(no subject)

[cyrano]

So... tomorrow as part of work's holiday festivities is a White Elephant gift exchange. Which I'm pretty sure I don't understand.
Go out and buy something that you think nobody's going to want so that everybody can take home more stuff they don't need.
It feels... a little offencive, even. Like buying food that nobody likes and making them eat it when they're full and there are people outside going hungry.

Comments

[jesshartley.livejournal.com]

Originally, White Elephant exchanges were more like regifting parties... take something you'd been given but didn't use and give it back out so that maybe someone who would like it would end up with it.

But, American's fear of being seen as cheap/poor along with our snobbery ended up making it into kind of a farce.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

That, at least, makes a little more sense.
I don't think it makes me feel any better about it, unfortunately.

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

Feel free to actually regift something. For my department party I'm packing up a couple of craftsy Christmas decor items (in good shape) that I'd pulled from my collection a while back for garage sale doom. They're nice enough, and I'm pretty sure that someone will want them more than I do. The stuffed Chilly Willy CD wallet I took a couple of years ago was a surprise hit!

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I think that will make me feel better. I'm going to check the DVDs.

[mnarra.livejournal.com]

I offer you a way to subvert the tradition to something more pleasing:

When in Corvallis, Jim would have a W.E. exchange every year. There was a brutally offensive plaster bust that made the rounds. Every. Year. People came to fear the bust. They loathed the bust. They told stories about how they nearly got the bust, or how they sluffed it off on someone the next year at the same W.E. exchange.

I got the bust three times. I disliked it enormously, but there were rules about the bust. One couldn't just throw the bust away. One couldn't give the bust outside of the crowd in which it originated -- I couldn't, for instance, mail it to my Aunt in Peru. And the giving had to be fair; I couldn't leave it on a doorstep, either. I rid myself of the bust one year, only to get it for my birthday in February, gave it away again, got it back as a housewarming gift that summer. Bad year for me. The stories were good, though.

So, to keep the history, we began putting names and dates on the bottom and back of the bust, to chronical it's loathsome journey through all our lives. The result is that the bust became somewhat valuable, as it showed tiny glimpses of the crowd and its interactions.

Go, find something loathsome, and sign it, date it, and print out some instructions to go with it. Make a tradition.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

If I had more time, I would consider this. Alas, I discovered this aspect of the tradition about 24 hours before the party.

[motleypolitico.livejournal.com]

Also, in my circle, we took a certain amount of pride in finding gifts that were the subject of the maximal number of 'steals'. So, in-demand gifts were never a bad thing around my circle of friends.

I know what I'd steal gleefully in a White Elephant - a collection of "The Best of Coyote's CD Mixes"

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

This would be a tempting option, if I had more time.
However, I do notice that you don't have a Christmas gift from me yet. (:

[miss-friday.livejournal.com]

Sorry I can't help you out. My one truly hideous possession (Courtesy of a classroom clean out.) is going to the W.E. exchange at my own staff luncheon.

Provided I don't keel over first. Brain has already melted.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Brain is highly overrated.

[katie-in-london.livejournal.com]

I went to my first (mini) WE party a few weeks ago. There were 7 of us, close theater friends, and we had a fun, silly, slightly competitive time. Yes I did end up bringing home "junk": a few cheap picture frames. I plan to 'regift' these tomorrow at the next WE party.
I understand your concern, but the party itself seemed more about the fun game aspect and socializing than anything else... I like the CD idea :)

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I'd probably be more enthusiastic about the CD idea if these were people that I knew much about (It's a work-related holiday party) or had some idea what their musical tastes were or if I had a little more time (so I could burn and print a copy of the Christmas mix) and.... it weren't pretty blatantly a violation of US Copyright Law. (And that last part goes back to 'people I know more about'.)

However... I don't have anything in Santa's bag for you, and rumor is you've been a good girl this year. You should stop by the mix page and see if there's anything you'd like in your stocking.

[kiras.livejournal.com]

One of the most popular items at this year's WE exchange at my work this year: lotto tickets. Somebody bought about 15 $1 entries for the next MegaMillions drawing and put the printed ticket in a tiny holiday tin. It got "stolen" several times and the final recipient won $6.

Another popular gift here: the Big-Box-Of-Crap-From-My-Office-I-Don't-Want-Anymore. These are significantly less sought after, but always good for a laugh.