it's impossible to "open two gifts and choose one" if you don't open the presents until the end.
The first player may be given the option to exchange gifts with another player at the very end.
Because the first player doesn't have the option of stealing, they might be given it at the very end.
This option works best when presents remain unopened until the very end; otherwise, the first player has a distinct advantage. , There are many different variations on stealing in a white elephant gift exchange.
Play around with a couple different variants.
An item that is stolen three times becomes frozen.
After an item changes hands three times, it can no longer be stolen, and stays with the third person who stole it.
Be sure to keep track of how many times an item is stolen on a notepad to avoid confusion.
Alternately, a limit can be placed on the number of times a person is stolen from (instead of the number of times an item is stolen).
If you set the limit at three, for example, an item can be stolen however many times, so long as it's stolen from someone who hasn't reached his or her limit of three.
Place a limit on the number of steals per turn.
If, for example, you limit the stealing to three gifts per turn, after the third gift is stolen, the player whose gift was just stolen must choose a gift from the gift box. -
Step 3: Some great "White Elephant Gift" Ideas.
-
Step 4: Find Other Low-Cost Fun Gift Exchange Gifts.
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Step 5: Be secretive about your gift.
-
Step 6: Write out consecutive numbers on small pieces of paper.
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Step 7: Have everyone draw a number.
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Step 8: Begin with the person who draws #1.
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Step 9: Have the next person choose whether they want to steal a previously-opened gift or choose an unopened gift from the gift box.
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Step 10: Repeat in order of number.
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Step 11: Agree on and implement as many variations to the game as desired.
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Step 12: Experiment with stealing.
Detailed Guide
Is this a re-gift party or are folks supposed to buy something new--or does it matter? How much is the spending limit? Is there some sort of challenge or theme? Make sure everyone understands the rules like whether they have to buy new things or not.
Be careful of sticking to overly stringent rules.
After all, not everyone has a regiftable present laying around.
Not everyone is good at picking out gifts.
The focus of this game is on fun not making it a picky rules-bound affair.
Be aware that very elaborate rules or themes (such as it has to be edible, or red or green, or some such) may be fun for some but may be an annoyance and stress for another.
In general, keep it simple.
Gift spending limits avoid putting people in a position to pay an uncomfortable amount for a gift.
What may be comfortable for the vice president will not be the same as the junior secretary.
Price limits keep gifts more or less on the same level of value.
You don't want one person to get a brand new video game console and another person to get a used pen protector.
Get it gift wrapped or wrap the gift yourself, and bring it to the party stealthily.
And feel free to have some fun with this.
Feel free to do a really silly wrapping job.
Use plain brown paper, or even just stick it in a plain mailing envelope.
Do something silly.
Feel free to wrap it with a different theme than expected.
For a New Year's gift exchange, wrap it in birthday, baby gift, or graduation themes.
If you enjoy wrapping, feel free to do an excellent job.
Go overboard, do every elaborate flourish. , If you're having trouble coming up with a gift that is both off-the-wall and appropriate, consider these gift ideas:
Hideous or tacky jewelry Perfume or lotion with an unpleasant scent.
Cheap, ugly statues or other decorative knick-knacks.
An obnoxious T-shirt, sweater, tie, socks, or bow-tie.
Workout videos, particularly those with obnoxious aerobic instructors Bargain bin DVDs of Grade-B movies...the worse the better.
A framed picture of your boss, (perhaps autographed) but only if the boss has a good sense of humor.
CD of awful or weird music , Although "White Elephant" or "Yankee Swap" gifts often aim to be wacky and goofy, there is nothing wrong with a gift that is sensible.
It is OK to go with something that you are pretty sure will not get tossed in the bin.
Sometimes trying to find the perfect crazy gift is just adding too much stress to holiday shopping.
Some perhaps more boring but welcome exchange gifts:
Lottery tickets Water bottle, mug, or coffee travel cup Small gift certificate to local eatery Winter hat, scarf, or gloves Good quality tea or coffee gift set Kitchen items, such as measuring cups, spoons, oven mitts , The idea is for people to not know who the gift is coming from.
Once you get to work, place the gift into a gift box along with all the other gifts. , Make numbers for however many people are participating in the gift exchange.
For example, if there are 15 people participating, write out the numbers 1 through 15 on small pieces of paper, fold them once or twice, and throw them into a small bowl or bag. , The number will signify the order in which they choose a gift. , The first person chooses any wrapped gift in the gift box and opens it.
Their turn ends.
The first player will be given the option to exchange gifts with another player at the very end. , A person who has his/her gift stolen from them gets to either steal a gift from someone else or choose a replacement gift from the gift box.
You cannot immediately steal back the gift that was stolen from you.
You must wait at least one round before stealing back a gift that was once in your possession.
A gift cannot be stolen more than once a turn. , The person with the next-highest number either chooses a gift from the gift box or steals a gift from someone else.
People who have gifts stolen can choose a gift out of the gift box or steal items that have not yet been stolen that round. , There are lots of variation to the white elephant gift exchange.
Look through a couple and decide which ones you want to implement before the game begins.
Mark gifts as gender-appropriate, where possible.
Label a gift male-appropriate, female-appropriate, or unisex.
Cards containing instructions can be wrapped up to look like presents and placed into the gift box.
The instructions contain rules such as "Recipient of this card chooses two presents, opens them both, and places one back into the gift box," or "Recipient of this card chooses a gift and cannot have their gift stolen." If you choose to work with these cards, be mindful of two things:
People who make cards with instructions have to bring both a card and a gift.
There won't be enough gifts to go around if people who write cards fail to bring gifts.
Cards with instructions are tougher to implement if you choose to open the gifts at the very end.
Obviously, it's impossible to "open two gifts and choose one" if you don't open the presents until the end.
The first player may be given the option to exchange gifts with another player at the very end.
Because the first player doesn't have the option of stealing, they might be given it at the very end.
This option works best when presents remain unopened until the very end; otherwise, the first player has a distinct advantage. , There are many different variations on stealing in a white elephant gift exchange.
Play around with a couple different variants.
An item that is stolen three times becomes frozen.
After an item changes hands three times, it can no longer be stolen, and stays with the third person who stole it.
Be sure to keep track of how many times an item is stolen on a notepad to avoid confusion.
Alternately, a limit can be placed on the number of times a person is stolen from (instead of the number of times an item is stolen).
If you set the limit at three, for example, an item can be stolen however many times, so long as it's stolen from someone who hasn't reached his or her limit of three.
Place a limit on the number of steals per turn.
If, for example, you limit the stealing to three gifts per turn, after the third gift is stolen, the player whose gift was just stolen must choose a gift from the gift box.
About the Author
Victoria Sullivan
Specializes in breaking down complex home improvement topics into simple steps.
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