White elephant generator
Draw a random turn order, then run the game on screen — it keeps count of how many times each gift has been stolen and tells you when one is frozen.
Your turn order will appear here.
Everyone brings one wrapped gift. Player 1 opens, and everyone after can open a new gift or steal one that’s already been opened.
How a white elephant exchange works
Everyone brings one wrapped gift, nobody is assigned anyone, and the fun comes from stealing. It goes by a few names — Yankee Swap, Dirty Santa, thieving Secret Santa — and the rules are much the same each time.
Add everyone. Paste the group one name per line. Everyone brings one wrapped gift to the pile.
Set your house rules. Choose how many times a gift can be stolen before it freezes, and whether player 1 gets a final turn.
Draw the turn order. Press DRAW TURN ORDER for a random, unbiased running order.
Run the game. Step through the turns on screen and tap Stolen each time a gift changes hands — the tracker freezes it at your limit.
The rule everyone forgets
The steal limit. Halfway through the night nobody can remember whether the good gift has been taken twice or three times, and the argument takes longer than the round. That is the one thing this page keeps track of for you — tap Stolen each time a gift moves, and it says plainly when a gift is frozen.
House rules worth agreeing
- Steal limit
- Three is standard. Fewer keeps it quick; none can leave one gift bouncing all night.
- No steal-backs
- You cannot immediately retake the gift just stolen from you. Steal elsewhere or open new.
- Player 1’s last turn
- They opened with nothing to steal, so they get a final go at anything unfrozen.
- A price cap
- Set it before anyone shops. It keeps the pile even and the stealing fair.
White elephant or Secret Santa?
They solve different problems. Secret Santa assigns each person someone to buy for, so gifts are personal and the surprise is who had you. White elephant assigns nobody — one general gift each, and the game is the stealing. Big offices often run white elephant because nobody has to know anyone well.
Want the assigned version instead? Use the Secret Santa generator. To split a party into teams, try the team generator, or settle who hosts with the spinner wheel.
White elephant questions
How do you pick the order for a white elephant gift exchange?
Draw numbers at random. Paste everyone’s names above and press DRAW TURN ORDER — the list is shuffled with your browser’s cryptographic random number generator, so no position is favoured. Player 1 goes first, and so on down the list.
What are the rules of white elephant?
Everyone brings one wrapped gift and they go in a pile. Player 1 unwraps one. Every player after can either unwrap a new gift or steal one that is already open. Anyone whose gift is stolen takes another turn immediately — steal from someone else, or open something new. Play continues until every gift is unwrapped.
How many times can a gift be stolen?
Most groups cap it at three, after which the gift is frozen and stays with whoever holds it. Without a cap a popular gift can bounce around all night. You can set a cap of one, two, three or none above, and the tracker tells you when a gift is frozen.
Can you steal back a gift that was just taken from you?
Usually not — the common house rule is no immediate steal-backs, so you have to steal from someone else or open a new gift. It keeps two people from trading the same present forever. Agree it before you start.
Does player 1 get another turn?
Traditionally yes. Player 1 opened first with nothing to steal, so at the end they get one last turn to swap for anything not frozen. That option is on by default here and you can turn it off.
Is white elephant the same as Secret Santa?
No. In Secret Santa everyone is assigned one person to buy for, in secret. In white elephant nobody is assigned anyone — everyone brings one general gift and they get stolen and swapped. For the assigned version use our Secret Santa generator instead.
How many people do you need?
At least two, but it is much better with six or more — more gifts in play means more to steal. There is no upper limit here.