White Elephant Printables and Other Resources

Here’s a grab bag of useful resources for your White Elephant gift exchange. It includes free printables, links, examples, and rules variations. Note that the printables and graphics are for personal use only. Enjoy!

Printables: Rules | Planner | Invitation | Numbers For Drawing | Guest List | Pick List | Table Card

Email: Banner | Invitation | Blank Invitation

Rules Variations: Left-Right Story | ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Name Drawing | White Elephant With Dice | Stealing Unopened Presents

The Rules

When it’s time to start your White Elephant gift exchange, it’s always nice to have a printout of the rules on hand. Here’s a PDF with the basic and most common rules of the game. Just click the preview image to view and print the file.

Planner

Here’s a nifty planner you can use to keep all your gift exchange organizing in one place.

Invitation

Here are some print-and-fill-out invitations for a White Elephant Gift Exchange. They should print out at 5″ x 7″ with two invites per page.

Numbers For Drawing

Before you can start your gift exchange, you have to figure out who goes in what order. Drawing numbers is the simplest way to do that. Here’s a PDF file you can use to print and cut out numbers, which players can then draw from a hat.

Guest List

Here’s a printable guest list you can use to keep track of who you have invited and who has RSVP’ed.

Pick List

Here’s a simple pick order list for your gift exchange. This is especially useful if you’re determining the pick order in advance.

Table Card

Here’s a table card printable to let party guests know where they should place their White Elephant gifts. Simply print, fold in half, and stand it up in the appropriate location.

Email Banner

Here’s a simple banner graphic for a White Elephant email invitation. Obviously, details for the gift exchange should be included in the body of the message.

 

Email Invitation

Here’s an email or text message graphic with more details. Note that the cost of the gift ($25) is specified in the graphic.

Blank Email Invitation

Here’s an email or text graphic with a blank space where you can add details for your gift exchange. You can use an image editing website like Canva or Picmonkey to complete your invitation.

 

Left-Right Story

One way of swapping gifts is through a “left-right” story. Players sit in a circle with their gifts in their laps and when prompted by the story, pass their gifts to the LEFT or RIGHT. When the story ends, players get to keep the presents they’re currently holding. Here are some examples:

Suing Santa, A (Left-Right) Christmas Story
Another Right Family Story
A Christmas Gift Exchange Game (uses LEFT, RIGHT, and ACROSS)

An alternate version works more like the usual gift exchange with stealing, etc. The keyword GIFT is added to signal when it’s time to start a new turn. Here’s an example:

Lefty the White Elephant

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Name Drawing

As an alternative to drawing names, you could have people draw words from the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Here’s the text of the poem with some possible keywords in UPPERCASE.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a MOUSE.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their HEADS.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s NAP.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the SASH.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny REINDEER,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be ST. NICK.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by NAME;

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the SKY,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little HOOF.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a BOUND.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and SOOT;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his PACK.

His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a CHERRY!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a WREATH;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of JELLY.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to DREAD;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a JERK,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a GOOD NIGHT.”

White Elephant With Dice

Some people like to incorporate dice into their White Elephant game. This works well for a family swapping gifts in their living room, but probably isn’t practical for large groups. The rules are simple enough, but the process is more time-consuming.

There are various ways to play, but most of them use a printable that tell players what to do when they roll various numbers. If you’re interested in this variation, see my full writeup on the gift exchange dice game.

Stealing Unopened Presents

Rather than having people open presents right after picking them, you can have everyone wait until the end. Then take turns opening gifts or, for larger groups, open them all at once to save time. Note that participants can still steal previously chosen (unopened) presents on their turns, but they’ll be in the dark about what they’re getting.

If you choose this variation, you might want to emphasize to the participants that how they wrap their gifts is important. You may also want to let people put their names on the gifts they bring. Participants will be forced to choose based on the outward appearance of the present, which could be deceptive.

Once a present has been stolen a certain number of times, you can have the “winner” open it on the spot to cap the suspense. All other presents get opened after everyone has taken a turn.