Deriving from the Christian tradition, the ritual is known as Secret Santa in the United States and the United Kingdom; as Kris Kringel or Kris Kindle (
Pollyanna is a somewhat general term, and is used for both Secret Santas and white elephant style exchanges and also exchanges where who gets what gift is decided after all the gifts are bought and wrapped.
The Yankee Swap – Also known as Dirty Santa or White Elephant, this one brings out the Grinch in everyone. Each player brings a gift within a set price limit that every other player would enjoy. Participants take turns either selecting a gift or stealing one from a player who has already chosen one.
What is a Secret Santa gift exchange? Secret Santa involves the same kind of mystery as a white elephant exchange, but each person in the group is assigned and aware of a designated person they'll be gifting to. However, you're not allowed to reveal whose Secret Santa you are until it's time to open the gifts.
A white elephant gift exchange, Yankee swap or Dirty Santa is a party game where amusing and impractical gifts are exchanged during festivities.
Today, White Elephant parties — also known as Dirty Santa or Yankee Swap parties — are a staple of the holiday season. The exact rules vary from party to party but, typically, people bring wrapped gifts that are placed under a tree. Attendees then draw numbers to determine the order in which they'll select gifts.
We're not sure where the name "Dirty Santa" originated, but it's meant to refer to game participants, the "Santas," stealing desirable gifts from each other. As opposed to Secret Santa, where participants are trying to guess who their personalized gifts are from, Dirty Santa adds a fun, competitive twist.
gift exchange, also called ceremonial exchange, the transfer of goods or services that, although regarded as voluntary by the people involved, is part of the expected social behaviour.
White elephant is a gift exchange, so each person must bring one wrapped present to the Christmas party.
The Tradition of Secret Santa
From the German 'Christkindl' (meaning “Christ Child”) the name Kris Kringel is also used in Australia and Great Britain to refer to a secret Santa gift exchange.
But mostly terms -- like Yankee Swap, Cutthroat Christmas, and Dirty Santa -- are used interchangeably. Yankee Swap might ring a bell for fans of "The Office," as one Christmas Michael Scott (Steve Carell) throws the office into turmoil by turning their Secret Santa into a swap at the last minute.
Using a Hat
This is the most basic way to draw names. Write people's names on slips of paper, toss them into a hat (or bowl, or box, or whatever), and pass it around for drawing. As long as no one looks right at their person, it works pretty well.
Yankee Swap is more popular in New England and is a reference to the swapping of prisoners of war during the American Civil War. Some claim that generals made a game out of these swaps, and they even assigned different values to each prisoner, kind of like a brute barter system.
Everyone gets a randomly drawn number. The person with the lowest number goes first. The first person chooses a gift from the gift pile, opens the gift for all to see, and keeps it for the time being. person's gift is swapped, that person can immediately unwrap a new gift or swap it with another person's gift.
The person who gives you the gift or inheritance is called the disponer. The person who receives the gift or inheritance is called the beneficiary.
Some common synonyms of present are afford, bestow, confer, donate, and give. While all these words mean "to convey to another as a possession," present carries a note of formality and ceremony.
A souvenir (from French 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance, is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a memento of a visit.
Kris Kringle (or K.K.) starts by putting the names of all employees in a hat. Each person draws out the name of a colleague and that is the person that they need to buy a gift for. K.K. is also referred to as “Secret Santa” and the idea is to not tell anyone whose name they have drawn.
an arrangement in which each one of a group of friends or colleagues buys a small Christmas gift for one other person in the group. The person receiving the gift does not know who chose it.
If you've played Secret Santa before, you know the drill: A group of people are assigned to buy a gift for another person anonymously. The game is named like so because the gift receivers have no idea who their "secret Santa" is.
“Green” Elephant Rules:
Each player brings one wrapped gift to contribute to a common pool. Players draw numbers to determine what order they will go in. The first player selects a gift from the pool and opens it. They will later have a chance to steal a gift at the end of the game if they want.
The Chinese gift exchange parties are also called Christmas Swaps, Santakkau, Dirty Santa, Grinch Exchange, and most of us know of the White Elephant Christmas party.
White Elephant – a useless gift
So the cunning kings of Siam, as the story goes, used to give white elephants away to anyone who displeased them or had fallen out of favour so that they would be forced to spend a fortune keeping the precious animals.
During the American Civil War Southerners spoke of all Northerners as Yankees. The British called United States soldiers Yanks in both world wars, and the term has become popular as a nickname for all Americans. And called it Macaroni.