Guides for hosts and players

White elephant guides

Practical reading for anyone running or joining a gift swap, from the rules to the room setup.

Every guide below was written for Gift Stampede. Read them before your party, share them with your group, or use them to settle a rules debate.

• White elephant rules explained
  How the classic gift-stealing game works, why each rule exists, and what to decide before the first bow comes off.
• White elephant gift ideas by budget
  What tends to get stolen at each spending level, and what to leave on the shelf.
• Office gift swap guide
  Plan a workplace white elephant that respects budgets, schedules, remote coworkers, and workplace norms.
• Yankee Swap variants
  Steal limits, locks, final steals, and chains: what each house rule changes and how to set it up in the tracker.
• Hosting a white elephant party
  Practical tips for the invitation, the room, the pace of the game, and the small details that keep a swap fun.

Want to see exactly how the pick order and steal tracker behave? Read How Gift Stampede works.

Last updated October 10, 2026.