Every sheet in this collection
11 printables
Secret Santa Questionnaire
Choose between six and twelve questions from a list of thirty, add the budget and the exchange date, and print one...
Make itSecret Santa Form
A short form rather than a questionnaire: name, three things you would like, one thing to avoid, sizes if clothing...
Make itSecret Santa Sign Up Sheet
A sheet to pin up by the kettle: twenty-five numbered rows with space for a name and a contact or desk number, a...
Make itSecret Santa Wish List
Five numbered items with room for a price, a size or colour and where to find it, so a buyer can act on the list...
Make itSecret Santa Draw Slips
Type your list of names and get them printed on identical slips, sixteen to a page, each with a fold line down the...
Make itSecret Santa Questions
The full question bank, grouped by what the answer actually gives a buyer: practical details, taste, things to...
Make itSecret Santa Rules for Work
A one page rules sheet for a workplace exchange, with the lines already written and editable: budget, deadline...
Make itSecret Santa Rules for Families
A family exchange has different problems to an office one: children, in-laws, different household budgets, and...
Make itSecret Santa Rules for a Class
Written for a teacher or a class rep: a strict low budget, a plan for children whose families cannot take part...
Make itSecret Santa Budget Rules
The budget is where Secret Santa goes wrong, so this sheet deals with only that: whether the number is a limit or...
Make itWhite Elephant Rules
One page of rules in playing order, plus numbered turn cards you cut up and hand out.
Make itHow it works, briefly
Everyone brings one wrapped gift within the budget and puts it in a pile. Players draw numbers. Number one opens a gift. Number two either opens a new gift or steals the one already open, in which case number one opens a replacement. Each following player chooses between opening and stealing, and the game ends when the last number has had their turn.
The usual extra rule is that a gift can only be stolen a set number of times, normally twice, after which it is locked with its current owner. Without that rule the game can loop indefinitely over whatever the best gift turns out to be.
Why it is called that, and the other names
A white elephant historically meant a possession that is impressive and useless, expensive to keep and awkward to get rid of. The game got the name because the tradition started as a way to pass on exactly that kind of object.
Yankee swap, dirty Santa, thieving elves and the stealing game are all the same thing with regional naming. The rules vary slightly, mostly around whether number one gets a final turn at the end, which is worth settling before you start.
Choosing between white elephant and Secret Santa
White elephant needs no sign-up, no draw, no questionnaires and no matching. You announce a budget and a date, and people turn up with something. It works for a large or loosely connected group, and it produces an entertaining hour rather than a thoughtful gift.
Secret Santa takes organising and produces gifts people keep. If your group knows each other and the gifts matter more than the game, use Secret Santa instead.
Questions
- How does a white elephant gift exchange work?
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift to a pile and draws a number. On your turn you either open a new gift or steal an opened one from someone else, and whoever was stolen from opens a replacement. Play continues until the last number has had a turn.
- How many times can a gift be stolen?
- Twice is the usual limit, after which the gift is locked with its current owner. Without a limit, the game can loop indefinitely around the most popular gift.
- Is white elephant the same as Yankee swap or dirty Santa?
- Yes, they are regional names for the same game. The differences are small, usually whether player number one gets a final turn at the end, which is worth agreeing before you start.
- What does white elephant mean?
- A possession that is impressive but useless, expensive to keep and awkward to pass on. The game is named after it because the tradition began as a way of rehoming exactly that kind of object.