White Elephant Generator

Type in the players' names, or just enter how many people are playing, and the white elephant generator shuffles a random turn order: number 1, number 2, and so on to the last player. Pick a rule variant and you get a short rules summary to go with it, written for that variant. Copy the order into the group chat, or print it and tape it next to the gift pile so nobody has to remember whose turn it is. It runs right in your browser, with nothing to sign up for or install.

With names, everyone can see when their turn is coming up, which keeps a big party moving. Numbers on their own suit parties where guests arrive at different times: print the order, cut the numbers apart, fold them and let each guest draw one at the door. Either way the order is random, so nobody can say the host stacked it in favor of their friends. Using a white elephant generator in front of everyone also settles the "who goes first" debate before it starts.

In a white elephant exchange, where you sit in the order is not a formality. Player 1 opens the first gift with nothing to compare it to and, in most variants, then has to watch everyone else choose. The last player sees every opened gift and can take the best one that isn't frozen. That's why many groups give player 1 a final swap once everyone has a gift: it turns the worst seat into one of the best. The Yankee swap variant here includes that final swap; the other variants don't, so add it as a house rule if your group likes it.

• Classic: a gift can be stolen twice, and whoever holds it after the second steal keeps it. A good default for most office and family parties.
• Yankee swap: practical gifts, three steals per gift and a final swap for player 1. More back-and-forth, so allow more time.
• Quick round: one steal per gift and one steal per turn. Use it for big groups, short lunch breaks, or when kids are playing.
• Dirty Santa: gifts never freeze, but anyone who loses a gift has to open a new one, so a turn can't turn into a long chain of steals. Popular gifts keep moving until the very end.
• Mystery boxes: nobody unwraps until the end, so people steal based on size, weight and wrapping alone. It works best when every gift is close to the same value.

Every turn ends when someone opens a new gift, so a game always has exactly as many turns as there are players. What changes from one variant to another is how many steals can pile up, and the table above gives the exact maximum for each. With 20 players, a Quick round can't go past 19 steals, a Classic game tops out at 38, and a Yankee swap can reach 58, including the final swap.

Steal limits are also what guarantee the game ends at all. Without a freeze rule or a limit per turn, a few players who all want the same gifts could keep stealing from each other in a circle, and the turn would never finish. If you have one evening and 30 guests, choose from the left side of the table.

They're different games, and people mix them up. In a white elephant exchange, everyone brings one gift for a shared pile and nobody knows who will end up with it. In Secret Santa, each person is assigned one specific person to buy for, and the match stays secret until the exchange. If that's the game you want, use the Secret Santa generator to draw names and send everyone a private link. For the full rules, steal etiquette and more variants, read the white elephant rules.

Whoever draws number 1. Turn order is random, which is why it helps to shuffle it in front of everyone or let people draw their numbers themselves.

Only if your rules say so. The Yankee swap variant in this generator includes it; Classic, Quick round, Dirty Santa and Mystery boxes do not. Decide before the first gift is opened.

It depends on the variant you choose: twice in Classic and Mystery boxes, three times in a Yankee swap, once in a Quick round, and without limit in Dirty Santa, where each turn allows only one steal.

No. Enter just the number of players and the white elephant generator shuffles the numbers. Hand them out at the door or let people draw them from a bowl.

Add them to the end of the order with the next number and put their gift in the pile. The last turn is usually the strongest, so if that feels too generous, slot them in right after the current player instead.