White elephant party rules on one printed sheet: the classic game, or four other ways to run the swap.
White Elephant Rules
1: Everyone brings one wrapped gift and sets it on the gift table.One gift for each player, with no name on the tag. The host wraps a spare for a guest who forgot.
2: Draw numbers. They set the order of turns, starting with number 1.Draw before anyone sits down. A latecomer takes the next number up and goes last.
3: Number 1 picks a wrapped gift and opens it where all can see.Number 1 has nobody to steal from. That is why many groups give them step 9.
4: Each next player opens a wrapped gift or steals an open one.A stolen gift is handed over at once. Its owner cannot say no.
5: A robbed player chooses again: steal an open gift or open a wrapped one.House rule in most rooms: you cannot steal back the gift just taken from you in the same turn.
6: A turn ends when a player opens a wrapped gift.House rule for long chains: after three steals in one turn, the next robbed player has to open a wrapped gift.
7: A gift is frozen with its third owner. That means two steals.Two is the limit quoted most often. Some groups allow three. Say yours before the first gift is opened.
8: When the last wrapped gift is opened, every player holds one gift.If someone left early, skip their number. The last player then has two wrapped gifts to choose from.
9: Last move, if you agreed on it: number 1 may swap with any player.A common variation, not a fixed rule. Decide too whether this swap can take a frozen gift.
The rules to a white elephant gift exchange fit on one page. Everyone brings a wrapped gift, draws a number, and then opens a gift or steals one. Print this list prints the Classic sheet. Rules vary from party to party, and none is official.
Read the full guide
How to play white elephant, sheet by sheet
The list under Print this list changes the sheet. Classic rules is the usual game: a gift is frozen after two steals, and number 1 may swap at the end. One steal is quicker, for a big room. No steals suits young children. In Wrapped to the end nobody unwraps until the last turn. Before the party is what to tell guests.
White elephant gift rules that hosts argue over
The small line under each step is a ruling: whether you can steal straight back, who takes the last wrapped gift, what a latecomer does. For white elephant rules with a twist, choose Twists to add and read one out before number 1 goes.
Tips
Send the white elephant gift exchange rules PDF with the invitation, so nobody argues at the gift table.
Tape the printed sheet beside the gifts. The player whose turn it is reads the next step aloud.
Settle two things before the first gift is opened: how many steals freeze a gift, and whether number 1 gets a last swap.
Questions and answers
How does white elephant work?
Each player brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. Number 1 opens a gift. Every later player opens a wrapped gift or steals an open one, and a robbed player chooses again. It ends when everyone holds a gift.
Is there a white elephant rules printable?
Yes. Choose a sheet and press Print this list: the steps and the ruling under each print on one page. For a white elephant rules PDF, pick Save as PDF in the print box.
Are white elephant Yankee swap rules the same?
Yes. Yankee swap is another name for the same game, and the turns do not change. In a Yankee swap the gifts tend to be things people want, while white elephant gifts lean funny.
How many times can a gift be stolen?
Commonly twice: its third owner keeps it. Some groups allow three steals, and some set the limit on the player, not the gift. The Classic sheet uses two. Whatever you choose, say it before the first turn.
Does number 1 get to swap at the end?
In many groups, yes. Number 1 had nobody to steal from, so after the last turn they may swap with anyone. It is a variation, not a fixed rule, and some groups leave it out.
1: Everyone brings one wrapped gift and sets it on the gift table.One gift for each player, with no name on the tag. The host wraps a spare for a guest who forgot.
2: Draw numbers. They set the order of turns, starting with number 1.Draw before anyone sits down. A latecomer takes the next number up and goes last.
3: Number 1 picks a wrapped gift and opens it where all can see.Number 1 has nobody to steal from. That is why many groups give them step 9.
4: Each next player opens a wrapped gift or steals an open one.A stolen gift is handed over at once. Its owner cannot say no.
5: A robbed player chooses again: steal an open gift or open a wrapped one.House rule in most rooms: you cannot steal back the gift just taken from you in the same turn.
6: A turn ends when a player opens a wrapped gift.House rule for long chains: after three steals in one turn, the next robbed player has to open a wrapped gift.
7: A gift is frozen with its third owner. That means two steals.Two is the limit quoted most often. Some groups allow three. Say yours before the first gift is opened.
8: When the last wrapped gift is opened, every player holds one gift.If someone left early, skip their number. The last player then has two wrapped gifts to choose from.
9: Last move, if you agreed on it: number 1 may swap with any player.A common variation, not a fixed rule. Decide too whether this swap can take a frozen gift.
Show all 47 rules (38 more)
One steal (big groups) 7
1: One wrapped gift each goes on the table, and numbers are handed out at the door.With more than twenty players, pin the number order by the gifts so nobody asks whose turn it is.
2: The host calls each number in turn. Number 1 opens a wrapped gift.Call numbers, not names. Players listen for their own number and the host only counts.
3: Each next player opens a wrapped gift or steals an open one.One choice, made quickly. The host may count down from ten.
4: Each gift can be stolen once. After that it is safe with its new owner.Put a safe gift under its owner's chair, so nobody wastes a turn asking for it.
5: A robbed player opens a wrapped gift. They do not steal.This is what keeps a big room moving: no turn holds more than one steal.
6: Keep going until the table is empty.A second caller halfway round saves the host's voice.
7: Everyone keeps the gift they hold. Number 1 gets no last swap.In a big room a last swap starts a second game. Leave it out and nobody misses it.
No steals (young children) 7
1: Every child brings one wrapped gift, or the host wraps one for each child.Gifts of about the same size keep the first pick from feeling like the best pick.
2: Draw numbers, or let the youngest child go first.If the youngest goes first, draw numbers for everyone else.
3: In number order, each child picks a wrapped gift and opens it.One gift is opened at a time, so every child has a moment with the whole room watching.
4: An opened gift stays with the child who opened it. Nobody takes it away.This is the whole point of the sheet: no child watches a toy walk off.
5: When every gift is open, each child may offer one trade.A trade happens only if both children say yes. A no ends it, and a grown-up backs the no.
6: A grown-up counts down from ten, and the trading stops.Count slowly and out loud, so the stop is the count's doing and nobody's fault.
7: Every child goes home with the gift in their hands.A child who traded and is sorry may trade back if the other child agrees.
Wrapped to the end 7
1: One wrapped gift each goes on the table. Draw numbers for the order.Ask guests to hide the shape: a small gift in a big box changes every guess.
2: Number 1 picks a wrapped gift and keeps it wrapped.Shaking, squeezing and guessing aloud are all allowed. Peeking is not.
3: Each next player picks from the table or steals a wrapped gift from a player.Every steal is a guess about the wrapping paper, which is the fun of this sheet.
4: A robbed player picks again, from the table or from another player.As on the Classic sheet, no stealing straight back in the same turn.
5: A gift is frozen after two steals. Mark each steal on the wrapping.A pen stroke on the paper is enough. Two strokes and the gift stays put.
6: When the table is empty, number 1 may swap once, if you agreed on it.The swap is with any gift that is not frozen.
7: Everyone unwraps together on a count of three.Go round the room afterwards so each player can show what they ended up with.
Before the party (host to guests) 8
1: Bring one wrapped gift for each person who is playing.One gift for each player, not one for each household.
2: Keep to the spending limit on the invitation.The host names one limit for everyone. A lowest price as well as a highest keeps the gifts even.
3: Bring the kind of gift the host asked for: funny, useful or a mix.A joke gift next to a real present is the mismatch that upsets people. Name the kind in the invitation.
4: Leave your name off the tag.The giver stays secret until the end, or for good.
5: Choose a gift that anyone in the room could open.If children are playing, every gift has to suit a child.
6: Put your gift on the table when you arrive, and take a number.Numbers are drawn on arrival, so the order is fixed before anyone sees the pile.
7: Sit where you can see the gifts.A circle works best. Open gifts stay in view, so later players know what they can steal.
8: Listen while the host reads the rule sheet aloud.Read it once before number 1 goes. Questions are cheaper now than in the middle of a steal.
Twists to add 9
A countdown on every turnThe host counts down from ten. A player who has not chosen by zero opens a wrapped gift.
A kind word with every stealSay one true, nice thing about the gift, then take it. It keeps the stealing friendly.
Children cannot be robbedGifts held by the youngest players are safe. They may still steal from the grown-ups.
Name the giver at the endWhen every gift is open, each player names the giver of theirs. Givers own up at the end.
Number 1 may take a frozen giftThe last swap can thaw one frozen gift. Agree this before the game, not at the end.
One steal ticket for each playerHand each player a slip with their number. A steal costs the slip. No slip, no steal.
Open trading after the last turnFor a short spell after the last turn, any two players may trade if both agree.
Talk up a wrapped giftBefore a gift is opened, any player may praise it to the room. The giver stays secret, so bluffing is fair.
The thief takes the chair tooThe two players swap seats along with the gift, so the room can see where each gift went.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-09-30: five rule sheets to print and a list of twists, in our own words. The basic game on the Classic sheet (one wrapped gift each, turns in an order set by drawn numbers, the first player opens a gift, each later player opens a wrapped gift or steals an open one, a robbed player chooses again, a limit on how often a gift may be stolen, a possible last swap for the first player, the game ending when everyone holds a gift) was read on 2026-09-30 in two places that agree on it: Wikipedia, White elephant gift exchange, section Rules (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_gift_exchange), and White Elephant Rules, the basic rules and popular variations (https://www.whiteelephantrules.com/). They differ on the limit: Wikipedia says a gift can be stolen a set number of times, commonly two, and the second page lists three steals as a variation, so step 7 says two and its ruling says some groups allow three. Both give the first player's last swap as a variation, not a fixed rule. Every other line is a house rule of the editors, marked as a house rule or a ruling where it sits beside the basic game: no stealing straight back, three steals ending a turn, the One steal, No steals and Wrapped to the end sheets, the host's list and the twists. Rules vary from party to party and none is official. No sheet names a shop, a brand or a price, none involves money, alcohol or phones, and no line sorts players by anything but their drawn number or, on the children's sheet, their age. Licence: own work