Under standard white elephant rules, everyone brings one wrapped gift, draws a number, and on their turn either opens a new gift from the pile or steals one that is already open. A gift is often frozen after its third steal. The game ends when the last gift is opened, and many groups give number 1 a final swap.
Updated by the Frugal Santa elves
Add the players and draw the numbers. The host tracks every steal, freezes a gift when it hits your limit and shows whose turn it is in letters big enough to read across the room.
Before the first gift
Add at least 3 players. Tip: paste a list with commas to add everyone at once.
The game host needs JavaScript. The rules and the printable rules card below work without it.
That’s a wrap
Each guest brings one wrapped gift, all under the same price cap, and the gifts go in one pile. Everyone draws a number to set the order. Number 1 opens any gift from the pile, shows it to the room, and that turn is over. From then on, each player has two choices: open a new gift from the pile, or steal a gift that someone has already opened. A player whose gift is stolen picks again at once, and can open a new gift or steal a different one. Most groups limit how often one gift can change hands, and a common rule freezes a gift after its third steal, so whoever holds it then keeps it. The game ends when the last wrapped gift is opened. Many groups then give number 1 a final turn to swap, since they never had the chance to steal. The card below holds these house rules, ready to print and set by the gift pile.
Free white elephant host and rules at frugalsanta.lol/white-elephant-rules
Stealing is the fun of the game, so agree on three house rules before the first gift is opened. First, the steal limit: two steals per gift is a common cap, and many rule sheets use three. When a gift reaches the limit it is frozen, and nobody can take it again. Second, no steal-backs: if your gift is taken, you cannot grab that same gift straight back, so the game keeps moving. Third, once per turn: some groups let each gift be stolen only one time per turn, which stops one popular gift from bouncing around the room for ten minutes. One rule sheet online also ends a turn after three steals in a row. Write your choices on the rules card. The host at the top of this page tracks all three for you, counts each steal on the gift’s tag and stamps it Frozen when it hits your limit.
You need one wrapped gift per player, so 12 players means 12 gifts. If you are hosting, keep one spare in the closet in case a guest forgets. Every gift should fit the same price cap, or the steals get lopsided fast. Rule sheets usually suggest about $20 to $35, and $25 sits in the middle. Put the cap on the invitation, along with any theme. Wrap the gifts so they give nothing away: a cereal box around a candle, or a gift bag stuffed with tissue. The best gifts are things several people would fight over, like something cozy, something tasty or something silly that actually works. One gag gift gets a laugh, but a whole pile of them sends everyone home with nothing they want. For ideas sorted by budget, see our white elephant gift ideas at $25 and $50.
Mostly, yes. White elephant, Yankee swap and Dirty Santa are three names for the same open-or-steal game, and which one you grew up with often depends on where you live. Yankee swap is the usual name in New England. Dirty Santa is popular across the South, and the “dirty” part is about all the stealing, not the gifts. White elephant is the most widely used name and has no strong home region. The real differences are in the gifts and the house rules. In a Yankee swap, people tend to bring useful gifts that players actually want, while a true white elephant leans toward funny or odd ones. Dirty Santa games are often looser about steal limits. Other names for the same game include Thieving Elves, Cutthroat Christmas, Shifty Santa and the Grinch Game. Whatever your family calls it, agree on the rules out loud before number 1 opens a gift.
| Name | Where you hear it most | What tends to differ |
|---|---|---|
| White elephant | All over the US | Funny, odd or useless gifts |
| Yankee swap | New England | Useful gifts people want to keep |
| Dirty Santa | The South | Nice gifts or gag gifts; steal limits often looser |
| Thieving Elves, Cutthroat Christmas, Shifty Santa, the Grinch Game | Here and there | Same game, local house rules |
The name comes from a famous story, and the story is probably not true. It says the kings of Siam, now Thailand, gave rare white elephants to courtiers who had annoyed them. A sacred white elephant could not be refused or put to work, so feeding it would slowly ruin the owner. There is no record of a king ever doing this. In Thai tradition, white elephants were royal treasures, not punishments. English speakers took up the idea anyway. The first known figurative use, in an 1851 letter, says a person’s services are “like so many white elephants.” Party swaps are old too. Walt Whitman listed “the Yankee swap” among American customs in 1855, and an American home magazine described a “swap party” of small wrapped bundles in 1901. In 2005, Michael Scott turned the office Secret Santa into a Yankee swap on The Office.
After a round or two of the classic game, one twist keeps it fresh. A dice version swaps choices for luck: each roll tells you to steal, trade with the person on your left or right, or keep what you have. A story version has someone read a Christmas tale out loud while everyone passes gifts left and right at each cue, and our right left Christmas game has three new stories ready to read. A theme narrows the shopping, such as ornaments, books, regifts, candy or something homemade. A sight-unseen round keeps every gift wrapped until the very end, so people steal on shape and rattle alone. A 30-second timer stops long debates. Some groups drop the final swap for number 1, and some use a two-steal limit for a faster game. Pick one twist per party, add it to the rules card, and keep everything else standard so nobody gets lost.
Hand each player one wrapped gift and let everyone open theirs at once. Then set a timer for 10 minutes and pass the die around the circle. When it rings, the game is over, and you keep what you hold.
He can drop in by video. Santa here is an AI video character who talks with you live in the browser, on a phone, tablet or computer, with no app to install. Set a laptop near the gift pile and let the group tell Santa who stole what, or ask him whether the rubber chicken was really worth three steals. Kids call with a grown-up, and grown-ups can call for themselves and ask for the gift they really want this year. You need a microphone, but not a camera. Calls cost $1 a minute, for as many minutes as you like, with no subscription. After the call, each wish comes back as a list with real store prices, lowest first, which helps when it is your turn to shop for next year’s swap. Santa follows child-safety rules, and a video of the call is saved only if the grown-up asks for one.
Talk to Santa on a live video call, or read how a call with Santa works first. Planning a bigger party? Browse more Christmas party games, or set up a Secret Santa draw for the family.
Four or more makes a real game, because stealing needs choices. With more than about 20 people, think about splitting into two circles so the wait between turns stays short.
Not right away, under most house rules. If your gift is stolen, you pick a different gift or open a new one. You can try for your old gift again on a later turn, if it isn’t frozen.
A frozen gift has been stolen as many times as your limit allows, often three. Nobody can steal it again, so whoever holds it keeps it.
In many groups, yes. Number 1 opens the first gift with nothing to steal, so after the last gift is opened they get one chance to swap with any gift that isn’t frozen. Decide before you start.
Yes. Set a small budget, ask for gifts any age could enjoy, and use a two-steal limit so nobody loses the same toy three times. Grown-ups can help little ones decide between opening and stealing.
Yes. The host and the rules card are free, with no sign-up. Your game is saved only in your own browser, so a refresh won’t lose it. Only a live video call with Santa costs money, at $1 a minute.
Live videoSet a laptop by the gift pile and let the group tell Santa who stole what, live on video. Then ask him for the gift you really want. $1 a minute.
Call Santa
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Secret Santa generatorDraw names online, then send each person a private link.
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White Elephant Gifts36 ideas for a $25 or $50 swap, from funny to useful.