How to play white elephant with this page
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift and puts it in the pile.
- Enter everyone’s name and choose your rules, then press Draw numbers to set the turn order at random.
- On your turn, open a new gift from the pile or steal one that’s already open. If your gift is stolen, it’s your turn again right away: open a new one or steal a different one.
- The page tracks steals and locks each gift after the limit. When every gift is open, player 1 gets one last chance to swap.
White elephant rules that keep the game fun
- Set a price limit. A limit, like $20 or $25, keeps the gifts roughly even.
- Decide on gag gifts in advance. Some groups love joke gifts, and others want something useful. Agree before anyone shops.
- Wrap everything. Disguised boxes are half the fun.
- Lock gifts after three steals. The steal limit stops the game from going on forever and makes the third steal feel like a win.
- No steal-backs on the same turn. It keeps two people from trading one gift back and forth.
The name comes from the idea of a “white elephant”: a gift that’s more trouble than it’s worth. That’s why the game is famous for gag gifts, even though plenty of groups bring great ones.
Running it at an office party
Put this page on the big screen so everyone can see whose turn it is and which gifts are still up for grabs. Type in what each gift is as it’s opened, and the gift list doubles as a scoreboard. If you make a mistake, Undo takes back the last move. At the end, Copy results gives you the list of who took home what.
Frequently asked questions
What are the basic white elephant rules?
Everyone brings a wrapped gift and draws a number. Player 1 opens a gift. Each player after that can open a new gift or steal an opened one. Anyone who has a gift stolen picks again right away. The game ends when every gift is open.
How many times can a gift be stolen?
Most groups lock a gift after its third steal, so the third person to take it keeps it. You can choose 2, 3, or 4 steals, or no limit, before you start.
Can you steal a gift right back?
Usually not. With No stealing a gift straight back on, a player whose gift was just stolen can’t take that same gift back on the same turn, which stops two people trading one gift forever.
Why does player 1 get a final swap?
Player 1 opens the first gift with nothing to steal, which is a disadvantage. Many groups make up for it by letting player 1 swap with any unlocked gift at the very end.
Is white elephant the same as Yankee swap or Dirty Santa?
Yes. Yankee swap and Dirty Santa are other names for the same steal-and-swap game, though house rules vary from group to group.
How is it different from Secret Santa?
In Secret Santa, each person secretly buys a gift for one assigned person. In white elephant, gifts are anonymous and anyone can end up with any gift, so it’s a game rather than a gift.