Every year, friend groups get together trying to decide if they should do secret santa or just get each other gifts. This year, try White Elephant. If you don’t know what White Elephant is, watch season 2, episode 10 of The Office. Essentially everyone brings one gift and each person grabs a number from a bowl. You start at one, the first person opens the gift they pick. The second person can either steal the gift from the first person or choose a new gift to open. If a person’s gift gets stolen, the person can either steal another gift or pick a new gift to open. This continues until the very last person goes. Typically the group will set a limit on the amount of times a gift can get stolen so the game doesn’t last forever.
You should do this instead of secret santa or traditional gift giving because you will save money only buying one gift instead of multiple and you get to make a fun game out of it. The game can get pretty competitive, especially if one gift is better than the others. You also don’t have to waste time struggling to find a personal gift for each of your friends. This is also a great way to get all of your friends back together over winter break. White Elephant is also great for a team holiday get together or a club holiday get together since all members won’t necessarily know each other well enough to get them a personalized gift for a secret santa. Consider ditching the old ways of gift giving and try White Elephant this holiday season!