Between office parties, family and friends, holiday expenses can really add up.
A fun way to cut back on some of these expenses could be a gift exchange, rather than individual gifts for everyone.
Hosting a White Elephant Gift Exchange is not only a great way to cut back on some of those expenses..But a fun excuse to throw a holiday get-together!
How does it work?
The White Elephant Gift Exchange works best for groups of 6 or more.
Of course, this can be a long-winded game, so before getting started you will want to have some basic rules written out.
To start your Gift Exchange, you’ll need to put a few things in order:
- Set the Budget
- Establish how many people will be taking part
- Create the ‘theme’. Food, gag gifts, gift cards,etc.
White Elephant Gift Exchange Rules
Each person is to bring one wrapped gift in the set theme and budget amount.
Place the gifts in a pile so they are visible to all the players
The host will begin the game by distributing a number (1- amount needed) to each player.
To Begin
Player #1 Picks a present from the pile and unwraps it.
Player #2 Can either ‘steal’ the unwrapped gift from player 1, or choose a new (wrapped) gift from the pile.
Player #3 Can choose a gift from the pile, or steal a gift from either player 1 or 2 and so on.
This continues until all gifts have been distributed and all players have had a turn.
Once all gifts have been distributed, player #1 will then have the option of ‘stealing’ a gift since they did not have the opportunity at the beginning of the game.
If you would like the game to carry on longer – Player 1 would have the option of returning their gift to the pile and then stealing. Thus starting the round again with player 2 now having the option of taking the gift in the pile, stealing etc. 🙂
Traditional rules state:
A gift cannot be stolen back right away.
A gift can only be ‘stolen’ a maximum of 3 times, before it must remain with a player.
There are many variations to the White Elephant Gift Exchange – Which can make this super fun (and versatile) to your wants and needs.
Have fun and Happy Holidays!
