White Elephants were historically – and are still – extremely important and valuable creatures in certain Asian countries. Receiving one from the king would be a huge honor. You would be the envy of all your friends and family if you were given such a noble and expensive gift from the king!

White Elephant gift exchange parties developed partly from this idea. It would be nice to receive a special gift… but unfortunately, it’s not always possible to purchase great gifts for all your friends and family members. Let’s face it, gift giving can become a really expensive business during the holidays.

That’s how White Elephant parties came to be so popular, cutting down on expenses and providing a bit of relief to those feeling the pressure at a pricey time of year. This way, instead of trying to find the perfect gift for everyone, guests at the White Elephant party need only buy one generic gift, usually within a certain price range. That takes the stress out of trying to find just the right gift for each person! And not only that, but the White Elephant gift exchange concept eliminates the problem of friends or family members showing up unexpectedly when you don’t have a gift for them.

It’s a simple idea, and one that quickly caught on as a fun way to take the unnecessary stress and expense out of the holiday season. Particularly in the United States, the popularity of the White Elephant gift exchange party spread, and today it’s a much-loved way of having a good time with family and friends at the holiday season. Everyone brings one gift and leaves with one gift, making it fair, no matter how many unexpected guests show up.

And there’s the added advantage of being able to see all the gifts being opened, and having the opportunity to fight for your favorite one – meaning that everyone has a chance of leaving with a gift that they really do like, even if it didn’t appeal to the original opener of the gift!

The format of White Elephant parties has changed and evolved over the years, but at its core it has always remained an entertaining way to spend time with loved ones, share gifts, save money, and above all have fun.

White Elephant Exchange

Have you ever wondered why we call our popular gift exchange parties “White Elephant parties”?

Most people are familiar with the symbolic meaning of the term “White Elephant” – in our culture, it refers to an object that probably isn’t worth very much, and that the owner doesn’t particularly want to keep. A White Elephant party, therefore, is generally viewed as an opportunity to get rid of your own unwanted item in the hope that whatever you receive in return will be more useful to you. If not, well, at least you get to go to a party and have some fun and laughter with friends and family!

However, coming from this perspective, it’s rather strange to look into the history of White Elephant giving. How on earth did White Elephants gain this reputation as typically useless and unwanted gifts, when the real story of White Elephant giving portrays them as sacred, celebrated, even holy creatures?!

In Thailand and Burma, for example, and various other countries in Asia, people traditionally believe that White Elephants bring power, fertility and prosperity. Historically, anyone who owned one of these creatures had to treat it like a servant treats a master! The elephant would live in luxurious housing, and would be adorned with fine robes and jewels. It would dine on the finest specially prepared cuisine, and receive visitors who would admire and even worship it!

But here’s the catch. Think about how much it would cost to feed an elephant – even one that was living in “normal” captivity (minus jewels, robes etc.). They’re pretty big, after all. Now imagine just how enormous those costs would be if you had to treat your White Elephant in the manner described above.

As a result, the only people who could really afford to keep White Elephants tended to be kings, who ensured that their magnificent pets had the best possible care and pampering – for the death of a White Elephant foretold disaster and tragedy for its owner.

With all this in mind, put yourself in the position of a lowly and humble citizen who has somehow found favor with the king. The king is impressed; he wants to congratulate you and honor you! So he presents you with the most sacred and important gift there is: that’s right, a White Elephant.

What an honor… something on the level of an American being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, wouldn’t you say? Unfortunately, being an ordinary civilian, you can’t easily give the elephant the luxurious lifestyle to which it is accustomed.

And so we have our modern day concept of White Elephants. A White Elephant naturally came to symbolize a prized possession whose maintenance cost exceeded its worth.

It seems that White Elephant parties aren’t meant to contain junk after all – just try telling a Burmese king that his White Elephant is worthless!

Read an Elephant Joke here and then then leave one for your fellow Tax Payers.  Just add it in the comments box.

Tax Day is always the day we try and ignore the elephant in the room.  This time let us bring the elephant center stage and share some of the fun.

Elephant Jokes:

Q: Why do ducks have flat feet?
A: To stamp out forest fires.

Q: Why do elephants have flat feet?
A: To stamp out burning ducks!!

Q: Why do giraffes have long necks?
A: To spit on burning elephants!!

Q: What’s grey and puts out forest fires?
A: Smokey the Elephant.

Q: Why do elephants wear small green hats?
A: So they can sneak across pool tables unobserved.

Q: Why do elephants wear green nail polish?
A: So they can hide in a pea patch.

Q: Why are chickens white and elephants grey?
A: So you can tell them from bluebirds.

Q: Why don’t elephants ride bicycles?
A: They don’t have thumbs to ring the bell.

Q: How do you make an elephant float?
A: Take two scoops of ice-cream, coca cola and one elephant.

Q: What do you call a white elephant?                                                                               A: an Albinophant.

Now it is your turn… Share in the comment box.

On April Fools Day this year we suggested that we SAVE an ELEPHANT joke.  We started a page on Facebook and invited friends. Here are some the Elephant jokes that where saved..  Please add to the list of jokes in the comment box.

Why did the Elephant stand on the marshmallow?

So she wouldn’t fall in the hot chocolate

What did the grape say when the elephant stepped on it?
nothing he just let out a little wine.

Do you know the difference between an elephant and your mother-in-law?

Over time, the elephant will forget what you did.

How do you know an elephant has been in your refrigerator?
By his footprints are in the butter

How do you make an elephant float?
With 2 scoops of ice cream, root beer and an elephant.

Why did the elephant paint his toenails red?
So he could hide in the cherry tree.

How do you keep an elephant from charging?
Take away his credit cards.

What do you get if you cross and elephant with a rhinoceros?
Eliphino (hell, if I know)

How can you tell if an elephant’s been sleeping in your bed?
Peanut shells on the sheets

What do elephants have that no other animal has?
Baby elephants

What is beautiful and gray and wears glass slippers?
Cinderelephant.

Q. Why do elephants come in gray skins?
A. To hold their skins together

Q. What do you do with a YELLOW elephant?
A. Teach it to be brave.

Q. What do you do with a BLUE elephant?
A. Cheer it up.

Q. What do you do with a RED elephant?
A. Quit telling it dirty jokes.

Q. What do you do with a GREEN elephant?
A. Wait until it gets ripe.

Q. What do you do with a WHITE elephant?
A. Take it to an AlbinoPhant Party, of course!!!!!

What do you give an elephant for diarrhea?
An acre

How would you know there was an Elephant in the refrigerator?
You would see it’s tracks in the butter.

]]> http://partywedo.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/the-elephant-joke-must-be-saved/feed/ 8 partywedo save-the-elephant-joke http://partywedo.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/gifting-swapping-can-be-fun/ http://partywedo.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/gifting-swapping-can-be-fun/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:50:36 +0000 sarah1324 http://partywedo.wordpress.com/?p=71 ]]> When my kids were little, we had the opportunity to work on my family’s Christmas tree farm. It was great fun, as my kids had the freedom to safely run and play in the forest. There was always some kind of work to be done and my kids were most helpful. They helped drag tree limbs into piles and collect wood pieces to keep the campfire going.

As a result of their labors, my mother always “paid” them, at the end of the season. They would each get a $5.00 dollar bill and would want to immediately spend it on themselves.

This bothered me and I thought it was time to teach the principal of buying for someone else and “swapping” gifts in a fun way.

That was the fledging days of what has become a major family tradition known as our White Elephant Game. Teaching children to be generous and giving can be done so easily if there is a game/party involved.

Our internet White Elephant game now extends to our grandchildren as they look around they houses to see what they can “swap” with someone else!

In my Recreation background, I have created many “environments” as back drops for parties. I have turned a small library room into a giant fish tank, complete with “seaweed” streamers, large colorful fish painted on the walls and windows and fishbowls filled with green/blue jello and gummy fish.

I transformed a gym into the castle in the land of Oz and I created an amazing jungle, with vines hanging from the ceiling, monkeys in the trees and natives on the walls! But I have never “decorated” for a White Elephant Party. I have attended some parties in the lunch room of our office and once at a pizza parlor but I have never “created” a White Elephant environment.

Any suggestions for a grand white elephant party????

I love White Elephant Gift Exchange parties so much! The very first time we went to one, the wildest gift offered was a live chicken, wrapped in a large box! It was the hit! After that, everytime I went to a White Elephant party, I tried to be very creative in my gift giving. So does anyone out there have a crazy gift idea from a White Elephant party they have attended??  BEAT MY CHICKEN!!!!!

My personality is such that I get very nervous when find myself needing to produce small-talk. I am not a great conversationalist even though I consider myself genuinely interested in people. I often find myself looking for a social crutch to prop up the conversation and give a structure to my social voice. I know that I am not alone in needing something to kick start the conversation.

The ideal social activity would engage me along with a common task with other party attendees. Give me something to do and I will engage with others as I do it. In fact I will turn into quite a party clown if given a social crutch like a party game. There are many very clever conversationalists, but just as many closet-clowns who need the support of a structured activity to start the communication.

I suggest that an activity or game supports and strengthens the social power of any party. The party game forces all the personalities together into a common cause and pulls out the latent fun in everyone. This social creative crutch even assists the “wall-flower” to open-up when they take their turn.

Bringing all the personalities out creates the rich social tapestry that makes parties memorable of everyone. It is sad that some party host never use the party activity crutch because they feel that they don’t want to interrupt the conversations that happen naturally. By using a common activity that requires everyone to take a role creates conversation, creates common ground, creates a group atmosphere and creates contribution. The crutch is the creator of a rich party experience. What crutches have you found to work best for your parties?

Party games create masters of improvisation and teach the skills of social greatness. The banter within a party activity cannot be scripted and is created on the fly from the personality of each player. Each thought changes the game, adjusts the discussion and creates full-scale improv at its finest. Topics move quickly and it takes attention and intellect to stay fully engaged in the game, but it seems to work smoothly almost every time.

And this improvisation all begins with communication. Mike teaches that “communication has always been the mother’s milk of business”. The same is true of the social party. To fully drink in the best social experience of a party there must be opportunities to improvise the communication and follow the banter stream as it flows. Party activities start the communication process and then step out of the way for the improvisational banter to begin.

Close human connections create a spark of creativity as it passes between people. This may be the reason why Twitter and FriendFeed are so interesting. These networks create thousands of improvised communications a second, just by putting people close electronically. The thought occurs to me that the traditional party game may be the Legacy activity that has trained us to improvise our communication so effectively.

With improvisation, party attendees find a spirit of team work, clarity and a strong sense of purpose as a group. Activities foster stronger communication that builds a social power both for the host and with each attendee.

The challenge is to find those Legacy party activities that allow improvisation to expand the conversation. I wonder if you have ever thought of improv as a party activity?