White Elephant
One of the things I look forward to around Christmastime are "White Elephant" exchanges. I'm not sure where the name comes from. The practice of opening unknown gifts or stealing them from others has nothing to do with elephants that I can think of. Yet regardless of the odd name, I enjoy it.
There is the random nature of the gifts. It may be juvenile, but watching someone open something which they would never seek or receive in the normal course of gift-giving-protocol provides a good laugh. Like my cousin John, who got a nightie with "Angel" written across the front of it. Or my sister's fiance Seth receiving a package of "Caress" body lotions.
Then there is the scheming and stealing. When someone does chance upon a gift they really do find useful they better not become too attached because it will soon be gone. Some try the old "hide it behind the back" trick so that everyone forgets about what they have. But the cruel irony remains: the degree of your enjoyment of the gift is inversely proportional to the odds of your keeping it.
Of course you can't forget the complex rules. The same gift can't be stolen twice on the same turn. A gift can only be stolen three times maximum. The first one to pick also gets the last chance to steal. It is enough to cause serious confusion at times.
Lastly, there is the strategy. If you want to stay in the game, you better steal something popular, even if its not what you really want. Pay close attention as people open their gifts. If someone finds something which everyone is ooohing and aaahing over grab it. Bide your time, and it will soon be stolen from you--at which point you will have the chance to get something truly wonderful. Which will promptly be stolen again.
When you have 40 people in the exchange, like I do at the gathering on my Dad's side of the family, these strategies will be put to the ultimate test. Yet even if you don't get what you want, there is a silver lining. Just save your gift for next year. When some unsuspecting soul chances upon it, you will receive the hearty satisfaction of knowing you have given them something special: the gift that keeps on being given.
There is the random nature of the gifts. It may be juvenile, but watching someone open something which they would never seek or receive in the normal course of gift-giving-protocol provides a good laugh. Like my cousin John, who got a nightie with "Angel" written across the front of it. Or my sister's fiance Seth receiving a package of "Caress" body lotions.
Then there is the scheming and stealing. When someone does chance upon a gift they really do find useful they better not become too attached because it will soon be gone. Some try the old "hide it behind the back" trick so that everyone forgets about what they have. But the cruel irony remains: the degree of your enjoyment of the gift is inversely proportional to the odds of your keeping it.
Of course you can't forget the complex rules. The same gift can't be stolen twice on the same turn. A gift can only be stolen three times maximum. The first one to pick also gets the last chance to steal. It is enough to cause serious confusion at times.
Lastly, there is the strategy. If you want to stay in the game, you better steal something popular, even if its not what you really want. Pay close attention as people open their gifts. If someone finds something which everyone is ooohing and aaahing over grab it. Bide your time, and it will soon be stolen from you--at which point you will have the chance to get something truly wonderful. Which will promptly be stolen again.
When you have 40 people in the exchange, like I do at the gathering on my Dad's side of the family, these strategies will be put to the ultimate test. Yet even if you don't get what you want, there is a silver lining. Just save your gift for next year. When some unsuspecting soul chances upon it, you will receive the hearty satisfaction of knowing you have given them something special: the gift that keeps on being given.
posted by Alan at 7:44 PM
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