Every year around Christmas time, friends and families partake in is what is known as a White Elephant Gift Exchange. A “White Elephant”, according to the dictionary, is a possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. The game gets its name from a story about the kings of Siam who gave gifts people might consider obnoxious, such as a legit white elephant, to ruin the receivers of the gift by the great expanse it took to maintain it.

When looked at a white elephant gift exchange from that perspective, someone might wonder what in the world would possess someone to throw such a party? But in actuality it can be pretty fun. For those who don’t know a white elephant gift exchange is when people bring a wrapped gift, be it nice or a gag, and put it in a pile of other gifts. Then, each person takes turns picking out a gift and unwrapping it in front of the group. The next person that goes can choose to either “steal” someone’s gift or pick a new gift. This continues until everyone has a gift.

I, myself, have gotten some pretty weird gifts in the past like a booty shaking Santa or toilet paper hanging on a pair of antlers, and some pretty nice gifts like a good movie, or a super cute Christmas mug with chocolate. But in the end it doesn’t really matter what the gift is because most of the time it’s something crazy that will be regifted in the next gift exchange anyways. To me, the best part of White Elephant is the laughs and the time spent with friends and family.