Warm up the crowd...

If you’re hosting a white elephant gift exchange party, why not consider planning some extra games to make your event even more fun? Particularly if your guests don’t all know each other, or don’t see each other very often, some sort of ice-breaker game can be a really good way to get rid of any initial shyness or awkwardness. It will get your guests talking and laughing, and into the party mood.

A Yankee Swap or gift exchange party is about so much more than just the presents. More often than not, it’s an opportunity for friends and family to all get together in one room and share banter and laughter, and the best way for that to happen is to ensure that all your guests feel relaxed, comfortable… oh, and know each others names!

You could try out a traditional getting-to-know-you game, if your guests aren’t already familiar with who’s who at your white elephant party. A simple one is to make all the introductions and then play the “Blanket Game” or a variation of it. A blanket is held up between two randomly selected guests, and when the blanket drops, the first person to correctly identify the other wins. You can be sure your guests will be on first name terms in no time!

Or, for a bit more fun and the opportunity for you all to find out interesting and funny things about each other, you could play the Autograph Bingo game, where everyone is given a bingo card listing several different and interesting facts, and has to go around the room trying to find people matching those facts. It’s a great way to get people to mingle, and leads to hilarity as everyone finds out funny facts about everyone else!

There are lots of ice-breaker games out there. With a little planning, you can ensure that your white elephant event gets off to a great start, so that by the time you’re ready to play the gift exchange, all your guests will already be in the swing of things! Have fun!