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Kazureigh_Black t1_j0y9jbw wrote

I wanna know where "white elephant" replaced "dirty santa" as the name of this activity. This is the first year I've heard of this new term and the old one makes a lot more sense ... sort of.

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JoostinOnline t1_j0ydjga wrote

White Elephant isn't a new term. I don't know how old it is, but I remember my parents having a white elephant party in the mid 90s.

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Jukimundo t1_j0yd1o5 wrote

I thought it was called 'Secret Santa', so you'll understand my confusion at white elephant

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JoostinOnline t1_j0ydgzm wrote

White Elephant (or Dirty Santa) is like Secret Santa, but you get bad joke gifts. It's about the humor.

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Jukimundo t1_j0yfaeg wrote

Ahh I see. Thanks for the info kind stranger!

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DoofusMagnus t1_j0yt8yt wrote

Secret Santa is when everyone pulls the name of another participant and buys that specific person a gift. Usually you try to get them something they genuinely want.

White Elephant/Yankee Swap is when everyone brings a gift without a specific recipient in mind, everyone pulls a number, and you pick a gift in that order and can choose to either keep it or force a previous opener to swap with you. A higher number is better because you have more to choose from, except for #1 who gets their pick of anything at the end. The gifts often tend to be on the silly side.

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dayglo_nightlight t1_j0z3yjz wrote

Secret Santa is a different game, where you buy a gift for a specific person. Dirty Santa/White Elephant you pick wrapped gifts at random and "steal" them from each other.

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Thorned_Rose t1_j0ydhbw wrote

I don't understand the term white elephant either. In my country it more refers to a sale of secondhand household nick nacks and decorative items 🤷🏻‍♀️

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TheChickenStrip t1_j0z81k8 wrote

A white elephant is originally a term used dating back to the 1600s for something very valuable but has no useful purpose and is not (or no longer) wanted.

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