I wrote an article a couple years back for Relevant Magazine and thought it’s relevant again with the holiday season…
Christmas is definitely here. Lights are a-twinkle around town. The advent candles are burning, and children everywhere are a part of numerous Christmas musicals.
Christmas also brings the proverbial White Elephant gift exchange. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this now common Christmas tradition, let me give you an explanation and some tips for walking away with the best gift.
The White Elephant gift exchange is a game likely dreamed up by genius guys, somewhere, who wanted an excuse for not knowing how to shop for their friends, girlfriends, wives and coworkers. Each person brings an unmarked gift, and then numbers are drawn to allow each person a turn to pick a present from the pile. The ingenious creators of the game also made a unique “out” to ensure they didn’t walk away with a disappointing gift. After a gift has been unwrapped, the partygoers who have not chosen their gift have the opportunity to steal one of the unwrapped gifts, rather than selecting from the pile of the unknown.
Click to read more. (expired link)