We Have a Holiday for These!

Traditionally, white elephant parties are held over the winter holidays. It’s a popular Christmas party game amongst office workers, and also for families – particularly those who don’t often see each other throughout the year. But does it have to be limited to Christmas time?

Of course not! You can have a white elephant gift exchange party for any occasion – or for none at all. Maybe it could become your family’s way of meeting up regularly throughout the year, or simply a fun way of entertaining your friends once in a while.

However, if you need a little guidance, there’s always some holiday at any given time, which you can easily use as an excuse for a party. Hey, it’s National Candied Orange Peel Day! It’s Mother Goose Day! It’s National Brownie Day! Let’s have a party!

These are all real occasions, and they can be a great source of inspiration for the theme of your party. You can look up lists of wacky national holidays online – you’re sure to find something that tickles your fancy!

But of course, there are always the other major holidays, aside from Christmas. An Easter white elephant party, for example, can be really good fun. You could have everyone look for the most unusual chocolate egg/bunny/figure that they can find, and bring that as their gift. Or maybe you don’t have a particular gift theme, but the party venue could be decorated with spring flowers (think snowdrops and daffodils) and everyone could bring a hand-decorated egg to hang on a decorative “Easter tree”. You could even bend the white elephant game rules a bit, and turn it into more of an Easter egg hunt – maybe each guest in turn has to hunt for a gift before the usual trading and stealing process begins?

With a little imagination, you can turn your white elephant gift exchange into a party suitable for any occasion – and have a whole lot of fun in the process. Feel free to share your own variations for non-Christmas versions of the game. Give someone else some inspiration!