Archive for the ‘White Elephant Gift Exchange’ Category

A White Elephant is really an Albino Elephant

The word Albino was first used in 1777 and is from the Portuguese language. The albino elephant is an animal that is lacking normal pigmentation, with the result being that the skin and hair are abnormally white or milky and the eyes have a pink or blue iris and a deep-red pupil.

Albino Elephants are extremely rare and unique. We have included some images of recent sightings as examples.

AlbinoPhant is an online white elephant gift exchange and is the first internet version of the traditional white elephant party. Like the sighting of an albino elephant, AlbinoPhant is a unique and wonderful way to share fun white elephant gifts with family and friends no matter where they live. We are proud to share this unique world with the rare albino elephant.
You can learn the history of the white elephant HERE and the source of the white elephant gift exchange HERE.
Your going to love this party!

Albino elephants are not usually white, but instead they have more of a reddish-brown or pink hue.

These unique white elephants are so rare that we really don’t know how they turn out the way they do.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

White elephant facts and myths

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White Elephant as a gift…

In popular culture the term “White Elephant” refers to an object that isn’t worth very much or something that the current owner doesn’t particularly want to keep. Many feel that a white elephant gift is something worthy of re-gifting at the next holiday party. Wacky white elephant gifts, crazy white elephant gifts and unique white elephant gifts are common words used to search the internet for presents during the holidays. But is this really what a white elephant gift represents?

White Elephant as an object…

Some label a project that has an enormous production cost with little apparent future return, as a white elephant. There have been naval ships, sports stadiums and even huge water projects which some term as a “white elephant”. Many times these white elephant projects create a huge political debate that lasts for decades. Is an expensive project anything like a real white elephant?

These descriptions represent a few of the myths and false representations of the real facts concerning the white elephant.

The White Elephant is an animal…

How on earth did a unique animal like the albino (white) elephant gain this reputation as a useless and unwanted gift, or the object of potential financial ruin? This is particularly interesting when the actual history of the white elephant revolves around an animal of very high value and with the sacred respect of its admirers.

In Thailand and Burma for example, people traditionally believe that white elephants will bring power, fertility and prosperity to those who posses the animal. These albino elephants are very rare and highly prized within these Asian cultures. Historically, anyone who owned one of these creatures was required to treat it better than any other animal in the barnyard. These elephants would live in luxurious housing, and would be adorned with fine robes and jewels. The white elephant would have a dedicated keeper who groomed and pampered the beast daily. It would dine on the finest cuisine, and receive visitors who would admire and even worship it!

As a result, the only people who could really afford to keep white elephants tended to be kings, emperors and the very rich. This privileged class of elephant owners would insure that their magnificent pets had the best possible care and pampering. In addition, they wanted their prized albino elephants to live a very long time – for legend held that the death of a white elephant foretold disaster and tragedy for its owner.

White elephants were often presented as gifts from one wealthy owner to another as a symbol of friendship and respect between mutual admirers. The gift of a white elephant was similar to someone receiving a Pulitzer Prize today.

The origin of the white elephant myth…

Many believe that our modern interruption of a “white elephant” started when the King of Siam gave an albino elephant to one of the members of his court that had fallen from favor. It is unknown if this story is completely true or if it has been embellished through the decades. Regardless, the story suggests that the king gave him a sacred white elephant as a gift, with the stipulation that he take great care of this treasured animal or suffer a disaster in his family.

But here’s the catch. Think about how much it would cost to feed an ordinary elephant – then imagine caring for a sacred white elephant in a way that was expected by cultural norms. The story suggests that the costs of upkeep for this wonderful gift bankrupted the man of lesser wealth and the King therefore got his revenge.

And so we have our modern day concept of white elephants. These words came to symbolize a prized possession whose maintenance cost exceeded its worth. It is a myth and a great misrepresentation of the real value of an important and thoughtful gift from one admirer to another.

White elephant parties and gifts…

The white elephant gift party is a holiday tradition in North America, and because of the myth of the white elephant gift, we think of the event as a place to pass off our hand-me-downs or re-gifting items. The fact is that this idea is OK, because the days of Siamese and Burmese kings are passed and so are the real white elephants. Still, many thoughtful shoppers purchase new gifts for the party that are unique, wacky and crazy.

The importance of the gift exchange really is the opportunity to gather and to share gifts among family and friends.

WARNING: If you were to invite a Burmese king to your party – don’t tell him his white elephant gift is worthless!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Images of Elephants in the Room

To further our understanding of the use of the Elephant in our language and our art, we have included some fun images of the elephant in the room. We have also included some of the context that are supported by this imagery.

We believe that the tyranny of distance is the elephant in the room for families and friends when it comes time to share gifts with each other. This is why we have created an online platform for sharing gifts, no matter the distance..

Enjoy these images of the elephants in the room…

Elephant in the boardroom.
Venture Beat suggests that multi-billion dollar funds could soon be a thing of the past, so the investment firms are ignoring the possibility, thus and elephant in the room.

Elephant in the Room represents net neutrality.
The Sponge-ist blog discusses a massive elephant in the room in the debate over abandoning net neutrality?

Elephant in the Room and Poetry
Amy Abrahams shared this image and a poem concerning the elephant in the room.

The 800 lb nuclear elephant in the room
Pamela Geller likens political posturing to a large elephant in the room when it comes to government policy for Iran.

Elephant in the Room and blogging

Fuel Your Blogging posted that some stories like Haiti, create an Elephant in the room when it comes to planning a blog post.

The elephant in the room for many families during important gift events is the missing people who could not attend the party. Sharing time together is an important social support system and we feel badly whenever someone is left out of the activity.

This is the reason that many chose to stay connected online using various web-based tools.

How are you addressing the elephant in the room?

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

The Elephant in the room has left the building

The term “the elephant in the room” creates an odd picture. Maybe that is why it has such a powerful influence upon our thoughts when used to describe something completely idiotic.

Here is how the Wiki’s are describing the topic: “Elephant in the room” is an English idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.

It really is silly to consider that a massive beast, like an elephant could wander into a house and someone not say or do something about the occurrence. But since the 1800’s we have used the expression “Elephant in the room” to paint the picture of something that we tend to ignore and put off fixing.

We developed an online white elephant gift exchange system to fix the “elephant in the room” of family gift giving events. Most of the time we ignore the fact that some family members can not come to the party because they live so far away. These people don’t get an invitation and are thus left out of the fun.

The elephant in the room is even more glaring on the day of the party, when others ask why Grandpa or Auntie Barbara is not in attendance. These subjects become the elephant in the room that nobody wants to bring up to spoil the mood of the day. The online gift party application removes the elephant and allows everyone to attend and share in the fun.

There is an elephant in the room poem that speaks to what we are talking about, even though it has a bit of a darker side to the subject.

The Elephant in the Room

By Terry Kettering
There’s an elephant in the room.
It is large and squatting,
so it is hard to get around it.
Yet we squeeze by with,
“How are you?” and, “I’m fine,”
and a thousand other forms of trivial chatter.
We talk about the weather;
we talk about work;
we talk about everything else—
except the elephant in the room.
There’s an elephant in the room.
We all know it is there.
We are thinking about the elephant
as we talk together.
It is constantly on our minds.
For, you see, it is a very big elephant.
It has hurt us all, but we do not talk about
the elephant in the room.
Oh, please, say her name.
Oh, please, say “Barbara” again.
Oh, please, let’s talk about
the elephant in the room.
For if we talk about her death,
perhaps we can talk about her life.
Can I say, “Barbara” to you
and not have you look away?
For if I cannot,
then you are leaving me alone
in a room—with an elephant.

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Take the Elephant in the room out of your family gift giving celebrations and invite everyone to the party.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Gift exchange rules

The gift exchange party is the most common way to share gifts among groups of family and friends. These events are held during various holiday celebrations and for office parties, family and class reunions.

The most common and popular gift exchange is the Secret Santa gift swap game. The Secret Santa is primarily used to exchange gifts directly from one person to another.  This activity is akin to the standard name draw exchange that many groups use to establish the rules of gift purchasing among groups during important life events. But before we move into the rules of Secret Santa we will start with the most common rules of all gift exchange games, parties or events:

The Name Draw or Drawing Name Exchange

The name draw style gift exchange is used as a means to save money among members of various sized groups. Rather than purchasing a gift for everyone, the name draw system randomly parses out the gift purchasing responsibly evenly between each member of the group.  This helps with the gift giving budget because each person only purchase one gift for one person in the group.

The main rule of the name draw is that all members of the groups put their name into a common holding area.  This holding devise could be a hat, or a box, or a bucket.  Newer online versions of the name draw exchange uses an electronic mimic of the hat using special randomizing name drawing software.  Instead of names written on slips of paper, the group adds the names electronically on a website. Here is a fun site the shows a virtual hand going into the hat and pulling out a name.  The online party version of these name draw systems can really be described as a fun generator for any name draw exchange.

There are several online name draw sites that will help simplify your name drawing and simple gift exchanging events. Here are some links to those that we found in a quick Google search for Name Drawing, Secret Santa Name Generator and Random Name Draw Generator:

Name drawing .com

Draw names .com

Virtual name draw .com

Sneaky santa .com

Boggol drawing names .com

Boogspace secret santa name picker .com

You can use many of these simple and free online tools to randomly select the names for your name drawing events and never draw names from a hat again. No matter what name holding devise that you use, the rules for the gift exchange remain the same; one name drawn for each potential gift to be shared, so that everyone gets a gift.

The Secret Santa Gift Exchange or Secret Kris Kringle

The next level up from the family gift name draw is an group gift exchange activity known as the Secret Santa Exchange or in some other parts of the world, the Kris Kringle Gift Exchange. As we mentioned before, the Secret Santa is the most used style of gift exchange in the world.

The main difference between a standard name draw gift exchange and a Secret Santa exchange is the idea of secrecy. In a Secret Santa event the members of the group draw names just like any name draw activity, but you don’t share who you are purchasing a gift for. The internet also provides a few online secret Santa organizer sites that can help put the party together. We have listed a few of them here for you to explore:

Secret Santa Organizer .com

Elfster Secret Santa .com

Secret Santa .com

Sly Santa .com

Secret Gift .com

Evite Secret Santa

Kris Kringle gift exchange

NOTE: the Kris Kringle gift exchange is popular in the UK and Australia.

The secret Santa gift exchange follows the same rules as the regular name draw, so there is one gift per each person in the group. The parings are selected randomly from all members of a group and there is still the expectation that each person will purchase and deliver a gift to another person. The unique rule in a secret Santa event is that the random name selection is secretive.  There are version of the secret Santa that involve providing clues as to how the shoppers are, with guessing and questioning opportunities provided to ad to the fun.  Some secret Santa exchanges use the rule that no gift can be shared until a certain date and time. This is usually a rule when the gift exchange is a part of a group party of other event.

Gift Exchange games that involve random gift swapping

The most complicated set of rules for gift exchange activities are associated with gift swapping parties.  The most common of these swap or “stealing” gift  parties is the White Elephant gift exchange party, but there are at least 22 other party games that use the same basic rules. Here is a list of the various titles of gift swapping parties:

Yankee Swap

Scottish Gift Exchange

Chinese Gift Exchange

Chinese Christmas

Thieving Elves

Dirty Santa

Thieving Secret Santa

Rob Your Neighbor

Dirty Christmas

Pollyanna Swap

Cajun Christmas

Devil’s Santa

California Swap

Steal-a-Thon

Snatchy Christmas Rat

Gift Grab

Cutthroat Christmas

Nasty Christmas

Redneck Santa

Rob a Santa

Grinch Exchange

The Grinch Game

No matter the name, the rules follow a basic format and require each members attendance at a group event or party activity. There is even an online white elephant gift party called AlbinoPhant, that also uses these same basic rules of play:

White Elephant Gift Exchange common rules

All invitees to the party must purchase a gift for sharing. The gift should be something that all would find interesting or unique, because nobody knows which gift will eventually be going home with which person. Unusual gifts are great for these gift swap parties because they really help get the conversation going and make the party more interesting.

Gifts at the White Elephant party are required to be wrapped so that the contents will be a surprise when it is opened. There should be no identifying marks on the gift so that the purchaser remains anonymous to the other attendees at the gift exchange event.

The game begins with a random name draw for all those in attendance, in order to select the first player.  From this point the game allows gifts to be opened and to be “stolen” , which is the term used to describe the gift swapping rule of the game.  Any gift that is opened can be stolen on any players turn. Another basic rule concerning stealing is a restriction that stops any player from stealing-back a gift that was just stolen from them.  The final common rule of the game is that once a gift has been held by 3 people it is “frozen” from the stealing process for the rest of the game. This rule does not apply in the case of a white elephant gift exchange game titled Commando, where stealing is allowed up until the end of the game, no matter how many times the gift goes around the room.

One final rule that is common in these white elephant style events is the “first shall be last” rule.  This rule says that the first person that opens a gift is given the last chance to exchange any gift that is not frozen.  This rule is used to reduce the possibility of the first person missing out on all of the action, if nobody every steals their gift.  There is a school of thought that suggests that this rule is lame, so you can make the decision to use it or not.

There you have it… The most common rules of the Gift Exchange, from simple name draws to complicated gift stealing exchanges.  You can find very complete details of the rules for each of the exchange activities here on this site.

If you have any thoughts, additions, corrections or suggestions, please add them here in the comment box.

Have a great time at your group gift exchange party and remember to play by the rules!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

The top White Elephant Gift Exchange game names…

There is a debate as to what is the most popular multi-player holiday game. Many suggest that the White Elephant gift exchange is the title of the most popular game. Others say that it is the Secret Santa gift exchange.  Then there are the many other gift parties that do variations of the gift swap activity and they each have a name and a following of loyal players.

Because we sponsor an online version of the traditional white elephant gift party, we have decided to do some research and get to the bottom of this once and for all.  Our recreation specialists were tasked to discover and list each of the gift exchange game titles, using the internet.   Then we asked the research department to find a way to find a winner and rank the popularity of the different gift parties.

What we found is that there is a bunch of ways that people describe the gift exchange activity and yet many of the rules are the same. We will catalog the rules for you here on this website as we do more research.

Here is our listing:
Yankee Swap
Scottish Gift Exchange
Chinese Gift Exchange
Chinese Christmas
Chinese Auction
Thieving Elves
Dirty Santa
Dirty Secret Santa
Thieving Secret Santa
The Present Game
Rob Your Neighbor
Dirty Christmas
Pollyanna Swap
Cajun Christmas
Devil’s Santa
Backward Auction
California Swap
Steal-a-Thon
Snatchy Christmas Rat
Gift Grab
Cutthroat Christmas
Nasty Christmas
Parcel Pass
Redneck Santa
White Elephant Gift Exchange
Rob a Santa
Grinch Exchange
Left Right Exchange
Scotch Auction
The Grinch Game
Eskimo bingo

NOTE:  If you know of other names, please add them in the comment box at the bottom of this page and we will add them to our listing and do the ranking.

After we had the list of White Elephant exchange party titles, we assigned the research staff to find a way to rank the names on a list, from most played to the least played…

That left them scratching their heads….  The problem is that these are played in homes, churches and offices everywhere, and so who do you, ask?

 

They used Google!

They used a Google Keyword Research Tool to discover how many people made a search for each of these titles within the last 12-months.  The idea is that if people are searching for the word, they must be searching for the party, right?  Well, right or wrong it is how we have ranked these gift exchange parties. We recorded the Global Average Monthly Search results for each of the gift exchange titles and got a ranking.

So here are the results of this highly scientific study of the most comprehensive list of White Elephant Gift Exchange game names…

NOTE: Some search results had less than 20 and did not record on the Google tool.

Secret Santa = 135,000 per month average searches
White Elephant Gift Exchange = 18,100
Yankee Swap = 9,900 (Popular in the NE)
Parcel Pass = 9,900 (Popular in England)
Chinese Auction Game = 9,900
The Grinch Game = 2,900
Chinese Gift Exchange = 2,900
Pass the Present = 1,600
Left Right Gift Exchange = 1,300
Dirty Santa game = 880
Nasty Christmas = 720
Rob Your Neighbor = 320
Chinese Christmas Game = 320
Redneck Santa = 320
Pollyanna Gift Exchange = 320
Dirty Christmas Game = 140
Gift Grab Game = 110
Dirty Secret Santa = 91
Grinch Exchange = 73
Thieving Secret Santa = 58
Thieving Elves = 46
Eskimo bingo = 46
Pirate Gift Exchange = 28
Backward Auction = 22
Scottish Gift Exchange = Did not record
Cajun Christmas Swap = Did not record
Devil’s Santa = Did not record
California Gift Swap = Did not record
Steal-a-Thon Game = Did not record
Cutthroat Christmas = Did not record
Rob a Santa Game = Did not record
Scotch Auction game = Did not record
Snatchy Christmas Rat = Did not record

The winner is Secret Santa with 135,000 average monthly searches, with the White Elephant Gift Exchange coming in second at 18,100 searches..  To be completely accurate, the Secret Santa activity is not really a game, but an activity mostly used to share gifts with individuals in a larger group.  Many of the others on these lists involve a gift exchanging party game. It should also be noted that the Chinese Auction Game is usually used as a fund-raising event for charities, but it did get 9,900 average searches in our study.  The Parcel Pass game is very popular in England and the Yankee Swap is a very well known replacement for the white elephant gift party in the Northeastern US..

We hope that this exercise in gift exchange party research will be helpful as you attempt to find great ways to share gifts with family and friends.  We think that you should try some of these out and then let us know how they went. We would also invite you to try out an Online White Elephant Party call AlbinoPhant. Our family has played this gift exchange party for several years and it perfect for groups that live too far apart to gather in one place, so they gather on the internet and share gifts and fun.

Our recreation experts have begun the process of compiling all of the rules, ideas and suggestions for each of these gift parties you see on this list. We will catalog them HERE as we get them organized, so you are welcome to return often and find out more about the white elephant gift exchange and its many fun cousins….

If you would like some other information on these titles we have linked to sites that are sharing more details.

Just click on the title.
Yankee Swap:
Scottish Gift Exchange:
Chinese Gift Exchange:
Chinese Christmas:
Chinese Auction:
Thieving Elves
Dirty Santa:
Dirty Secret Santa:
Thieving Secret Santa:
The Present Game:
Rob Your Neighbor:
Dirty Christmas
Pollyanna Swap:
Cajun Christmas:
Backward Auction
Snatchy Christmas Rat:
California Swap
Steal-a-Thon
Gift Grab:
Cutthroat Christmas:
Nasty Christmas
Parcel Pass:
Redneck Santa
White Elephant Gift Exchange
Rob a Santa
Grinch Exchange:

Left Right Exchange:

Scotch Auction

The Grinch Game
Devil’s Santa:
Eskimo bingo:

Do you know of any other variations?  Please leave us a comment and share your ideas…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Share

We told you so….

Now that Amazon and Facebook are working together to help friends and family find E-commerce solutions, we would like to mention that WE TOLD YOU SO!

The internet pundits have finally discovered that shopping is a social experience and should be adapted to our online experiences.  They have announced with great fanfare the linking of Facebook friends and Amazon markets.

We are happy to say again… We told you so!

Now let’s take the next step and join friends and family on Facebook in organized shopping and gift sharing activities.  Let’s have online parties and have an engaging experience, just like we do in our family rooms… Let’s share birthdays, holidays, weddings and all the other important life events with everyone in our networks.

We are leading the way with the PartyWeDo business model and have created the AlbinoPhant demonstration application to point us all to the future of online gift giving.

Thank you all for coming to the party!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Steven L. Patterson the Vice President & General Counsel of Oregon Mutual Insurance Company, shared this and I want to pass it along.

The temperature in Philadelphia was 72 and the horseflies weren’t nearly so bad in the morning as the delegates to the Second Constitutional Convention met. Independence Hall as we now know it, was a lovely room, very large room with gleaming white walls. The chairs were comfortable and facing the single door were two brass fireplaces, not in use during the hot summer.

After all had assembled the door was shut and it was always kept locked.  As you might imagine,  the room became an oven. The tall windows were also shut so that the loud quarreling voices in the room could not be heard by passersby (the subject of discussions was to be the cause of war). Small openings above the windows allowed for a slight stir of air, and also a large number of horseflies. Thomas Jefferson recorded that “the horseflies were dexterous in finding necks, and the silk of stocking was as nothing to them.” All discussions were punctuated by the slap of hands on necks, legs and other bared skin.

On the wall at the back, facing the President’s desk, was a panoply–consisting of a drum, swords, and banners seized from Fort Ticonderoga the previous year. Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold (yes, the very same Benedict Arnold that would later determine that he might be on the losing side and betrayed the American cause by arranging to compromise an American Fort) had captured the place, shouting that they were taking it “in the name God and the Continental Congress!”

After some preliminary matters Congress transformed itself into a committee of the whole, The Declaration of Independence was read aloud once more, and debate resumed. Though Jefferson was the best writer of all present, members felt he had been somewhat verbose. Congress edited the excess away. Jefferson groaned as they continued what he later called “their depredations.” He was none too pleased by the changes. “Inherent and inalienable rights” came out “certain unalienable rights,” and to this day no one knows who suggested the elegant change.  A total of 86 alterations were made. Almost 500 words were eliminated, leaving 1,337. At last, after three days of wrangling, the document was put to a vote.

In the same hall where Patrick Henry had once thundered: “I am no longer a Virginian, Sir, but an American,” the loud and sometimes bitter argument ended, and without fanfare the vote was taken. While the members were pushing to finish their work by July 2nd, the resolution was formally adopted July 4 and it was not until July 8 that two of the states authorized their delegates to sign, and it was not until August 2 that the signers met at Philadelphia to actually put their names to the Declaration.

Have you ever wondered what kind of men were the 56 signers who adopted the Declaration of Independence and who, by their signing, committed an act of high treason against the Sovereign King of Great Britain? To each of you the names Franklin, Adams, Hancock, and Jefferson are familiar.  But who were the other signers. Who were they? What happened to them?    You may be somewhat surprised by the names not on the Declaration: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry. All were elsewhere.

Ben Franklin was the only really old man. Eighteen of the signers were under 40; three were in their 20s. Of the 56, almost half–24–were judges and lawyers. Eleven were merchants, 9 were land-owners and farmers, and the remaining 12 were doctors, ministers, and politicians.

With only a few exceptions, such as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, these were men of substantial property. All but two had families. The vast majority were men of education and standing in their communities. They had economic security as few men had in the 18th century.

Each had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it. John Hancock (January 23, 1737 – October 8, 1793) is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the Declaration, so much so that “John Hancock” became a synonym for “signature”. But he was more than a signer of the Declaration. John Hancock was the President of the Congress and as President was the first to sign the Declaration. Hancock, one of the richest men in America, already had a price of 500 pounds on his head. He signed in enormous letters and in legend, if not in fact, said while doing so “that his Majesty could now read his name without glasses and could now double the reward.”

Ben Franklin wryly noted: “Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately.” These men knew what they risked. The penalty for treason was death by hanging.  Today politicians take polls to decide how to feel on issues. At this time the majority of colonial citizens, though sympathetic to the sentiments expressed in favor of independence, feared a war with Britain and remained loyal to the King. A great British fleet was already at anchor in New York Harbor.

These were serious men, not detached intellectuals or wild eyed fanatics. They were simply seeking equality with the mother country. It was taxation with representation they sought and in return they got occupation by the forces of the King. They were all successful under the rule of Great Britain, yet they rebelled.

William Ellery, a delegate from Rhode Island, wrote that he was curious to see the signers’ faces as they signed the declaration, knowing what it meant. He saw some men sign quickly, “but in no face was he able to discern real fear.” Stephen Hopkins, Ellery’s colleague from Rhode Island, was a man past 60. As he signed with a shaking pen, he declared: “My hand trembles, but my heart does not.”

Even before the list was published, the British marked down every member of Congress suspected of having put his name to treason. All of them became the objects of vicious manhunts. Some were taken. Some, like Jefferson, had narrow escapes. All who had property or families near British strongholds suffered.  Some examples:

Francis Lewis, New York delegate, saw his home plundered and his estates,  in what is now Harlem, destroyed by British soldiers. Mrs. Lewis was captured and treated with great brutality. Though she was later exchanged for two British prisoners through the efforts of Congress, she died from the effects of her abuse.

John Hart of Trenton, New Jersey, risked his life to return home to see his dying wife. Hessian soldiers rode after him, and he escaped in the woods. While his wife lay on her deathbed, the soldiers ruined his farm and wrecked his homestead. Hart, 65, slept in caves and woods as he was hunted across the countryside. When at long last, emaciated by hardship, he was able to sneak home, he found his wife had already been buried, and his 13 children taken away. He never saw them again. He died a broken man in 1779, without ever finding his family.

Dr. John Witherspoon, signer, was president of the College of New Jersey, later called Princeton. The British occupied the town of Princeton, and housed troops in the college. They trampled and burned the finest college library in the country.

Judge Richard Stockton, another New Jersey delegate signer, had rushed back to his estate in an effort to evacuate his wife and children. The family found refuge with friends, but a sympathizer betrayed them. Judge Stockton was pulled from bed in the night and brutally beaten by the arresting soldiers. Thrown into a common jail, he was deliberately starved. Congress finally arranged for Stockton’s parole, but his health was ruined. The judge was released as an invalid, when he could no longer harm the British cause. He returned home to find his estate looted and did not live to see the triumph of the revolution. His family was forced to live off charity.

Robert Morris, merchant prince of Philadelphia, delegate and signer, met Washington’s appeals and pleas for money year after year. He made and raised arms and provisions which made it possible for Washington to cross the Delaware at Trenton. In the process he lost 150 ships at sea, bleeding his own fortune and credit almost dry.

John Morton, a Tory loyalist in his views previous to the Declarations debate, lived in a area of Pennsylvania strongly loyal to the King. When he came out for independence, most of his neighbors and even some of his relatives ostracized him. He was a sensitive and troubled man, and many believed this action killed him. When he died in 1777, his last words to his tormentors were: “Tell them that they will live to see the hour when they shall acknowledge it [the signing of the Declaration] to have been the most glorious service that I rendered to my country.”

Thomas Nelson, signer of Virginia, was at the front in command of the Virginia military forces. With British General Charles Cornwallis in Yorktown, fire from 70 heavy American guns began to destroy Yorktown piece by piece. Lord Cornwallis and his staff moved their headquarters into Nelson’s palatial home. While American cannonballs were making a shambles of the town, the house of Governor Nelson remained untouched. Nelson turned in rage to the American gunners and asked, “Why do you spare my home?” They replied, “Sir, out of respect to you.” Nelson cried, “Give me the cannon!” and fired on his magnificent home himself, smashing it to bits. But Nelson’s sacrifice was not quite over. He had raised $2 million for the Revolutionary cause by pledging his own estates. When the loans came due, a newer peacetime Congress refused to honor them, and Nelson’s property was forfeited. He was never reimbursed. He died, impoverished, a few years later at the age of 50.

Of the 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, in each case with brutal treatment. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. All were at one time or another the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned. Yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word.

And, finally, there is the New Jersey signer, Abraham Clark. He gave two sons to the officer corps in the Revolutionary Army. They were captured and sent to the infamous British prison hulk afloat in New York harbor known as the hell ship “Jersey,” where 11,000 American captives were to die. The younger Clark’s were treated with a special brutality because of their father. One was put in solitary and given no food. With the end almost in sight, with the war almost won, no one could have blamed Abraham Clark for acceding to the British request when they offered him his sons’ lives if he would recant and come out for the King and parliament. The despair in this man’s heart, the anguish must touch each one of us down through 200 years with his answer: “No.”

The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence composed one of the most sobering lines in history. “And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

No idle boast or shallow sentiment indeed.

Have a great Fourth of July Holiday and remember the country we were given through the sacrifices of those who valued and fought for what we should never take for granted.

Information from various sources and articles

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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This statement represents the PartyWeDo “Cause”…

Our cause began as a result of real events, and the passion for it is based upon real emotions and real needs.

There are three supporting pillars to the cause:

People

Memories

Giving

Genesis Statements:

* The love for our family is real and is the most powerful motivation for our actions.

* The years of real memories have addicted us to the need to keep generating more.

* Support for those we love requires real giving, which cannot be virtually substituted.

To Sarah and me, the PartyWeDo cause is very personal. We are motivated to contribute because of the people and the memories that we love.

You may have similar people and memories in your life, for which this cause might be valuable as well. If so, we hope that you will join us in making the internet experience like REAL.

The AlbinoPhant party, and the others that will follow, make gift giving on the internet as real as possible.

We are passionate that the virtual experience should somehow send people back into the real world and provide real support.

Memories are not built in a vacuum, so these parties should link real people into an activity that adds to the stories, emotions, and the laughter of great personal connections.

It is hard to stay real in a world built on keyboards, bandwidth and servers. Nevertheless, our cause is to make some of this virtual world like REAL.

NOTE: Thanks to Jesse Stay for suggesting that we publish our Cause for you to read…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
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I have been a student of party engagement and event interaction for many years, even before we began our online party application.

Sarah is a trained recreational specialist and has been involved in party leadership for most of her adult life, so I have had many opportunities to be a “fly on the wall” and observe how people enjoy a social event.

It is fascinating to watch the personalities that blend together during each phase of the party experience. From the first greeting, through many social interactions, and up until the departure, the individual personalities display a variety of tendencies.

I have often thought that there is a hierarchy of individual party personalities; from the quiet spectator known as the “wall-flower”, to the extremely engaged “party-animal”.

These levels seem to be based upon some sort of imaginary social ladder. The rungs of this ladder represent the comfort level that people feel in putting themselves on display for others to witness. On the lower steps stand those who are guarded or very reserved, and at the top are those who have no fear of being noticed and even welcome attention.

But there is one personality that seems to always be critical to the success of any party experience…

Social Butterflies…

These people build the bridges between most of the personalities in the room and keep the conversation flowing.

Valeria Maltoni, a professional conversationalist and author of the Conversation Agent introduced me to a social ladder concept that really fits these party personalities very closely.

Her discussion suggests that the conversation is central to good social networking on the internet and that “Conversationalist” are the connectors in these social spaces.

My party observations would suggest that without one or more conversationalist on the guest list, the party could be a dud.. Therefore, an understanding of the social party ladder, and a personality assessment is critical for party hosts, as they work on their invitation list.

The social scientists have just recently added the “conversationalist” rung to the accepted social ladder discussion. Jason Falls suggests that “This development is interesting because for years social media evangelists have been preaching that, “it’s all about the conversation.”

Before this addition to the social ladder, there were only 6 rungs; Inactives, Spectators, Joiners, Collectors, Critics and Creators. Now, the Conversationalist is thought to make up about a third of all social media interactions.

How does a social media ladder relate to my party observations and to the success of a party?

Well, I believe social media activities on the internet closely parallel the mechanics of a party, and that the social ladder measurements fit pretty well. (I would probably throw out the Collectors rung for this discussion on parties, but the others are a really good fit).

We could say that the Inactives are the least desirable party guests, due to the effort that it will take to get them to attend and to join in any of the activities planned for the event. I am not suggesting that you leave anyone out, but realize that an inactive will be less engaged in any of your planned activities. Luckily, there are just a few of these personality types to worry about.

The next rung on the ladder are the Spectators…This is a big group!  The responsibility of the host is to move the spectators out of their comfort zone and into the Joiner category.  Left on their own they will just watch the event unfold, so pushing the right buttons of Spectators will move the fun needle up a notch at any party.

These lower ladder levels can be greatly impacted by the Conversationalists on your guest list. Given the opportunity, they will bridge the fear gap and encourage these quiet personalities to become more involved in each party activity.

Critics are perfect personalities for Conversationalist. They work together to spool up the conversation and tend to send discussions into a variety of directions.  Many times the debate will pull the Spectators into the discussion. The host much watch the critics closely so as to ward off contentious conversations…

The top of the ladder rung are the creators, or the people who will partner naturally with the host to find ways to improve the experience for everyone. This personality group will recognize the Communicators in the group and leverage them to build a better experience for themselves and every other personality involved….

Knowing the social ladder and working with the personalities on the guest list will make your next party climb to new heights. Find the social conservationists and then let them work their magic in the room…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists