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White Elephant Rules Generator
Pick a variant, set the budget and group size, generate a clean printable rules card. No signup. Free forever.
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Group details
Classic White Elephant — Rules
Our Party
Price limit
$25
Participants
10
Steal limit
3
How it works
- Wrap your gift and bring it to the party.
- Place all wrapped gifts in the center.
- Each person draws a number to determine turn order.
- Person #1 picks a wrapped gift and opens it.
- Each next person can either open a new gift OR steal an opened one.
- Continue until everyone has had a turn.
- Each gift can be stolen up to 3 times.
- Person #1 gets one final swap at the end (optional).
- If you're stolen from, immediately pick a new wrapped gift.
Etiquette
- No regifting from a previous year's exchange.
- Stay within the price limit — don't undercut, don't overspend.
- Keep the mood light; the chaos is the point.
The variants explained
- Classic White Elephant — everyone brings a wrapped gift, draws a number, and either opens an unwrapped gift OR steals from someone earlier. Standard 3-steal limit per gift.
- Dirty Santa — same as classic but with no steal limit and the option to "freeze" a gift after a set number of steals.
- Yankee Swap — slight variant with simpler rules, often with a wishlist component.
- All Steal — chaotic variant where ANY gift can be stolen at any time. Best for groups under 10 people.
Choosing the right variant
Family parties: Classic, with a 2-steal limit. Office parties: Yankee Swap (less chaotic, safer for workplace dynamics). Friends: Dirty Santa or All Steal for maximum chaos.
Want to pair with Secret Santa?
If you also need Secret Santa assignments for a sub-group, use the Secret Santa Generator.