white elephant gifts

about family and friends, the traditions, the memories. At The FARM, we are so lucky to hear many of these great holiday stories and are proud of how often our shop plays a part in them. This is especially true of one of the newest holiday traditions, white elephant gift exchanges.

The first rule of a white elephant gift exchange is to give white elephant gifts. A white elephant gift is a weird, hilarious, and, ultimately, a rather useless gift. The gift's purpose is to entertain rather than to be valuable or desirable. Think gag gifts, silly novelty items, and bizarre gadgets. Classics include creepy dolls, ugly sweaters, and pretty much anything featuring a clown (sorry, clown collectors).

Of course, vintage shops and antique malls offer the really unusual and unique white elephant items you can't find at the box stores. Such gems include absolutely absurd salt and pepper shakers, childhood VHS tapes, throwback board games, velvet paintings, and just plain weird figurines — you know, those things that are so bad they are good in that kitschy way. And don't forget those more nostalgic personal items which, even if they don't end up with their intended recipient, allow you to tell those embarrassing stories — like an 8-by-10 glossy photo of your sister's teenage heartthrob.

Once you've got your sure-to-make-them-laugh (or groan) gift, it's time to wrap it up and bring it to the party. Once all the presents are placed in a pile, it's time for the games to begin!

A white elephant gift exchange is really a party game or a competition in which those kitschy, absurd, and outrageous gifts are combined with elements of a “dirty santa” or “Yankee swap.” Each guest tries to walk away with the best present out of the bunch. Or at least avoid the worst one. Or is the worst one the best one? That depends upon the receiver. Much like “one man's trash is another man's treasure,” the value of white elephant gifts are in eye of the beholder.

There are a number of ways to start the exchange. Guests can draw numbers for order, or the game can proceed by guest ages, youngest to oldest (or vice versa). The first player selects their gift and opens it in front of everyone. Laughter ensues. Perhaps the gift giver is deduced. Or maybe they proudly identify themselves. Then the next player selects a gift and opens it. More laughter. More accusations or announcements of gift-giver identities. At that point, the second player can opt to either keep their selected gift (for the time being anyway) or swap for the first person's gift. And so it goes until all guests have had their turn opening a gift. The very last play of the game is up to the first player who can now decide whether or not they want to swap or keep what they have.

At least that's one of the numerous ways to have a white elephant gift exchange.

Another version, that takes a bit longer, begins the same way with the first person opening a gift. On subsequent turns, each guest has the choice to either unwrap a gift or to steal another guest's gift. When a person's gift is stolen, that person can either choose another wrapped gift to open or they can steal a gift from another player.

To avoid never-ending circles, each turn automatically ends after three steals. Each gift can only be stolen twice before it's considered "dead." The game ends when everyone has a present.

There are also a number of variations and stipulations you can add to keep things more interesting. Courtesy of our “FARM friends,” our customers, here are a few favorites.

Pick A Theme

Gifts must be only items which are wearable or handmade; no gifts over $35; etc.

Do It Secret Santa Style:

Once a person unwraps a gift, they must guess who gifted the item.

Give Praise Where Praise Is Due

Reward the “best of the worst” by setting criteria, either the gift most wanted or gift least wanted, based on swaps or steals. The person who brought that gift is rewarded with an extra, final swap for bringing the awesome.

Swap Test

Players who want to swap gifts have to pass a test in order to proceed to the swap. The test could be answering a trivia question, rolling dice, arm wrestling, beating the other player in a game of rock paper scissors, or some other feat.

Keep The Mystery

Keep all gifts wrapped — this way, swaps are based solely on guesses about what's inside. In this case, misleading wrapping and oversized packaging are especially encouraged.

Long Live The White Elephants

All participants agree to keep their white elephant gift on display in their home for others to see for an entire year.

We really like this last one as it encourages telling stories about how the item was received, what white elephant gift you gave, what gift was the least wanted, etc. Afterall, Christmastime is about making and sharing memories!

Wishing you all a wonderful, memorable holiday season.

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