White Elephant parties are not supposed to be calm.
Someone is going to steal your gift.
Someone else is going to get emotionally attached to a mug they have owned for approximately four minutes.
And there is always ONE gift that everyone suddenly decides they need.
That is the fun of it!
I think the best White Elephant parties have a mix of ridiculous gifts and genuinely good ones because nobody knows what they are going to unwrap.
You can also make the actual exchange much more interesting than simply picking numbers and opening boxes.
Dice, timers, mystery gifts and silly rules can turn the whole thing into Christmas chaos in the best way.
So, if you're planning a White Elephant party this year, here are some ideas everyone will probably still be talking about next Christmas.
25 Christmas White Elephant Party Ideas Everyone Will Talk About
1. Wrap A Tiny Gift In A HUGE Box
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| @aestheticpics4u |
Start messing with people before the gift is even opened.
Put something tiny like socks, a mug or a gift card inside an enormous box and use an unreasonable amount of wrapping paper.
The bigger and more dramatic the box, the funnier the reveal.
2. Play Mystery Box Roulette
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| @shopeeindonesia |
Wrap everything so nobody has a clue what's inside.
Mix genuinely good gifts with ridiculous ones and let everyone choose blindly.
Nobody knows whether they are picking luxury chocolate or something completely useless.
Perfect.
3. Add An Ugly Sweater Contest
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| @sarahscoop.com |
Tell everyone to wear their worst Christmas sweater and offer a small prize for the winner.
The uglier the better.
You can even wrap some gifts in tacky sweater-pattern paper to carry the theme through.
4. Draw Numbers From A Festive Bowl
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| @urbanitehair |
Sometimes the simple version still works.
Put everyone's turn numbers into a gold or red bowl and draw randomly.
It looks nicer than scraps of printer paper floating around the table and still gives everyone that little moment of suspense.
5. Create A Gag Gift Wrapping Station
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| @rebeccarebouché |
Put out huge bows, ridiculous tags and strange wrapping supplies.
Guests can wrap or rewrap their funny gifts before the exchange starts.
Half the joke becomes how the gift looks before anyone opens it.
6. Bring A Boozy Hot Cocoa Gift
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| @margiemannering |
This is the gift people will suddenly start plotting over.
Bundle cocoa, marshmallows and a couple of mini bottles of something like Baileys or peppermint schnapps for the adults.
Wrap it nicely and watch it get stolen.
7. Use Dice To Control The Stealing
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| @bold&bubbly |
Make everyone roll a die before their turn.
Each number can mean something different like steal, swap, unwrap, trade left or keep your gift.
Nobody gets comfortable because the dice can ruin everything.
Exactly what White Elephant needs.
8. Add One Really Nice Spa Gift
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| @everythingenclosed |
Not every gift should be a joke.
Throw one gold-wrapped spa set into the pile and watch how quickly everyone becomes competitive.
Candles, bath salts and lotions are innocent until three people are fighting over them.
9. Wrap A Ridiculous Kitchen Gadget
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| @conniejohnson |
There are kitchen gadgets for absolutely EVERYTHING.
Choose something unnecessary, strange or hilariously specific and make it your White Elephant gift.
Bonus points if everyone starts laughing and then realizes they secretly want it.
10. Hold A Speed Wrapping Competition
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| @my100yearoldhome |
Give guests paper, tape and bows and set a timer.
Whoever wraps their box best before time runs out wins a little advantage in the exchange.
Maybe they get first pick or one extra steal.
Things will get messy very quickly.
11. Hide A Good Tech Gadget In The Pile
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| @kelleynan |
Nothing changes the mood like somebody opening an actually useful gadget.
Wireless chargers, speakers or small tech accessories can instantly become THE gift of the night.
Then the stealing begins.
12. Put A Countdown On Every Turn
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| @wayfairphoto |
Thirty seconds.
That's it.
Choose, unwrap or steal before the timer ends.
Nobody gets to stare at the gift pile for fifteen minutes while everyone else loses the will to live.
13. Add A Movie Night Basket
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| @debra |
Popcorn, chocolate and a soft blanket are enough to make people protective immediately.
Add a streaming gift card if your budget allows and this is probably getting stolen several times.
14. Bring A Pet Lover Gift
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| @pauladahaghi |
If half your friends talk about their pets like children, use that information.
Fill a small basket with pet toys and treats and let the animal people fight it out among themselves.
15. Make A Mini Champagne Tower Gift
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| @nicolejablon |
Stack a few mini champagne bottles together and tie everything with one big bow.
It looks much more expensive than simply putting the bottles into a bag.
Also, bubbles are usually a safe way to create competition.
16. Use Naughty Or Nice Gift Tags
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| @emmiegreen |
Label wrapped gifts Naughty or Nice without explaining what either one means.
Maybe Naughty is a gag gift.
Maybe Nice is actually worse.
Keep everybody guessing.
17. Bring A Candle And Coffee Bundle
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| @boxedgiftco |
Coffee, a ceramic mug and a nice candle is such a cozy safe option.
It is also exactly the kind of gift that somebody says they don't care about until someone else tries to steal it.
18. Play Spin-The-Bottle Gift Swap
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| @hometalk.com |
Put gifts around the table and use a bottle to decide whose present gets involved next.
Create your own simple rules for stealing, swapping or keeping based on where it lands.
Keep it about the gifts, obviously.
19. Add A Gourmet Snack Box
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| @okchicas |
Cheese, crackers, chocolate and fancy snacks?
Nobody is leaving that alone.
A good food gift is especially useful when your group has very different tastes because almost everyone can find something inside to enjoy.
20. Wrap A Vintage Board Game
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| @thespruce |
Bring nostalgia into the mix.
A classic board game everyone remembers from childhood can become surprisingly popular once it is sitting under the Christmas tree.
Related: 20+ Christmas Tree Ideas To Boost Your Holiday Décor
21. Set A $20 Budget Challenge
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| @jennifer |
A spending cap actually makes the exchange more interesting.
Tell everyone they have to bring the best, funniest or most surprising gift they can find under $20.
Suddenly creativity matters more than simply spending more money.
22. Add An Elf Prank Gift
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| @jenniferbenner |
Hide a mischievous little holiday elf figure inside an overly beautiful gift box.
The person thinks they are opening something incredible and gets an elf staring back at them instead.
Silly?
Completely.
That's the point.
23. Swap Personalized Ornaments
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| @jessicalaflame |
If your group wants White Elephant without quite as much nonsense, make the exchange ornaments-only.
Personalized or funny ornaments still give people something they can steal, but everyone goes home with something festive.
24. Put Cozy Pajamas In The Gift Pile
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| @s |
A pair of soft plaid pajamas is going to look VERY appealing once everybody has opened novelty gadgets and joke gifts.
This is another gift I expect to be stolen immediately.
25. Have A Final Steal Showdown
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| @sofia |
Just when everybody thinks the game is finished, give the room one final twist.
Let the last winner choose between keeping their gift or challenging for one of the most-stolen items of the night.
Decide the winner with trivia, dice or another quick game.
Will someone be annoyed?
Probably.
Will everyone remember it?
Also probably.
Conclusion
And that is all we have today on Christmas White Elephant party ideas everyone will talk about.
The whole point is to make the exchange FUN.
Set your budget, explain the stealing rules before things get emotional and mix funny gifts with a few things people will genuinely want.
And please don't take your stolen candle personally.
You knew what you signed up for when you came to a White Elephant party.
