White Elephant
White Elephant online – rules, variants & setup with Wichtlify
White Elephant is all about humorous, intentionally impractical gifts. Think odd household items, failed decor, or small gag presents. The fun comes from surprise and creativity without putting anyone on the spot.
- Easy setup, quick organization
- Low budget (e.g. €5-10) recommended
- Optional anonymous delivery for more surprise
At a glance
What to expect on this page
- 1Run a White Elephant exchange online
- 2Option 1: White Elephant only (one assigned person)
- 3Option 2: Secret Santa plus White Elephant (two assignments)
- 4How to set up White Elephant in Wichtlify
- 5Email notifications (optional)
- 6Fairness & Exclusions
Practical Guide
Run a White Elephant exchange online
White Elephant is all about humorous, intentionally impractical gifts. Think odd household items, failed decor, or small gag presents. The fun comes from surprise and creativity without putting anyone on the spot.
Important: funny is fine, disrespect is not. Avoid offensive, dangerous, or unhygienic items.
Option 1: White Elephant only (one assigned person)
If you only want the funny gift round, use the normal draw as your White Elephant exchange. Do not enable an extra second round; each person gets exactly one person to surprise with a quirky gift.
Want more chaos and more fun? Combine both: each person gets one assignment for the regular gift and one for the White Elephant gift.
Option 2: Secret Santa plus White Elephant (two assignments)
Are you drawing one or two people? Option 1 means one assignment. Option 2 adds a second assignment for the White Elephant round. In small groups, the same person can appear in both roles.
How do you choose the right setup? In the group settings, leave the extra round off for White Elephant only. Turn it on if you want Secret Santa plus White Elephant.
How to set up White Elephant in Wichtlify
Do members see who they are giving gifts to? Yes – via your personal link as soon as the draw has been made.
Can the admin see the results? The personal links can be shared without opening them - so the assignment remains hidden from the admin.
Practical tips for private groups, teams, and community rounds
Can we redraw later? Yes, the draw can be overwritten (e.g. if someone joins later).
Create your group, choose the appropriate variant and share the personal participant links.
Practical setup with Wichtlify
Wichtlify combines inspiration and execution, so you get both White Elephant ideas and a clear technical flow for fair, transparent draws.
From invitations to wish lists and the draw itself, everything stays in one process. Advanced tools such as Smart Draw, Auto-Reminder, and Insights are available with Wichtlify Pro.
Wichtlify Pro
If you need more control: Wichtlify Pro
For larger or recurring rounds, Wichtlify Pro expands the standard process to include Smart Draw, emergency assistant, auto-reminder, admin broadcasts as well as insights and event status.
This allows you to reduce manual effort, react more quickly to changes and keep the group stable despite high dynamics.
FAQ
What is White Elephant?
White Elephant is a gift exchange built around funny, intentionally impractical presents. The goal is shared entertainment, not gift value.
Can I combine Secret Santa and White Elephant?
Yes. You can keep the regular Secret Santa draw and add White Elephant as a second gift round for the same group.
Ready for the next step?
Start on your preferred platform and get the group to the draw result without extra coordination loops.