How to play Yankee swap (white elephant gift exchange) 15 Articles

by Patricia Gilliam

When you host a party, it can sometimes be difficult to entertain large numbers of guests and encourage them to interact. Yankee swaps or white elephant gift exchanges are a great way to bring people together with little ...read more

by Pat Merewether

The traditional White Elephant is traditionally an American or "Yankee" game. Here is the basic game, however, I've played several variations which I'll explain later. Each person brings a rather useless or odd item, wr...read more

by Tonya Barton

Last year, after being invited to a white elephant gift exchange, I fully embraced the challenge. It seemed the company I worked for was sending us on a Safari! I couldn't have been more thrilled. Eager to get a head-...read more

by Ann Palmieri

You don't have to have a white elephant to play the game! White Elephant Exchange is an engaging game of fun and competition that my friends and I play every year at Christmas. The game is played several ways depending o...read more

by Valerie Ashton

THE YANKEE SWAP (also known as a White Elephant gift exchange) is one of my favorite Christmas tradition. Since I have a large family, the adults in my family have a White Elephant exchange instead of giving gifts to each ...read more

by Kelly A. Mello

One holiday tradition that my mom organizes is the Christmas Eve Yankee swap. Some people also might know it as a white elephant gift exchange. Either way, it is a nice little activity to do at holiday gatherings to enter...read more

by Jenna Kellam

White elephant (also known as Stealing Santa, the Chinese Gift Exchange, and Yankee Swap) is a popular party game, especially during the holiday season. If you are hosting a holiday party, a White Elephant gift exchange is...read more

by Arabella Kelly

Playing Yankee Swap, or exchanging "white elephant" gifts, is a part of many family get-togethers, office parties, or other Christmas events where there are too many people to gift individually. It's always a fun time and ...read more

by Ted Sherman

I believe the ultimate Yankee swap is being considered right now in Major League Baseball. New York and San Francisco are rumored to be in deep negotiations for a swap that would send Barry Bonds to the Yankees in exchange...read more

by Carolina Dream Coy

Every year the ladies at church get together and have a Christmas party. Since there is no telling how many people or who will be there, we have found that playing Yankee swap is the easiest way to handle gift time. It i...read more

by Violet Fortune

Yankee Swap is a great way to liven up any Holiday gathering, and simplify the giving of gifts for large groups. Each participant contributes one wrapped (unlabeled) gift; the object is to ultimately leave the swap with...read more

by Lindsay Feggans

Yankee swap (I have never heard it called white elephant) is a fun, hilariuos game to play at Christmas. We play it every year at my job and always end up in stiches. We tell everyone to bring a wrapped, unlabeled gift (...read more

by Sas Freeman

Yankee swap or (as I know it) white elephant is a Christmas game I learned many years ago. The way we play the game is: everyone that wants to play in the game needs to bring a wrapped gift. A few extra gifts are purchas...read more

by Cindy Hartzell

One of the most cherished items I own actually came from a White Elephant Gift Exchange (often called Yankee Swap) several years ago. I also store some of my other treasures inside this unlikely keepsake. It is an unassu...read more

by Stacy Williams

Its the office party today and I am frantically searching my house for my White Elephant gift. 52 weeks ago, I haphazardly stuffed it in the back of a closet, and over the last year it has been hidden behind socks with ho...read more