White Elephant: A Fun and Festive Party Game

What the GIF Game
2 min readDec 12, 2022

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Photo by Gabriel Meinert on Unsplash

Are you looking for a fun and lively game to play with friends and family during the holiday season? If so, you should definitely try white elephant, also known as Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa. This popular party game is easy to set up and play, and is guaranteed to bring laughter and excitement to any gathering.

To play white elephant, you will need at least six players and a selection of gifts. The gifts can be anything from inexpensive trinkets and gag gifts to luxury items and high-end gadgets, as long as they are appropriate for the occasion and the audience. It’s also important to set some ground rules for exchanging gifts, such as whether participants can steal gifts from other players and how many times a gift can be stolen.

Once the gifts have been collected and the rules have been established, it’s time to start the game. Each player should draw a number to determine the order of play, and the first player gets to choose a gift from the pile and unwrap it. The next player can either choose a different gift from the pile or steal the gift that was just unwrapped. If a gift is stolen, the player who had the gift can either choose a new gift or steal a different gift from another player. This continues until all the gifts have been unwrapped and claimed.

To make the most of the game, it’s important to choose the right gift and to strategize when it comes to stealing or swapping gifts. A good white elephant gift is something that is amusing, unexpected, or useful, but not too valuable or personal. It’s also important to pay attention to what other players are doing and to anticipate their moves. For example, if you have a gift that is likely to be stolen, you might want to steal a different gift before it gets taken. On the other hand, if you have a gift that you really want to keep, you might want to wait until later in the game to unwrap it, so that you have more options when it comes to stealing or swapping.

In conclusion, white elephant is a fun and festive party game that is perfect for the holiday season. Whether you are hosting a large gathering or a small get-together, this game is sure to bring laughter and excitement to any event. So why not give it a try and see how much fun white elephant can be?

And if you’re looking for more holiday party ideas, you might also want to try playing What the GIF?!, a game where players compete to caption a series of GIFs with their funniest responses. Happy holidays and happy gaming!

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What the GIF Game

whatthegifgame.com is a hilarious free party game and innovates on popular party games like Cards Against Humanity and What Do You Meme!