White Elephant Gift Exchange

Holidays are the time of festivals, and festivals mean celebration and gift giving. However, with the economic crisis lingering over our heads, giving gift to each and every member of the extended family or may be all our friends may not be affordable. Here, this gift exchange idea comes as a savior. This gift exchange game is not only a great way of saving money, but is also entertaining and fun. Although it is similar to Yankee swap, the only difference here is that in the former, people have the right to steal the other person's gift. Nevertheless, most people take both these games as the same thing. The basic concept is to give away things that one does not need or that one finds useless. So, if you find this gift exchanging game interesting, take a look at the details about the rules as well as the procedure of the game.

Rules of The Exchange Game

The most important rule is that the game should be played by at least six people. However, involving more people is also fine as well as more entertaining. The next rule of this game is that whoever wants to play this game should carry a wrapped gift with them. If you are hosting a gift exchange at your party, mention in your invitation card that each guest has to carry a gift with them. However, most people get confused when it comes to the gift that they should carry along.

To make it easier for them, the hosts can specify what kind of gifts one should bring. For instance, the gift should not exceed certain amount of money or it must be a used one. Due to this rule, this game becomes a great way of getting rid of things that one does not use or like. However, one of the very important rules is that the object that you take as a gift should be in a good condition. If you want to have a humorous gift exchange, choosing gag gifts would be the best idea.

How to Play

All the guests should wrap the gifts before bringing them to the party and should not leave a tag of their name because the owner of the gift should be a secret. When the guests arrive, they should be asked to place their gifts in the center of the room where the game will be played. Once all the guests have arrived and are done with the food and drinks, ask everyone to sit in a circle around the gifts. Count the number of guests and make slips of paper beginning from number 1 to the total number of people who are playing the game. Fold these papers and place them in a basket or a big bowl and ask everyone to pick one slip of paper.

The gift exchange game will begin with the person who has got the first number. This person should pick up a gift from the lot kept at the center and unwrap it for everyone to see. Now the second guest can either steal the gift that is unwrapped by the first person or take a new gift from the lot. If the second person takes the gift of the first person, that person can choose a new gift again. Each gift can be stolen 2 or 3 times, after which it becomes a dead gift and cannot be exchanged or stolen. In this way, the game should continue till all the gifts are taken.

Though this game is recommended for people of all ages, it may not work out for kids as they may not like the idea of somebody taking the gift that they had opened. Also, even with adults, this game can become competitive and nasty. Hence, this game should be played only if you are sure that the guests can take the concept of exchanging and stealing in a lighthearted way.