How do you play White Elephant? The gift exchange rules, explained
With the holidays approaching, many gatherings and get-togethers may Includes 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, while more customized versions of the game can include cards and dice to really mix things up.
Here’s information about the White Elephant rules and how to best play the game.
What are the basic rules for white elephants?
First of all, anyone who wants to participate in the White Elephant event Must bring a gift. Often, these gifts are silly or impractical. Players will choose from a gift pool in a designated order: Guests can draw lots to decide who will go when, or the host can set the order before the event. As long as people know when they’re going to wake up, anything will work.
When the game starts, the first player will choose a gift. As with most variations of the game, it’s important to make sure everyone knows what the player has chosen – this will be important later on too!
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When the second player leaves, they have two options: they can open a new gift, or they can steal the previous player’s gift. If a player’s gift is stolen, they can pick it again before the game moves on to the next player. The game continues like this until each participant has received a gift. After the last player picks a gift, the first player will have the opportunity to steal if they wish.
To keep the game going, there are some restrictions on stealing. Typically, a gift can only be stolen once per turn, so if a second player steals a gift from the first player, the first player cannot get it back immediately. But if the first player’s gift is stolen a second time, they can reclaim the gift from the second player. It’s also common for turns to end automatically after three exchanges, so the game doesn’t bog down.
How to customize white elephant rules?
White elephant rules can be customized in a variety of ways. First, you can remove the per-turn limit on stealing or exchanging, but be aware that this may slow down the game.
Players can also take these restrictions more seriously. In some versions of the game, if a gift is exchanged three times, the gift is considered out of the game and cannot be stolen again, meaning the person holding the gift after the third theft can keep it. In other versions, if a player is stolen three times, they are considered to have quit the game. This means they can no longer be stolen and can keep any gifts they were holding at the time.
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White Elephant organizers can also set a theme for the gifts or wrap them until the end of the contest to add an element of mystery.
There are also ways to make a white elephant more complex. White Elephant Organizers can play a “Dice Game” variation that contains a pair of dice and a rule sheet created by the Gift Organizer. In this variant, players can choose their play order based on the roll of the dice. When the time to pick a gift begins, the first player will roll the dice and then perform the action for the corresponding item on the rules sheet. Some versions do not allow players to open gifts unless told to do so by the rule sheet. In this case, the game can continue until all players have opened their gifts.
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 will take.
Can you wrap white elephant gifts?
White elephant gifts should be well-wrapped, especially if you are playing a version of poker that has a rule sheet or dictates certain actions. Players will usually open a gift the first time they choose it, unless the gift exchange uses a variant that doesn’t open the gift until the end.
What is a typical budget for a White Elephant gift exchange?
this Budget For white elephants, this is usually on the lower side. WhiteElephantRules.com A suggested budget limit of $20 is recommended for most parties.
Another variation of the white elephant could be a zero-dollar budget—requiring players to regift items or bring home-made gifts.
Why is it called white elephant?
A “white elephant” usually refers to something that is expensive to maintain and difficult to sell or get rid of—in other words, more trouble than it’s worth. This phrase is widely believed to come from a legend about the King of Siam. In mythology, new york times What has been described as “almost certainly apocryphal” is that the King of Siam, who ruled what is now Thailand, would give a white elephant as a gift to anyone who displeased him, and that person would then have to care for it, even though he did not own an elephant. used for it. So while the gifts exchanged by Christmas white elephants are usually inexpensive, they are often silly or impractical.
