How Do You Throw A White Elephant Gift Exchange?
A white elephant gift exchange, also known as a Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa is a popular game at Christmas parties. As with most Christmas parties, each guest comes with a gift and leaves with a gift–but it’s what happens in between that sets the white elephant exchange apart from other parties. Send out party invitations to all of the people on your guest list. Specify that everyone should bring a wrapped gift to the party for a white elephant gift exchange, and include any additional rules for the exchange, say a price limit or a stipulation that all gifts must be used items. As guests arrive, have them deposit their gift on a table. Then, pass around a hat with numbered pieces of paper (one number for each gift), and have each guest draw a number. The person who draws “1” gets first pick from the pile, and opens her gift for everyone to see. Then it’s the turn of the person who drew “2.” He can choose to steal the first person’s gift or pick another gift from the pile, and open it.
