Posts Tagged ‘white elephant party’

White elephant gifts for the Cinco de Mayo party

Tomorrow is the Cinco de Mayo party day – millions will spend the day in celebration and sharing gifts among themselves. And though there are no white elephants in Mexico, there is a great opportunity to use a white elephant gift exchange to make the party more engaging.

A Cinco de Mayo white elephant gift party would be a perfect way to share the day with a group of friends or family.

Mexican Theme

You can decorate with a Mexican theme, prepare food and refreshments that are fitting for the day, and then have a great gift exchange game. Add in some great Mexican music in the background and have everyone come wearing some type of Mexican dress, like a sombrero or a poncho. You could even have TacoBell cater the event!

Mexican White Elephant Gifts

The white elephant gift exchange is a gift sharing event, so on Cinco de Mayo the gifts should be Mexican centered.  Tell every invitee that they need to bring creative and fun Mexican-styled white elephant gifts.  Because it is the fifth of May there could be a requirement that gifts have a tie to the number five, like $15, $25 or $35 dollar maximum spend. Here are a few gift ideas to get your creative juices flowing….

• Habenero sause
• Mexican music CD’s
• Mini cactus
• Margarita Glasses
• Ponchos
• Salsa
• Castanets
• Flag
• Masks
• Belt
• Cookbook

Thanks to Axtell for the image

The center of white elephant lore and history – Thailand

Any self-respecting white elephant website must acknowledge the rich history associated with these wonderful and rare animals. As the white elephant headquarters on the internet we take this responsibility very seriously – Even though we spend most of our time sharing fun gift exchange ideas.

We dedicate this page to the story of Thailand – The center of white elephant lore and history.

By Bangkok florists, John and Ning

Geography & Society

Thailand is a country that is located in Southeast Asia in the center of  Indochina. Thailand was formerly known as Siam until 23rd of June 1939 when the named was changed from Siam to Thailand. The word Thailand means the land of freedom. Thailand was the only land in the area that was not colonized by European countries. The country of Thailand represented by His Majesty The King, it is a constitutional monarchy. The current King is known as King Rama IX who is the ninth king from the rule of Chakri House. The Chakri house has reigned since 1946. They are the longest reigning family in Thailand. Thailand has a population of about 64 million people. It is estimated to have an area of 513000 sp kilometers. It is the 51st largest country in the world. With its population, it is considered to be the 20th most populous country. The largest city in Thailand is Bangkok which is the capital city. Bangkok is home both to the government and most of the industry in the country. The racial make-up of Thailand is as follows: Three percent are the ethnically Malay, 14% are Chinese, 75% are the Thai people and the rest are the other minor groups including hill tribes and minor ethnic groups.

Economy

The economic growth of Thailand increased from 1985 to 1995. The main economic activity in Thailand is tourism due to its diverse culture and beautiful islands and beaches. Many investors have invested in Thailand. It is estimated that the number of the illegal and legal migrants is almost five million. Thailand used to be a main trading partner with China and India and still is to some degree.

Religion

The main religion carried out in Thailand is Buddhism. This religion is practiced by 95% of the Thai population.

Thailand has been influenced by the Indians lifestyle just as the other countries in Southeast Asia. Buddha himself came from India. In the 19th century the Western lifestyle and influences came from Europe and many believe this lead to the downfall of many traditional values in Thailand. Gradually the cultures of Britain and Europe took hold. Even so, ancient practices are still enjoyed within the kingdom.

Second World War

During the Second World War, the Japanese government wanted a passage through Thailand and temporarily occupied the land. Initially there was an engagement  between the Thai military and the

Japanese troops but after eight hours they decided on a military alliance which helped Thailand to regain its lost territories from the British government. In 25 January 1942, Thailand declared a war between against The United States and The United Kingdom. Thailand had the support of the Japanese Empire due to the contract that they had signed.

Post War

Thailand went through a time of political instability but finally they gain a democratic government in 1980. The Thai government has had a change of constitution for about 17 times. This has lead to dictatorship but the monarchy government has been maintained all through.

John and Ning are flower shop owners in Thialand. They have a great interest in political history and John has studied history at Chula University in Bangkok. They work together and co-own a Bangkok florist and Thailand flower delivery network.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the Bangkok skyline image

Old books can make great white elephant gifts to share with family and friends. We have heard of reading groups that host a white elephant gift exchange to share their favorite books among themselves. We came across some other fun ideas for your old books.

By Rose Simpson

Those who enjoy curling up on a cold day to read a book will tell you that there’s nothing like the feeling of holding a real book. But what do you do when you’re finished with it? Many homes contain vast libraries of well-read books. Those true book worms will likely be dealing with a rapidly-growing collection that can only be sufficiently housed with additional storage space.

If your collection of books seems to be taking up all of the space in your home, you may be thinking about what you can do with them. But there are many other things you can do with your old books besides donating them or lending them to a friend.

Repurposing

The term ‘repurposing’ refers to using an item in a way that it wasn’t necessarily designed for. And there are many ways to repurpose your old books, although you may want to check and see if any of them are rare before you do!

Around Your Home

Books that are damaged beyond repair can still have a useful life around your home, while saving you money at the same time.

If you exercise using step aerobics or yoga, use one thick book or several thinner ones as a step or yoga block. They can easily be bound together by tape or fabric so that they stay together. And when not in use, they can double as a bookish decoration.

Gardeners spend a lot of time digging in the dirt. So why not cover an old book with foam and use it as a kneeling pad? This can save you a trip to your local dollar store, leaving you more time to tend.

If you want to secure your valuables, consider creating a book safe. Simply cut out the center of all pages while leaving the front and back covers intact, place your valuables in it and then hide it in plain sight amongst the other books on your shelf.

The covers of an old book, or thinner books can make great trivets when you need extra space for hot pots or pans. Using books with busy covers can add a nice pop of color to your kitchen, in addition to saving your counter space from damage.

Anonymous Lending

If you can’t bear the thought of ripping, cutting up or otherwise rendering your books un-readable, a neat solution can offer a suitable alternative.

BookCrossing is a ‘catch and release’ site for books. When you find a book that you want to give away, you simply visit the site, and register that book. The site will generate a unique ID number for your book. Once you have an ID number (called a BCID on the site), you can visit another area of the site that offers free printable labels that you can stick on the inside cover of your book.

Once you have filled out the information on the label, it’s time to ‘release’ your book. You can do this in three ways: by leaving it somewhere, such as on a park bench or in a shopping mall for another reader to pick up, by giving it to someone you know, or by placing it in an area known to be used by other ‘book releasers’.

When you’ve released your book or books, you can return to the BookCrossing site after a few days, enter in your BCID, and see where your book has traveled since you released it. This can be fun for kids of all ages, as you can visit the site at any time to see how your literary ‘message in a bottle’ is doing.

Citations:

• Book Crossing
• 80 Awesome Ideas For Your Old Books

Guest author Rose Simpson enjoys writing on a variety of topics, including how to help families get a great deal at their favorite theme park.  Check out some of Rose’s work at www.wirl.info.

Thanks to Content in a Cottage for sharing the image

White elephant gifts are encased in value

White elephant gift traditions

Marketing unique gifts

Gifts in a Virtual World?

White elephant gift discovery

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 very popular white elephant gift.

The funniest part of this gift is its name:

Foot Finder Set

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 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 auction and white elephant exchange for your next gathering and be amazed at the fun and conversation that you will start. Remember that the most important component of the white elephant party is the gifts. Suggest that your guest find the most unique, zany and fun white elephant gifts so that the conversation will be lively and the bidding will be strong.

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 items 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 item
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 item 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 item into the auction bidding. For example a bid could be: I will give $100 dollars and this great ???? for your ????. If the winning bidder has a gift they will exchange the item 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 item.
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 item.

#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…

View some $25 White Elephant Gift Ideas

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…

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