A Wacky White Elephant Party

by Brad
(Portland, OR)

The white elephant party is one of our favorite themes. It has become a much-anticipated yearly tradition for our friends and family. Here are some of the highlights we work into our party every year...

Use Decorations from White Elephants of Years Past -- Over the years we have gotten some classic white elephant gifts. Now we put them to use as decorations for the party. If this is your first year, check out Goodwill for some great centerpiece items to use in decorating. The frog in the picture above is one of our best white elephant scores.

Include a Signature Drink -- Every year we try to come up with a special drink just for the party (although some have been so popular that they've come back many times). Red, white, or green drinks can be good choices at holiday time. Here are two drinks that have been party hits:

The Holiday Hamilton -- A shot of tequila, half a shot of Rose's lime juice, three shots of cranberry juice, and a slice of lime. Serve over ice.

Cosmo Holiday Punch (Makes a full punch bowl) -- 8 cups chilled cranberry juice, 1 can 12 oz. frozen lime juice, 1 can 12 oz. frozen cranberry juice, 8 cups chilled 7 Up, 4 cups chilled orange vodka, 2/3 cup chilled orange liqueur. Stir into punch bowl and add lime slices or cranberries for garnish.

** To make the drinks even more special, we sometimes serve them in with light up ice cubes, sugar the rims of the glasses, or serve them in funny cups.

Sell Your Goods -- The highlight of a white elephant party is the white elephant exchange. A fun addition to this game is having everybody "sell" their gifts as they open them. This can sometimes be a challenge (what can you say about a toilet seat?) Sometimes the selling even works in reverse if you are lucky enough to get a gift you actually want to hold on to.

A white elephant party is a great theme. I highly recommend adding it to your list of holiday traditions!