Now that we’re in the thick of the holiday season, lots of people will be exchanging gifts with friends and co-workers and it seems more and more people are having a little fun with it, taking part in a White Elephant exchange.
A White Elephant exchange is kind of like a grab bag, where participants can actually “steal” gifts from each other. It originates from an old practice from the kings in Asia, where if the king was dissatisfied with one of his subjects, he would gift them a rare albino elephant, a burdensome gift that was expensive to maintain.
Well according to a new survey:
- Only 17% of people know the correct origin of the White Elephant exchange.
- 27% of people have played one in the past year, almost twice as many as those who took part in one five years ago (14%)
- The holiday season is the most popular time for a White Elephant, with 36% of folks are likely to play between December 15thand December 21st.
- Those in the West are most likely to have played White Elephant (71%0, followed by the Midwest (57%), South (55%), and the Northeast (50%)
But while White Elephant can be fun, it seems not many people wind up happy with their gifts.
- In fact, only 38% of people say they’ve received a gift they wanted the last time they played.
- 27% of participants say their favorite gift to bring to a White Elephant is a gag gift, followed by a household item (23%)
- Only 18% of people say they actually would like to get a gag gift in a White Elephant exchange.
Source:Yahoo