As the holiday season begins, there are likely to be many parties and gatherings. Including gift exchange. In addition to Secret Santa and cookie exchanges, guests may be invited to participate in a White Elephant gift exchange.
White Elephant is a little different than other gift exchanges. Participants can steal gifts from other players, and a more customized version of the game can include cards and dice to actually mix and match things.
Here’s what you need to know about the rules of White Elephant and how to best play the game.
What are the basic rules of White Elephant?
First, anyone who wants to join the White Elephant I have to bring you a present.. Often those gifts are silly or unrealistic. Players choose from the gift pool in the assigned order. Guests can draw straws to see who goes when, or hosts can set the order before the event. Anything works as long as people know when to wake up.
When it’s time to start the game, the first player chooses a gift. In most variations of the game, it’s important to make sure everyone knows what the players have chosen. This will become important later.
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When the second player goes, they have two options. You can open new gifts or steal previous players’ gifts. If a player has their gift stolen, they can choose again before the game advances to the next participant. The game continues like this until all participants have a gift. After the last player chooses a gift, the first player has the chance to steal it if they wish.
There are some restrictions on steals to keep you progressing through the game. Typically, a gift can only be stolen once per turn, so if a second participant steals a gift from the first participant, the first player cannot immediately retrieve the gift. However, if the first player has their gift stolen a second time, they can get it back from the second player. It’s also common for turns to end automatically after three swaps, so the game never stops.
How do I customize White Elephant rules?
White Elephant rules can be customized in many ways. First, you can remove the per-turn steal or swap limit, but be aware that this can slow down the game.
Players can also take these restrictions more seriously. In some versions of the game, once a gift has been redeemed three times, it is removed from the game and cannot be stolen again. This means that whoever has the gift after the third time gets to keep it. In other versions, if a player is stolen three times, they may be kicked out of the game. This means it can no longer be stolen and you can keep the gift you had at the time.
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White Elephant hosts can also theme the gifts and add an element of mystery by keeping the gifts wrapped until the end of the game.
There are also ways to make White Elephant more complex. White Elephant organizers can play a variation of the “Dice Game” that incorporates a set of dice and a rule sheet created by the gift organizer. This variation allows players to choose the order of play based on the roll of the dice. When the time to choose a gift begins, the first player rolls the dice and executes the corresponding item on the rule sheet. In some versions, players cannot unwrap gifts until instructed to do so on the rules sheet. In such a case, the game can continue until all players have unwrapped the gift.
There is also a card game version with similar rules to the dice game. In this variation, players use cards to determine the order in which they play and the actions they take.
Can you wrap my White Elephant gift?
White Elephant gifts should be wrapped, especially if you’re playing a version with a rule sheet or playing cards that dictate specific actions. Players typically open gifts when they are first selected, unless the gift exchange uses a variation where gifts are not opened until the end.
What is the typical budget for a White Elephant gift exchange?
of budget Because white elephants are usually on the bottom side. WhiteElephantRules.com recommends a $20 budget limit for most gatherings.
Another variation of White Elephant allows you to budget $0. Ask players to re-gift items or bring handmade gifts.
Why is it called a white elephant?
A “white elephant” is generally something that is expensive to maintain and difficult to sell or dispose of, or in other words, something that is more trouble than it’s worth. This phrase is widely believed to originate from a legend about the King of Siam. In this myth, which The New York Times called “almost certainly false,” the King of Siam, who ruled what is now known as Thailand, gave a white elephant as a gift to someone who had caused him misfortune; It is said that he gave it as a gift. You have to take care of it even though it has no use. So while the presents at the Christmas White Elephant Exchange are usually not expensive, they are often silly or unrealistic.
