Buzz
In New England, this is often referred to as a 'Yankee Swap,' while in the South, it's known as 'Dirty Santa.' However, throughout much of North America, the popular party game where guests exchange (and sometimes steal) gifts is called a white elephant gift exchange.
The phrase 'white elephant' has been around since at least the 1800s, symbolizing an unwanted gift. 'According to legend, the custom of giving white elephant gifts dates back to when the King of Siam—now Thailand—gifted an actual white elephant to anyone he despised,' explains Evan Mendelsohn, co-founder of holiday clothing brand Tipsy Elves, in an interview with Mytour. 'These rare elephants were costly to care for, and as a revered symbol in Thai and Buddhist cultures, they couldn't be simply regifted or put to work.'
An 1873 article from The New York Times described the white elephant as a gift that was impossible to discard, yet too costly to maintain, leaving the recipient financially burdened.
However, this legend lacks factual support, according to Ross Bullen, a professor of liberal arts at OCAD University in Toronto [PDF]. He cites Thai historian Rita Ringis, who states: '[N]o Siamese monarch ever considered white elephants 'burdensome' nor gave them away.' In Buddhist tradition, white elephants were seen as a symbol of status and good fortune.
The idea of 'swap parties' gained popularity around 1901, when Kentucky's Hartford Herald published an article about a gift exchange featuring 'four or five small bundles, wrapped so that no one could guess what they contained.' Early accounts of swap parties encouraged participants to bring the most ridiculous gifts, concluding with prizes for the 'best bargain' and 'worst bargain' (the recipient of the worst gift had to entertain the group with a story, song, or other performance).
The term 'white elephant party' first appeared in a joke published in 1907 in Nebraska's The Columbus Journal, as reported by blogger Peter Jensen Brown. The joke begins: 'A shocking thing happened in one of our nearby towns. One of the popular society women announced a 'white elephant party.' Every guest was asked to bring something they couldn’t use, yet was too valuable to throw away... Nine out of the 11 women invited brought their husbands.'
The 'white elephant' joke spread across U.S. newspapers, becoming the 1907 equivalent of going viral. By 1908, society pages began advertising actual white elephant parties, where guests were encouraged to gift items they no longer wanted.
White elephant gift exchanges have remained largely the same since then, though variations exist depending on location. Want to throw your own white elephant party? Check out the official white elephant website for the rules, and browse our list of fun gift ideas.
