I’ve never participated in a White Elephant gift exchange before. And I thought they’d disappeared along with the 1970s which is more or less the last time I’d heard a reference to them. So they’re either back in vogue, or they never left and I fell asleep for about 30 years.
I went to a holiday party at The Urban Hive and after doing some extensive research on white elephants, because I didn’t want to embarrass myself by bringing something totally inappropriate, like, say, well, actually there is no gift that would be inappropriate. Maybe some store-bought Tiffany jewelry, which would probably cause a bit of a kerfuffle during exchange time so that when your friends ask you about said party, you can honestly say it was a riot.
I scrounged around the house, per the internet’s instructions, and wrapped my white elephant gift thusly:
You know all those scraps of gift wrapping that you save, just in case you have something small to wrap and you never do and you don’t want to waste paper so it just piles up over the years? I figured this was the perfect time to use them up and sort of slap them together onto the box. I was going for “hideous”, but the comments at the party were complimentary, so were they just being nice, or did I accidentally create something cool and funky?
Well, something that DID get high praise and demand for its recipe was the “appetizer” I brought: Spiced Pumpkin Dip. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it in all its glory at the party, but I can certainly show you the carcass which I’m sure you’ll find quite helpful.
Here is the mixing bowl I used to mix up the dip.
Doesn’t that look yummy?
I’ve also included a picture of the leftover dip I brought home and the empty Ginger Snaps box that used to hold the cookies which were used for dipping.
So yeah, imagine cookies on the plate below, surrounding a bowl of delicious Spiced Pumpkin dip.
If you want the recipe, I found it on AllRecipes.com
So a White Elephant Gift Exchange is a total crap shoot. You can get something really nice, or you can get crap. Or something cheesy, but funny, like this:
Knowing you, you’re probably wondering what was in that hideously wrapped box I brought. Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a bundle - I brought a bottle of wine:
I don’t know if you can see the label, but it says “Bitch”. Somebody gave it to me and I wanted to pass on the love.
If you know how a White Elephant gift exchange works, then you also know that when it’s your turn to pick a gift off the table, you can alternatively choose to steal a gift that’s already been opened. So when it was Kari’s turn to pick or steal…
And then when it was Monica’s turn to select a gift (or steal one from someone else):
Wow, what a bunch of thieves I’m hanging around. Steal, steal, steal.
Another rule to this game was that an item could only be stolen two times. So Monica kept the wine for good.
I’m not much of a robber, so when it was my turn, I walked up to the table and selected a gift. This is what I opened:
You might be saying, gosh that’s a pretty scarf/shawl/thing, but why is Jane modeling it? Well, I’ll tell you why. It’s because she STOLE it from me. Because someone had stolen her Bitch wine.
But then when it was Janna’s turn, she stole the scarf from Jane, and wasn’t afraid to show off her ill-gotten goods either.
What a bunch of heartless heathens! I realize that by now you must think I have made some bad choices for friends if all they do is go around stealing things. And you’re probably full of all kinds of questions, such as: “If Monica stole the Bitch wine from Kari, then what did Kari do?”
Well, Kari saw someone open a Bop It! earlier and went hunting that down. Do you know what a Bop It! is?
But Scott didn’t have the Bop It! any more. She found the guy that currently held it, clutching on to it for dear life and cornered her victim ready to tear it away from him:
She couldn’t do it. She walked away, defeated, settling on something less.
Meanwhile, since someone had stolen MY scarf, I had to pick something else, so I returned to the table to unwrap this CD with a cool mix of music:
Yes, I realize that is not me, holding the CD. It’s Jeremy. And do you know why it’s Jeremy holding the CD? That’s right. It’s because he stole it from me.
So I went back to the table and opened a gift bag that included free movie passes and you know what happened after that? Yep. Stolen.
Grrrrr! I’m such a victim! Luckily, there was only one gift left on the table. It wasn’t wrapped and people kept passing it over and I took it:
After being robbed several times, I left the party with a sense of being violated. And how fun is that? I can’t wait for my next White Elephant gift exchange in a couple of weeks. After Christmas. Which is a great opportunity to offload more crap that I’ll probably get in my stocking. How do you wrap coal, anyway?
Calling All 2010 Resolutionaries…
In 2 weeks, NGIP will be hosting a New Year’s Resolution Campaign called This Time I Really Mean It!. Come over on Monday, December 28, 2009 and add a link to YOUR blog post about your New Year’s resolutions in the Linky widget at the bottom of Monday’s post. Then everybody can read everybody else’s resolutions. For more information, or if you wish to help promote it to your fellow blog buddies now (where you can grab a promo campaign button), go to the Details of “This Time I Really Mean It!” campaign for 2010.
Man you got screwed! All these people taking stuff from you, and you are such a sweetie! So NOT fair!!
I love all your photos… they are fantastic, everybody looks like they are having a great time - and no wonder, they all got the good stuff. If you want to get rid of the snow globe, let me know, my son has collected them since he was a little kid.
Oh, and I've had that dip - YUMMY!!!
So hysterical…had to stop by when I saw your blog name! And how pleased was I to find the content matched the title. Can't wait to read more!
Aww, thanks so much for stopping by, Stacy! I can't wait for you to read more either, (hee hee!)
Bitch! You were totally robbed… and robbed… and robbed… and robbed! Is there no justice in the world? Condolences!
I want the Bitch wine and the Bop It. I would have had no problem wrestling the wine away from someone but I couldn't take a toy from such a cute kid.
I imagined your dip to look really awesome though seeing the dirty bowl didn't really help the process.
I'll be back on the 28th, if not sooner, because I really mean it this year and need all the help I can get.
I had never heard of a Bop It. I had to look it up. I think I'm afraid of Bop It.
I went to a white elephant party a couple of years ago. I ended up with some kind of tribal- looking padded jacket with elephants all over it. Just beautiful, I tell you! It matches my wardrobe so well! (NOT!) But it was fun. I think my sister got a bronze owl that was about 10 inches tall. I'm looking forward to doing it again one day.
The resolution campaign sounds wonderful! I might just participate.
I think it would only be fair if there were some kind of corollary rule where the same person can't get a gift that she wants to keep stolen away more then twice, either. So, then the movie tickets would have been yours to keep unless you declared them stealable. If you'd like to add that to your next White Elephant party rules, bemy guest. Just don't come crying to me if your third (unstealable) gift turns out to be a t-shirt with a giant photo of someone else's kid on it.
Hehe, I collect snow globes, so I would've been pretty happy (though that bottle of wine would've been fun)!
I thought your gift wrapping was very funky. A cool kind of funky. Yep!
This is the kind of thing my best friend endures each year at her corporate Christmas party. Most of them HATE it. But the people in charge of the party love it and get really into the thievery.
It ain't fair, I tell you!
Holy White Elephant, Batman, you were robbed! The best WE gift I ever got was an enormous condom. I mean, it was too big for even an elephant. I cherished that condom… And my favorite WE gift presented was from my sister and bro-in-law: a gigantic can of tuna. Unfortunately, it wasn't a WE party, and so, after people were aghast over it, they never told a soul they were the ones who brought it. Gotta love those holiday parties.
Oh, I would so steal that snow globe. For no other reason than to have a really great gift for next year's gag-gift-yankee-swap-white-elephant-doo-hickey.
Wow, all those dames clamoring over Bitch wine reminds me of the real meaning of Christmas.
That is my favorite Christmas party game. And like you, I usually don't steal unless it's something that I really think is good (like the year I just HAD to have the basket of homemade fudge). But yeah, it's really great fun. Oh and I will be promoting the This Time I Really Mean It campaign from my blog. That'll be fun too.
I hate those while elephant gift exchange parties. People are always stealing my stuff too!!
I've never been, and I've never heard of a White Elephant gift exchange party, but this one looks and sounds like it was AMAZING.
And I could seriously use a glass of that Bitch Wine right about now.
TOO funny!! I felt like I was actually there, haha!
If it matters? Your snowglobe is adorable. But it made me laugh how it wasn't wrapped or anything
Looks like you've set a new tread with the packaging. It's always rumored that new trends come out of California. This must be your doing. [giggle]
I love White Elephant parties! My husband's crew at BellSouth used to have one every year. They are such fun. I think my favorite gift was feminine pads made into bath slippers. Yeah, there were LOTS of jokes about that one!
read most of your post but then got dizzy and fell off the chair and couldnt get up for almost a whole minute! but seriously, shouldnt you have given a white goat gift?
We do a white elephant exchange each year with my family (we do a regular gift exchange too) and it is always a hoot - for those that “get it”. Some of my family still really is a bit clueless about how this works each year, but they keep playing. Go figure! We haven't come up with our white elephant gifts yet - better put my thinking cap on.
Next year I'm white elephant gifting that tablecloth I was wearing. Maybe Janna would like to strut her stuff in that!
Whenever we have a white elephant gift, I always wrap up a framed 8 x 10 of myself. It always gets a laugh . . . and it's popular, too, because I always hide cash or a gift card behind the pic so now it's a hot item to steal.
oooh! That's a fabulous idea, Knucklehead! Not to mention, hysterical.
I'm digging the snow globe! And your picture of the leftover dip! I like funny and bad gifts way better this time of year anyway! Though, I might have stolen the Trump doll.
I've seen that “Bitch” wine and always been tempted to buy it, but maybe now I'll just steal it. I'll call you for bail money.
That's an awesome Trump doll! In our white elephant game, I got a candy dish and note cards and my hubby got a Webkin (instant stocking stuffer for 6 yr old dd).
I want to know how you made a bunch of paper scraps look so damn good. Also, please don't show us your dirty dishes anymore.
These parties are so fun. I love it when I can steal somethin' and get out of jail free! Woohoo!!!!
I could never get into the spirit of such things. I'm such a wuss. Whatever was the last thing left, that's what I'd end up with, always. I'd feel sorry for the gifts nobody wanted. That's what happens when you watch “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” so often during your youth. You remember the Island Of Misfit Toys and you feel sorry for inanimate objects. I was warped early in life…
Oh, my gosh, that sounds like fun!
I just did a White Elephant game at a small party, but there were only six of us, and the gifts (all bought by the hostess, who didn't play) were pretty much the same in terms of niceness, cost, etc. However I opened the first gift, which was a set of those coasters that you can stick photos in. Very nice, but I already HAVE a set of those, so I was practically jumping out of my seat, waiting to steal something from someone else. As it turned out, I didn't have to. There was one unwrapped gift left, and I took that. YAY! Two beautiful handmade soaps.
But, dang, if there had been a Donald Trump doll, I would've been all over that.
It's a little hard for a goat to resolve to do anything but eat more - wow! What a resolution! I resolve to eat more. I'm pregnant after all. I've got a kid leeching off of me….there you go!
No goat in your globe. Bummer. Sounds like you had a blast, though. No one wants goats at parties. We just poop too much.
Awesome white elephant gift good times. My favorite steal for a white elephant gift exchange: Asti Spumante Sparkling Wine. Yum! It was a cash bar at this company holiday party. So - I ended up borrowing some wine glasses from the bar and sharing my white elephant booty.
LOL, what a hoot! The last gift exchange like this I attended was about 20 years ago; think it's great you guys are “bringing it back” as they can be so much fun!
And hey, I think the snow globe is adorable!
Kari is now my new computer wallpaper.
See? Something good came out of all of this.
I'd steal that wine, too. It looks like you had a great time!
I've been to so many of those things and I usually end up with something lame. A few years ago, at a party for work, two ladies worked together and plotted their takeover. Well, it sure felt like it. There was whispering and points and more whispering. Sheesh!
You got rooked sister! But your dip looks amaaaaaazing.
I WANT the Donald Trump doll. I long to redo his comb-over…over and er, over, again.
Are you stalking me today or am I stalking you or would this be considered cyber-dating?
We're just hangin' where the cool people hang. Thasall. hehe.