The Art of White Elephant

One thing I love around Christmas is the "white elephant" gift exchange. I assumed everyone knows what that is, but I realize that many have never participated in the event. There is an art to it to make it really fun.

There are specific modifications to the game, but here are the basic rules:
*Everyone brings a gift
*Everyone gets a number
*In order of numbers, each person opens a gift (either choosing a wrapped gift or "stealing" one already opened by a person before)

There is the a fine balance of bringing just the right gift (and wrapping it in such a way that makes people pick it...nice paper, big bows, or shiny gift bags work well). It has to be funny...yet still be something someone would actually want. Not trash...but only a treasure to a select few. If it is too nice it gets stolen and isn't as interesting. If it is too over-the-top people regret having to bring it home at the end of the night. There is also the fine balance of making fun of gifts (just in case the giver of the gift didn't mean for the gift to be funny and actually thinks it is nice). I remember a few years back a friend was making fun of the smell of a candle he opened; the girl who brought the gift was hurt because she actually went out and especially bought the candle she liked, thinking it would be a nice gift for someone else). To top it off, there is a fine balance of knowing when to steal, what to steal, who to steal from, and how to react when something is stolen from you that you don't want to be stolen.

Tonight, we partook in a great game. Some of the gifts worth noting were a set of 5 brass angel stocking holders, an old computer (that worked), a set of ties (new, one that was plastic and held photographs and the other...just one that I don't know who would wear), a fancy CD tower, a Costco sized pack of Mega Gold vitamins, a box of sausage and cheese, a handmade apron that looked like an oven, a set of candles that someone probably got for there wedding, and a plastic tub filled with a DVD of Shawshank Redemption, a picture frame, and a VHS of Beauty and the Beast.

There was a really awesome Christmas music box that had a moving train and a dog at a little station. It was perfect for our son, so we stole it. Only too soon, it was taken from us. We were robbed!!! We were harassing the stealer...trying to convince her that our son would be crushed for life because we got that gift taken. Chris even dramatically kicked the box that the gift was in after we had the music box taken. Sure, we wanted to go home with it...but half the fun is stealing and being stolen from. It is the nature of the game. It is why we like playing every year. It is what makes people still talk about it years later. Silly gifts that you got stuck with...and the gifts that got away.

When the game was over, we had several people come up to us and say that they were sorry for us because we didn't get the music box. The sweet people were sincerely sad for us (some of which had never partaken in a white elephant gift exchange before). It reminds me of two things: 1. Some people take our drama wrong (we are dramatic because we are thespians at heart and we think it's fun...we have discovered that, years later, after we were joking with certain people...they took us for being serious rather than sarcastic and were offended by us...oops...thought they got it) 2. There is a fine art to a good white elephant.

For those of you reading this who were there tonight. We are fine. We are not brokenhearted or angry or anything of the sort. :) We had a GREAT TIME tonight (it was one of the best in a while)!!! We hope to see that music box back next year (but we may not actually want it by then, because who knows what our son will like in 2011). Also, don't feel sorry for us! We would have stolen that gift too if we had had the chance (and teased the one we stole it from all year...maybe even held it for ransom). If you were there tonight and were afraid to steal from us, you'd better start building up your courage for next year. Stealing and being stolen from is half the fun!