How to play
White Elephant.
One wrapped gift each. A roomful of possibilities.
Agree on the ground rules.
Set the spending limit and any gift theme before the party. Choose how many times a gift can be stolen. House rules vary, so make yours clear.
Bring a wrapped gift.
Keep the contents a mystery. Put everyone’s gifts together, then draw numbers to decide the order.
Unwrap or steal.
The first player opens a gift. Each following player can open something new or steal an already-opened gift. Someone whose gift is taken gets another turn.
Keep the swaps moving.
A common house rule prevents immediately stealing a gift back and freezes a gift after a set number of steals. Decide whether the first player gets a final swap.
The real secret?
Bring something people can understand, enjoy, or laugh about as soon as it’s unwrapped. Keep it appropriate for the group and within your host’s budget.