While dinner is the most delicious and lengthiest portion of our holiday party, the real attraction is the post-dinner Data41 tradition: White Elephant.
With a company comprised mostly of men, White Elephant is not just a game. It is a contest. A contest to see who can find and come up with the best, most absurd and ridiculous gift in the western United States. With an increased spend limit ($20 max), creativity surged and gifts were hilarious.
This year, we did pretty well. Pretty well indeed.
There are a few versions of White Elephant, but the Data41 tradition goes a little like this…
Everyone brings a wrapped gift that costs no more than $20. Every person draws a number out of a bowl between one and however many people are playing. Number one is the first person to pick a gift. While one might seem like the best number, that may not necessarily be true. After one has opened the gift, number two goes. Number two has the opportunity to “steal” number one’s gift or choose a new gift from the pile. A gift can be stolen three times and then it is permanently with the last person who stole it the third time. The game ends when the last person has either opened the last gift in the pile or stolen a gift.
In our game there seemed to be three evils:
2. The wrapping of the gifts- One of our teammates, Mark, continuously picked gifts that were incredibly hard to open. Secret strings, excessive tape and knotted gift bags were Mark’s enemy that night and everyone else’s pleasure. Next year there will undoubtedly be some duct tape used to see people struggling to get their gift unwrapped. As well as the three people that stole his opened gifts the wrapping of the gifts and stealing gifts from those who really wanted what they had unwrapped.
3. Stealing gifts from those who really wanted what they had unwrapped- there were some fights over a few items during White Elephant that resulted in gifts being stolen the maximum number of times. The most stolen items were Merry-okee, the American Cocktail book, and the Great Mustaches mug with an accompanying mustache key chain.
So if you need an idea for a White Elephant gift for your holiday party this year, here is the full list of what surfaced at ours. Enjoy!
Hallmark Merry-Okee with songbook
Shake Weight
Arm Wrestlemania
Great Mustaches mug
Sophie Styling Head Liv Doll
iTunes gift card
Hog Wild Dog Popper
Leather Paperweights
See’s Candie- 1lb. box
Flask Eye Chart
The Clapper
Easy Rider V- Twin Motorcycle Wine Bottle Holder
No I will not fix your computer- t-shirt
The American Cocktail book
Rick Perry toilet paper
Leopard Snuggie
