Posts Tagged ‘white elephant party’

White elephant gifts are encased in value

But the real-world still includes real gift giving as a way of demonstrating love and support among family and friends.  It seems hard to believe that this supportive tradition will ever be replaced with something that is completely free.  Real gifts cost real money. This is even true for the traditional white elephant gift exchange, where everyone provides a gift and everyone takes away a gift.

Rattle loose a great white elephant gift

For  about $15 dollars this white elephant gift will be a find great appeal in your next white elephant gift exchange. It is a combination set of wrist rattles and foot covers for babies.  Baby items are great conversation starters in these group gift party settings.

The rules of the white elephant gift exchange require that players open wrapped gifts and then allow others to make comments and possibly steal the gift away.  Traditionally the gift that gets stolen the most also receives the most comments. This rattle and foot cover systems definitely meets the conversation starter status needed for a popular white elephant gift.

The funniest part of this gift is its name:

Foot Finders

This gift has worked very well in the online version of the white elephant game because the complete description is displayed on the playing page when the gift is revealed. With the additional information on the product the players can take the conversation if several directions.  I could see one of my son’s attempting to gross everyone out with an image of an ugly toe that would need a toe-cover.

Even in a standard offline white elephant gift party or a Yankee Swap this set would rattle some conversation out of even the most stoic participant. .

You are going to love this party!

This white elephant gift idea is 100% MamaC endorsed!

Graveling SOLD – White elephant gift auction

Finding fun and unique ways to share gifts between family and friends is a challenge for every group. The white elephant gift exchange is a great tradition for gift sharing during the holidays, but sometimes it gets a little old-hat.

AlbinoPhant attempts to mix-up the fun by offering several variations of this classic party, including an online white elephant gift exchange.

Try a combination gift auction and white elephant exchange for your next gathering and be amazed at the fun and conversation that you will start.

The following white elephant gift exchange rules will help you host the white elephant auction party of the year…

Prepare for the white elephant party by going to the Dollar Store and get several packages of money. This is like the Monopoly money used in the board game.
Next, create several envelopes with varying totals between 200 and 500 dollars. We have found that $20 dollar or $50 bills are the best. Have each envelope contain a different total so that there is variety among the party participants.

On the day of the white elephant gift exchange, set the room up like you would for the traditional gift party. Make sure all players have easy access to the gift pile and that they sit where they can see everyone in the game.

#1 Put all the wrapped gifts in one place

#2 Put every players name into a hat

#3 Draw the first name, read it and then put it back into the hat.

#4 The first player opens a gift and shows it off.

#5 The first player can choose two options:
A Keep the gift
B. Start a White Elephant Auction

#6A If they keep the gift the next name is drawn from the hat and then the name is returned to the hat.

#7A Player two has the same two options, ether keep the gift (until stolen or swapped) or hold a white elephant auction)

#6B If they choose a white elephant auction, they will act as the auctioneer and start the bidding at any level that they think that they can get.

#7B All players can choose to make a bid for the gift and the auctioneer will give the gift to the highest bidder and collect the cash.

NOTE: Players that have an open gift can add the gift into the auction bidding. For example a bid could be: I will give $100 dollars and this great ???? gift for your ????gift. If the winning bidder has a gift they will exchange the gift and the money.

#8 Another name is drawn from the hat and then returned into the hat.

#9 Player selects from three options:
A. Steal another opened gift.
B. Open a new unopened gift and display it to others.
C. Hold a white elephant auction on any open gift in his/her possession.

#10 Following the actions of ether the steal, the open or the auction, the next name is drawn from the hat and returned.

#11 The next player again has the 3 options explained in #9.

#12 In the event that a player with an opened gift has their name pulled from the hat they have two options:
A. Swap for any other opened gift
B. Hold a White elephant auction for their existing gift so that they can open a new gift.

#13 Game play continues until every gift is opened.

#14 An option would be for the host to provide a prize for the person who has the most money left over at the end of the party.

You are going to love this party!

$35 White Elephant Gifts You Can Wear…

Even though the white elephant gift exchange is a tradition for many groups, we are still interested in some variety from time to time. We suggest that you shake things up and have a “Wear-it-Home” style white elephant party.

This type of white elephant exchange has just two unique rules: One, the gift must be worn once it is opened and two, it must be worn home by the final owner of the gift.

We went into the AlbinoPhant online white elephant gift marketplace and pulled out some $35 dollar white elephant gift ideas that can be worn during and after the game. You can have a virtual “Wear-it-Home” white elephant party if you wish, using the AlbinoPhant system.

Here are 6 wacky and unique white elephant gifts that you could wear during the gift exchange. These gifts will definitely be stolen many times during the fun!

Your going to Love the Party!

Wolf head white elephant gift

White elephant travel vest gift

Face shield white elephant gift

White elephant gift whistle

Flag hardhat – white elephant gift

head light white elephant gift

The 20 best White Elephant gifts for $20

Any good gift exchange host knows that setting a spending limit side-steps some issues at the party. With a $20 spending limit the group will shop and then present gifts that are on par with each other. No one likes the “big-spender” or the “cheap-scape” to steal the show.

In the AlbinoPhant online exchange each gift is revealed virtually before it is actually shipped to each players door. Every gift that is reveal on the game-playing page allows everyone a chance to rate the gift. The gift with the highest score gives the purchaser the bragging rights of being the best shopper for the party.

We have assembled 20 great white elephant gift ideas from the AlbinoPhant $20 dollar marketplace. As with all white elephant gift parties or Yankee swaps, the idea is to bring a gift that will get the conversation going and make the event more social. This group of gift ideas demonstrates the variety of items that could be shared in this style of gift exchange. Some will naturally become conversation starters and others will eventually become more desirable than others and will be stolen more often. Regardless, these 20 white elephant gift ideas should get your creative juices flowing…

The holidays have ended and most of the predictions have been published. We now start the process of measuring the results and doing comparisons. We list the winners and the losers, the business gains or losses, and start analyzing what caused it all to turn out the way it did.

There is one measurement that I have been interested in this year:

How did Facebook do?
Particularly; how did this social network do in the most social period of the year; Christmas?

Well, according to Allfacebook, the season was bright for Facebook this Christmas. Not only did they end the year with great user growth, but they claimed the title of the most visited site on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and beat the mighty Google…

Why did a network that connects people from remote locations do so well on these two days?  I believe that there is connection between the holiday based upon sharing and our human tendency to reach out to those we love during important life events.

Millions entered Facebook on those two days because they wanted to share in the lives of friends and family. They craved an opportunity to reclaim an old memory or to add a new one. They believed that others would be there, and they joined them in a virtual gathering place, as a substitute for real human contact.  If you can’t be together in person, then a virtual meet-up is a viable substitute.

This technology is a gift, and it is understandable that on the two most gift-focused days of the year, we would open this network and share in the experience with others.

I have long believed that Facebook is similar to a traditional Christmas party, where the host has a huge address book and owns an enormous hall for gathering people together. Once invited to this party, a guest finds a group of friends, family or acquaintances and begins one of many conversations.

There are loosely organized activities that facilitate interaction between the participants. There are tables set-up around the hall displaying various board games that appeal to many interests. There are name tags and scrapbooks to assist in doing introductions or starting discussions.

This huge Christmas party has a grasious host who allows almost anyone to enter the hall and enjoy the event.

There is one thing missing from the party…

It is the thing that drives retail sales in the 4th quarter of every year. It is what we measure much of US retail sales against.

It is the gifts….

Facebook has the party atmosphere and facilities set-up pretty well, but the gifts are missing.

It could be argued that they have a huge gift system, and they do… But they are virtual gifts… They aren’t real.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the real world gathers in homes and halls to share real gifts to demonstrate real support and love. Real Christmas parties involve gifts that can be  felt, both physically and emotionally.

Facebook did win the key-stroke measurement contest on Christmas Eve and Day,  but they missed the opportunity to pass out of the presents.

How could that be fixed?

Thanks to The List for the image

If you have learned anything from our blog, it is that we believe in REAL gifts,  and we see virtual-images only as a tool to facilitate real gift giving among family and friends.

This idea is rooted in the belief that the internet is a tool that runs without emotion. It is hardware and software, not warmth and compassion. The human element must be combined with these tools in order to create something that is of real value.

A virtual hug is a cheap disappointment, and we want to put human warmth into these social networks that are now connecting us. We want real hugs by real people, and we want REAL gifts not just virtual fluff…

This virtual mumbo jumbo started when developers decided that applications on Facebook and other networks should offer everything for free. They started allowing free virtual hugs and gifts as a replacement for the real thing. We don’t believe that this free stuff is worth a dime, and many are beginning to join our thinking.

Amber Nasland blogs at Altitude, and she added to the “free” discussion in a recent post when she said: “But just because free is everywhere doesn’t mean that free is a given. Nor does it mean that free is always better. (Though I will say I’m all about Free Hug )”

If you did not take the time to watch the video that she posted (I share it again here) then you may have thought that Amber was promoting “virtual-hugging”. But the “Free Hugs” displayed in this short clip involve real people embracing; there is not one virtual hug in the lot!

These real hugs required some investment in resources and emotion, by real people. They were “purchased” by personal effort, not by a quick click of a mouse. Likewise, real gifts speak warmth, thought and love. These can not be replaced by sending someone a silly virtual flower in Facebook…

Real hugs, even among strangers, leave a good impression and are appreciated more deeply because they are created by a human action.

Mitch Joel discussed the problem with not making a personal investment in things during a discussion he titled, The Problem with Free: “When you pay for something, you appreciate it more than when you get it for free”. Then he quoted motivational speaker Mike Lipkin’s favorite onstage line: “I would do this for free, but I am going to make you pay for it so that you appreciate what you’re getting.”

We again state that the only way that supportive gift giving on Facebook works is if a user can buy a REAL gift and then use the social tools to make the gift presentation memorable and engaging.

It is our believe that a virtual party can facilitate this process in a way that will make giving memorable and provide important feedback. It is this tradition of joining together in one purpose that has made real gift giving such a valuable part of personal support.

Freely giving of ones substance results in the same warmth and feeling as a real hug…

You are free to comment.

We were interviewed for an article in the Conversation Agent blog, written by Valeria Maltoni. She asked why we are building an online party application. Here is my quote:

The tradition of supporting family and friends with gifts does not end when distance separates us. Nether does the desire to have a meaningful conversation with those that we love.

Parties are the traditional gathering point for both conversation and gift-giving among those who desire to support each other on special occasions. When distance interrupts this opportunity to gather, we all feel a loss of personal connection.

We are building this online party application as a demonstration that the tools of the modern web can, at least in some measure, replace the actual party experience with a valuable substitute.

Amazon provides a trusted shopping portal for gift purchasing. PayPal allows for secure payment systems. And AlbinoPhant provides a fun way to gather on Facebook to pass out all the gifts.

That is the “Business” side of why… But on the personal side, it is a much more emotional reasoning.

We love our children… and we want to stay involved in supporting them and their children with gifts. We would love to be at every event and milestone in their lives, but we can’t….   And we shouldn’t be.

Just because they have left the nest, we haven’t lost the strong memories of what it was like to host birthday parties and friend stay-overs, or to watch their excited faces on Christmas morning. The memories are great, but we are still craving to add more…

Distance and time have created a void in the conversation and the banter that was an important part of our family life for many years.  The traditional party experience is now a distant memory, and we just want a little of it back…

We know that we are not alone in our desire to share gifts in a better way than just shipping them off with UPS.  We have now found a way to bridge the distance and build a memory or two at the same time.  We can share gifts and great banter in an online party from any computer.

We have proven that it can be done for the past 3-years in our family, and we want others to have the same experience.

We Built it to Share it…

Give it a try and you will see why we did this…

Thanks to Valeria for her great article and the use of the image.

Here are the details, as advertised in a blog titled, Real Debate Wisconsin: “Our Cheddarsphere Christmas this year party will be on Sunday, January the 3rd, from 2pm until whenever at Papa’s Social Club”

So it seems a group of bloggers gather in a bar to socialize and share in a white elephant gift exchange. And they organize and promote the party online. This is a trend that we see developing as a result of great web communication tools.

This group also gathers to make predictions for the future, while watching a football game and discussing politics. It seems like an eclectic combination of activities, but it seems to work for them.

So in the spirit of the Real Debate party… I predict that online social parties will trend upward in 2010, as people learn that combining social web tools with personal gift giving will work on the internet. Further, I see a day when activities to celebrate birthdays, weddings, graduations and all holidays will find their way into the social networks like Facebook…

We will eventually celebrate using online parties when our team wins a divisional title and the Super Bowl… We will join a party online, when our political candidate gets the vote, and to just play an online white elephant gift party. The future is bright for online parties…. That is what I predict!

Painted toe-nail camo…

HOW DO YOU HIDE AN ELEPHANT?

We can thank the artist who are members of Worth1000 for this great piece of creativity…

Our online white elephant gift party is grateful to pochiex2 for allowing us to include this great image!