White Elephants

I went to two White Elephant holiday parties this year. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a White Elephant is a gift you’ll never use or desperately need to be rid of. Participants wrap the item and add it to a pile of presents from other partiers. You draw numbers and pick a wrapped present from the pile. There is the opportunity to steal items that have already been opened. It’s always interesting to see what appears at these parties. One person’s white elephant could very well be another’s treasure.

The first party was at my workplace. I wound up with a half obsolete calendar. The most stolen items were a hot dog toaster and an authenticated, autographed photo of Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak. There was one cookbook roaming around the party, but I refrained myself from stealing that when my turn arrived.

The second White Elephant exchange was with our friends on Christmas Eve. I regifted the calendar from the first party. We also brought a Dog Shaming calendar and the book, Fifty Shades of Chicken (a takeoff on the Fifty Shades of Grey books). After the dust had settled, I wound up with this “treasure” – NOT.

Julian had better luck.

Treats from Texas, courtesy of our friend Gayle.

The party also marked the return of the notorious Lizard on a Stick. It took a year’s hiatus from the White Elephant exchange, but came back to haunt our dreams this year. It was the last gift unwrapped. People actually do consume lizards on a stick, as seen in this video. Fortunately, everyone brought far tastier fare to the party than desiccated reptiles.

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