White elephant gift exchange
Shuffle the order, track the steals, keep the peace.
Add at least two names.
The rules
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift for the pile, and draws a number for the turn order.
- On your turn, open a gift from the pile or steal one that has already been opened.
- If your gift is stolen, you open a new gift or steal another. A turn ends when someone opens a new gift.
- A gift can be stolen 3 times; after that it is locked with whoever holds it.
- A gift stolen during a turn can’t be stolen again until the next turn — so nobody steals straight back.
- When every gift is open, player 1 may swap their gift for any gift that is not locked. Then the game is over.
Nothing leaves your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you type, play or record here stays on your device: nothing is uploaded or saved on a server.
Example
An 8-person office white elephant: the speaker locks on its third steal
Eight coworkers, a $25 limit: Priya, Marcus, Jenna, Tom, Aisha, Kevin, Laura and Diego, in the order the shuffle gave. The settings stay as they come: a gift locks after 3 steals, no stealing straight back, and a final turn for player 1. Eight players print as 2 rows of 4 number slips.
- Turn 3: once Jenna takes the speaker, Marcus’s Steal list shows only the scented candle. The speaker was stolen this turn, so it can’t go straight back to him, and he opens the board game.
- Turn 4: Tom’s steal is the speaker’s third, so the page marks it Locked. It stays with Tom to the end, final turn included.
- Turn 6 is one turn with two steals: Kevin takes Aisha’s blanket, Aisha takes Marcus’s board game, and the turn ends only when Marcus opens a new gift.
- Final turn: Priya’s list holds six gifts, every one but the locked speaker and her own candle. She swaps for Kevin’s blanket, Kevin gets the candle, and the blanket’s count goes to 2 of 3.
| Turn | Player | Move | Stolen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Priya | Opens a Bluetooth speaker | 0 of 3 |
| 2 | Marcus | Steals the speaker from Priya | 1 of 3 |
| 2 | Priya | Opens a scented candle | 0 of 3 |
| 3 | Jenna | Steals the speaker from Marcus | 2 of 3 |
| 3 | Marcus | Opens a board game | 0 of 3 |
| 4 | Tom | Steals the speaker from Jenna | 3 of 3, locked |
| 4 | Jenna | Opens a coffee mug set | 0 of 3 |
| 5 | Aisha | Opens a fleece blanket | 0 of 3 |
| 6 | Kevin | Steals the blanket from Aisha | 1 of 3 |
| 6 | Aisha | Steals the board game from Marcus | 1 of 3 |
| 6 | Marcus | Opens a phone tripod | 0 of 3 |
| 7 | Laura | Opens a hot sauce sampler | 0 of 3 |
| 8 | Diego | Opens a jigsaw puzzle | 0 of 3 |
| Final | Priya | Swaps her candle for Kevin’s blanket | 2 of 3 |
“That’s it — everyone keeps the gift they are holding.” Eight gifts opened, five steals and one final swap. Tom goes home with the speaker, Priya with the blanket and Kevin with the candle. A wrong tap along the way is one press of Undo.
How it works
- Type the players’ names, one per line, and shuffle the turn order — or print numbered slips for everyone to draw from a hat.
- Set your house rules: how many times a gift can be stolen before it is locked, no stealing straight back, and a final turn for player 1. Print the rules to read out before you begin.
- Start the game and press Open or Steal for each player, typing in each gift as it is unwrapped. The page counts every steal and locks a gift at the limit; Undo takes back the last move.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the white elephant rules?
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. Player 1 opens a gift. Each player after that either opens a new gift from the pile or steals one already opened; whoever is robbed opens or steals in turn. A turn ends when a new gift is opened, and the game ends when the last one is.
- How many times can a gift be stolen?
- Most groups lock a gift after its third steal, and that is the setting here; you can choose one, two or no limit. A locked gift stays with whoever holds it, and the page marks it. With “no stealing straight back”, a gift taken during a turn can’t be taken again until the next turn.
- Are Yankee swap and Dirty Santa rules the same?
- Yes — Yankee swap, Dirty Santa and white elephant are names for the same open-or-steal game, with small differences in house rules. Many groups let player 1, who never had a choice, swap with any unlocked gift at the end: that is the final-turn option, and you can switch it off.
- Is there a dice version?
- Yes: choose the dice game. Everyone starts with a gift in front of them, rolls in turn, and swaps or passes gifts by the number rolled until the timer runs out. The rule for each number can be changed.
- What if someone taps the wrong gift?
- Press Undo: it takes back the last move, and pressing again goes further back, up to 200 moves. The steal counts and locks go back with it, while the names you typed for the gifts stay. A reload keeps the game and its undo history.
- What if a player has nothing left to steal?
- The Steal list only offers gifts that can be taken: not the player’s own, not locked ones and, with no stealing straight back, none already stolen in the same turn. When none is left, the Steal button is greyed out and the player opens a new gift.
- Is anything sent to a server?
- No. The names, the order and the game are kept in your browser on this device, so a reload picks up where you were. Nobody needs an account.