What is White Elephant?
What is White Elephant?
Well, it’s a game friends, colleagues and families play during Christmas. White Elephant will add a little excitement to your celebration and will make the exchanging of gifts a whole lot more fun!
Where does the term white elephant come from?
The term White Elephant originated in Southeast Asia where monarchs used to posses white elephants. These animals were sacred and there were laws that protected them from performing any labor. So, when a monarch would give someone a white elephant as a present it was seen as a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the animal was sacred and a curse because these animals were very costly to maintain.
Nowadays the term is still used when we are talking about something that’s very expensive, but can’t be gotten rid of (easily).
The White Elephant game
The essence of the game is getting rid of the gifts you don’t want, and to steal the ones you do want. Everyone taking part in the game brings a present. Then, you decide on an order in which people can pick there presents. You could draw straws or numbers from a hat if you want to make it completely fair.
After the first person has opened his or present the second can either pick a new gift or steel the one number one just got. When he or she decides to steel, number one can pick a new present. After this, it’s number tree’s turn. This person can either steel a person’s gift or pick a new one and so on it goes, but note that after three swaps in a turn, the turn comes to end
When does the game end?
Once everyone has had their turn, the first player can decide if he/she wants to keep or swap the gift he/she is holding. If they decide to keep their present, the game is over. If they do swap their gift for someone else’s, the game goes on until somebody declines to steal.
Mix it up a little
It’s also possible to combine your Secret Santa celebration with a White Elephant game. In this variation you draw names and get a present for your drawn name, but once everyone has unwrapped their presents you’re allowed to steal from each other. Draw Names online to set up your gift exchange.
Draw Names Online