Here's How To Include Children In The White Elephant Game

There’s nothing quite like a good game or gift exchange during the holidays. Not only do you get to have fun with your family and friends, you also get to laugh a lot, receive awesome gifts and spend quality time with the people you love.

The only problem here is that children often cannot participate in adult games such as White Elephant, which can end up spoiling your night for two reasons: your kid will either demand your undivided attention the moment you plan to steal a gift from someone or you’ll feel guilty that the grown-ups are having so much fun while the young ones are in front of the TV.

Sure, one way to deal with this situation is to give them some toys or treats and hope to god that they’ll ignore you during the gift exchange, but speaking from experience, this often doesn’t end up the way you wanted.

While it’s safe to say that kids (especially really young ones) shouldn’t actually play White Elephant (just think about all the presents your friends bought for the occasion!), it’s a good idea to somehow include them in the game without them actually swapping gifts or you stealing from a 6-year-old. Depending on the kids who are going to be present at your party, here are some awesome jobs you could give the children:

1. YOUR VERY OWN LITTLE HELPER

Now, we all know that kids love to imitate adults. What they love even more is to feel super important. So, what you have to do here is give them a job that’s interesting enough for them to be absorbed in the game without disrupting the dynamics of the swap. 

That being said, every kid could help one or more grown-ups during the gift exchange, unwrapping presents or advising the adults which gift to keep for themselves and which to swap. Keep in mind, though, that all or some of the grown-ups have to agree to include the kids in the game, giving them some freedom in the decision-making process.

2. GAME REFEREE

This is an excellent option for older kids who know how to read. As previously stated, children love to be in charge, so there’s not a better position for them than being the boss. You could, for example, print out the rules of the game and ask them to read them at the beginning of the gift swap or have the kids read the story if you’re playing the left-right gift exchange. To make kids even more helpful, you could put them in charge of organizing the game or handling small tasks (they could announce whose turn it is to play, tell people where to sit, etc.).

3. PRESENT PASSER OUTER

Think your kids are too young for serious roles? Well, no one is too young to be a present passer outer. This might be a boring task for adults, but you can be certain your kids will enjoy touching all the presents and passing them out during the swap. It’s a nice and easy way to include them in the fun without worrying that they’ll do something wrong.

4. THE PAPER COLLECTOR

This one’s my personal favorite, as it not only keeps the kids busy, it also keeps the house clean. Jokes aside, the position of the wrapping paper collector is an engaging job for kids. Though it might seem odd to assign children the task of cleaning up, they’ll probably enjoy playing with brightly-colored wrapping paper. Still, don’t be too surprised if the paper ends up all around the house instead of in the trash can.

5. PLAYER (KIDS EDITION)

If most of your family members and friends have kids, you could organize their very own version of a gift swap. Obviously, it would be best for them to play a simplified game such as the musical chairs game or any other similar game that doesn’t include swapping. You should consider holding the exchange for the kids before the adult swap so that they would receive their toys before you start playing, which is great because the kids will have something to do during the grown-up game.

These five options can all work well, but you should still be aware that not all kids will want to participate in such a fashion. Another thing to consider is the type of naughty presents that will most likely show up during some point of the game and whether all the parents and kids will be comfortable in such a situation.

To make sure that everyone will enjoy themselves at the party, talk to the other parents and check with them if they are fine with their kids participating in the exchange. You can also ask other adults if they have any ideas how to include the children in the game or if they believe that you should organize a separate activity for the young ones.

Whatever you decide to do, it’s important to respect everyone’s wishes and organize the game in advance so that there wouldn’t be any unpleasant surprises during the game itself. That way, you can also relax and take pleasure knowing that the swap will go as smoothly as possible for everyone involved.