All you need to know to do a White Elephant Gift Exchange...the rules, gift ideas, and free printable numbers.
WHAT IS A WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE?
White Elephant game is a popular gift exchange game that is usually played around at Christmas and holiday parties. It's a great game for family parties, office parties,--really any party! In fact, a white elephant party is easy to put together.
It's similar to a Yankee Swap but with a few variations!
So what is a white elephant gift?
Legend has it that the King of Siam gifted white elephants to anyone who crossed him. Although these ginormous beasts were beautiful, they were not useful and cost a fortune to keep up.
Hence, the white elephant gift exchange continues on in our day-- where the silliness of the gifts is more important than it's usefulness.
Now you know the white elephant gift meaning and don't need to wonder any longer!
Related: White Elephant Gift Auction Game
HILARIOUS WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT IDEAS
The whole fun of a gift swap like this is the white elephant gifts. The funnier the gift, the more fun everyone will have!
Typically, people bring "gag" gifts meaning that gifts are ugly, useless, or just silly.
Here's a list of 16 Funny White Elephant Gift Ideas under $20 that will be perfect!
HOW TO DO A WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE
Even though it seems like most people are familiar with the rules to white elephant, each game can vary slightly. So be sure to announce the rules to play white elephant gift exchange before you begin.
WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE RULES
Here's how to play white elephant gift exchange. These white elephant game rules can be modified to fit your crowd.
- Invite your guests and tell them to bring a wrapped white elephant gift. Be sure to set a dollar amount limit so that everyone's gift is the same in value. (Here's 16 White Elephant Gift Ideas Under $20)
- Each gift should be wrapped, but no tags are needed.
- Have a designated place for the gifts. When everyone arrives, have them place their gift in that area.
- Once you know how many gifts/guests there are, write numbers 1-14 (if there are 14 guests, for example) on individual slips of paper. Place each number in a bowl or basket. Grab free printable numbers below!
- Have each person draw a number out of the box.
- The player with number 1 gets to choose the first gift. They unwrap the gift in front of everyone.
- The player who drew number 2 goes next. They can either choose the gift player #1 unwrapped or choose a wrapped gift.
- If they choose player #1s gift, player #1 gets to choose a new gift.
- The wrapping/stealing continues until everyone has played.
- Designate the amount of times a gift can be stolen. 1-2 times is a good amount, but it's up to you.
Now you know how to play white elephant! Feel free to change these white elephant Christmas rules to fit your crowd best!
PRINTABLE GIFT EXCHANGE NUMBERS
I've made it easy for you to follow these white elephant gift rules. Have everyone draw one of these printable numbers before the game begins so they know what order they should choose their present.
You're on your way to a fun White Elephant Christmas game!
OTHER CHRISTMAS PARTY GAMES:
- Christmas Movie Trivia Game
- White Elephant Gift Auction Game
- Christmas Scavenger Hunt
- Dice Gift Exchange Game (the Christmas gift games stealing one!)
Let us know what you think!