"White Elephant" Gift Exchange

What is a "White Elephant" gift?

• It is a gift you received in the past that is still in the box, in the back corner of your closet, and underneath a stack of clothes (recycled gifts are OK).

OR

• If you actually liked everything your Uncle Fester has given you, then you can purchase something for around $10 to $15.

Do not put your name on the gift; it's not a requirement that you fess up to the gift you bring.

How does one run a "White Elephant" gift exchange work?

Prepare slips of paper with numbers and have everyone who brings a gift draw a number.

On the first turn, person #1 chooses a gift, opens it, and shows it to all.

On the second turn, person #2 gets the choice of "stealing" #1's unwrapped gift or choosing a wrapped one.

On the third turn, person #3 gets the choice of "stealing" any unwrapped gift (#1's or #2's) or choosing a wrapped one.

The game continues based on the following:

1. If a gift is stolen from you, you can steal a gift (see #3 and #4 below), or open a new one.
2. Turns proceed until everyone has a gift. A turn is ended when a gift is opened.
3. The same person cannot steal a gift more than once in a turn.
4. The third "owner" of a gift gets to keep it (if they wish) – otherwise it is available to be stolen again.

At the end of the last turn, the first person (who had no choice at the beginning) can choose to put back their gift and steal any gift that is still available - see #4 above.

Then the gift "exchange" is started again (see #3 and #4 above) and ended when someone either chooses or is forced to take the gift given up by person #1.