What you need
- A group of players, ideally ten or more.
- One wrapped gift per player, all within the same budget.
- A free printable rules and turn order sheet for the table.
- A way to pick the turn order. Our free white elephant number generator shuffles it for you.
The standard rules
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift at the agreed budget, with no name on it. All gifts go in a pile or on a table.
- Set the turn order. Draw numbers, or shuffle the names, so everyone knows when it is their turn.
- Player 1 picks a wrapped gift and opens it for everyone to see.
- Each next player has a choice: open a new gift from the pile, or steal an opened gift from someone.
- If your gift is stolen, you take another turn right away. You can open a new gift or steal a different one.
- Gifts can only be stolen a limited number of times. Two or three steals is common. After that, the gift is locked with its owner.
- When all the gifts are open, the game ends. Many groups let Player 1 make one final swap with anyone, because they never had the chance to steal.
House rules to agree on first
- The maximum number of steals per gift.
- Whether you can steal a gift back immediately. Most groups say no.
- Whether Player 1 gets a final swap.
- A time limit per turn, so large groups keep moving.
- Whether gifts can be anything, or follow a theme such as funny, useful or homemade.
White elephant vs Yankee swap
People use the two names for very similar games, and the details change by region and family. In general, both involve opening or stealing wrapped gifts in turns. The differences groups argue about are how many steals are allowed, whether the first player gets a final swap, and whether the stealing is part of the game at all. Write your rules down before you begin, and call it whichever name your group prefers.
Choosing gifts people want
- Pick a gift that most people would like, with a clear value, such as a good candle, a game or a snack basket.
- Wrap gifts in matching paper, so nobody knows what is inside from the shape.
- Avoid anything very personal. It should work for anyone in the group.
Playing remotely
Send gifts to one host, or have each person wrap theirs and keep it at home. Use a video call, share the turn order in the chat, and have players describe the gifts they open. Using the order generator keeps the turn order fair and visible to everybody.