How to Run a Hilarious White Elephant Auction

I talk a lot about variations to standard White Elephant rules, including versions of the game that use Bingo, Rock Paper Scissors, and other add ons. However, some Christmas gift games that use the name White Elephant are so different that really aren’t variations at all – they’re whole new games. That’s arguably the case with the White Elephant Auction, a fun and radical idea for a holiday gift swap.

Like all gift exchanges, a White Elephant Auction calls on all the participants to bring wrapped presents to contribute to a communal pile. However, rather than taking turns to select and steal gifts, players use fake money to bid on the presents. Whoever wins the bidding on a gift opens it, and everyone gets to see whether they got something nice… or not so nice.

The thing is, with a White Elephant Auction, the not-so-nice gifts are a lot more common. That’s because players are asked to bring a gag gift in addition to a nice gift. If that sounds like fun, it is. Read on to get the full details and printables that can help make it all happen.

White Elephant Auction Rules

The basic rules for White Elephant Auction are simple. In essence, you’re holding an auction of the wrapped presents people have brought to the gift exchange.

Here are the standard rules for a White Elephant Auction:

Optional Rules

As-is, the White Elephant Auction is tons of fun, but you may have noticed that it’s a pretty random game and not necessarily fair. Some people could walk away with two or more awesome gifts, while others get only gag gifts – or nothing at all. Here are some optional rules that help smooth out the rough edges.

Two Present Max

Once a player has won the bidding on two nice gifts, they cannot bid on another. This evens things out a bit and ensures no one makes out like a bandit. That said, you may want to allow everyone to jump back into the bidding on the last gifts, to make sure there are enough bidders to keep it interesting.

Special Cards

To make White Elephant Auction more like a standard gift exchange, you can award players special cards that allow them to perform different actions, like stealing a gift. I like the idea of the auctioneer giving someone a chance to draw one of these cards if they open a gag gift. As for what the cards should say, see the examples I came up with in the Printables section.

Grand Prize

If you have the budget, you could include a grand prize that is worth more than the other gifts in the auction. How it’s awarded is another issue. I like the idea of letting players buy their way into a drawing at the end, with the people who have more cash having a better chance to win. Another option is to give people an entry into the drawing whenever they open a gag gift as a sort of consolation prize.

Ideas for Organizers

In addition to tweaking the rules, there are lots of ways to add your own touches to a White Elephant Auction. Here are a few tips and general ideas to consider:

Set a price range

This is necessary for all gift exchanges. However, for a White Elephant Auction, people bring both a nice gift and a gag gift. You might want to specify (or just suggest) that most of the money should go toward the nice gift.

Consider an alternative plan for gag gifts

If having people bring two gifts seems like too much of a burden, you could supply the gag gifts yourself. Of course, there’s no requirement to have an equal number of gag gifts – having just a few mixed in will provide plenty of laughs.

Employ deception

Adding on to the previous idea, you can make nice items look cruddy and cruddy items look nice with some creative gift wrapping. Having even a couple surprises like this adds a lot to the excitement.

Have a dedicated auctioneer

Unlike other gift exchanges, you need a full-time referee for a White Elephant Auction. For this reason, it might not be the best choice for a smaller gathering where you need all the players you can get.

Printables

Here are the printable files I’ve referred to throughout this article. These aren’t strictly needed to run a White Elephant Auction, but you may find them handy. Simply click on the links or preview images below to download and print the files.

Note: These printables are for personal use only.

Here’s a printable file containing play money you can use for the White Elephant Auction. Just print out as much money as you need and cut along the lines to separate the bills.

Here’s a printable file containing optional cards you can use in a White Elephant Auction. You can have players draw one of these cards when they open a gag gift, or have them pay some of their fake money for them. Note that this set includes a grand prize drawing, so don’t use those unless you have an extra-special present to award the winner.

As you can see, a White Elephant Auction is far from your ordinary gift exchange. It requires a little extra preparation from both the organizer and the players, but the amount of holiday joy it brings is well worth the effort.