How to Organize a White Elephant Gift Exchange

A white elephant gift exchange is a lighthearted way to have fun with your work colleagues, or at family gatherings. White elephant gifts are traditionally "presents" that are considered extremely tacky or that do not fit the tastes of the recipient. The thought behind a white elephant gift exchange is to give everyone a chance to rid themselves of these tacky gifts—and invariably gain a new one! White elephant gift exchanges can be run different ways. Some set rules that the item must be previously owned, which means that you are re-gifting an unwanted item or trinket. Others purchase a new, generally inexpensive, tacky item just for the party. The goal is to choose wacky, funny or entertaining gifts. If you're really stumped, just pay a visit to your local thrift store.

Part 1 of 2: Basic Gameplay

 

1

Set the rules for your group. Is this a re-gift party or are folks supposed to buy something new? How much can they spend? Make sure everyone understands the rules like whether they have to buy new things or not, and up to how much can they spend on the gift. You don't want one person to get a brand new video game console and another person to get a used pen protector.

2

Find that perfect white elephant gift. Get it gift wrapped or wrap the gift yourself, and bring it to the party stealthily.

• If you're having trouble coming up with a gift that is both off-the-wall and appropriate, consider these gift ideas:
  
  • Hideous jewelry
  • Perfume or lotion with an unpleasant scent.
  • Cheap, ugly statues or other decorative knick-knacks.
  • An obnoxious T-shirt, sweater, tie, or bow-tie.
  • Workout videos, particularly those with Richard Simmons.
  • A framed picture of your Leader, but only if the boss has a good sense of humor.
  
  
  
  
  
  

3

Be secretive about your gift. 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.

4

Write out consecutive numbers on small pieces of paper. 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.

5

Have everyone draw a number. The number will signify the order in which they choose a gift.

6

Begin with the person who draws #1. The first person chooses any wrapped gift in the gift box and opens it. The turn ends.

7

Have the next person choose whether they want to steal a previously-opened gift or choose an unopened gift from the gift box.

• 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.

8

Repeat in order of number. 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.

Part 2 of 2: Variations

 

1

Agree on and implement as many variations to the game as desired. 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.

2

Experiment with stealing. 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.

source:wikihow.com