[Steppes] "White Elephant" gift exchange

[Crystal Lewis]

I for one will be leaving the two year old with Grandma and the 10 year old will be participating with Lochlan and I as a single entity. I'll just warn him ahead of time ;-) LOL...

I had planned on bringing something useful BUT I have LOTS of useless stuff stored in a box marked "Lochlan's Old Apartment Decorations" somewhere...<evil grin> Just let me know...

Lady Gwen




________________________________
From: Traci <traci at crimsonvision.net>
To: steppes at ansteorra.org
Sent: Thu, December 17, 2009 11:55:29 AM
Subject: Re: [Steppes] "White Elephant" gift exchange

"Parents may want to bring a gift specifically for that child to open for
him/herself in lieu of participating in the exchange."

Seconded.
Elizabeta (who's not sure if she will be there yet but still...)
On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 11:47 AM, Susan McMahill <sueorintx at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> I would also recommend that your child be old enough to understand that the
> package that they open may not be theirs to keep. While many would not try
> to steal a gift from a child under normal conditions, in this game, if the
> gift is something that would really be something that someone else would
> want, and it hasn't been stolen twice already, it is fair game for stealing
> by the person who might really want it.
>
>
>
> Recently we were at a party with similar rules for their gift exchange. One
> of the children opened a gift that was an autographed copy of a book that
> others of us valued highly. My dear husband, after we watched the child drop
> the book repeatedly and treat it with less than the respect it was due,
> managed to 'steal' the book right at the end of the exchange. It was the
> last steal, as the child had gotten it back after it was stolen from him
> originally. My dear husband then swapped with me for the alcoholic beverage
> I had received. The child came up to me later, quite upset that I had
> 'taken' his gift. I tried to explain why that book was so important to me.
> He seemed to understand, but....
>
>
>
> Parents may want to bring a gift specifically for that child to open for
> him/herself in lieu of participating in the exchange.
>
>
>
> Lyneya
>
> Well-behaved women Seldom make history - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
>
>
>
> > Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:38:31 -0600
> > From: simscath at gmail.com
> > To: steppes at ansteorra.org
> > Subject: Re: [Steppes] "White Elephant" gift exchange
>  >
> > Please also consider the feelings of the child that might open your gift.
> I
> > saw a child go from happy and excited to be participating to ready to cry
> > because of the gift he unwrapped. I swapped my gift for his after the
> game
> > so he wouldn't be quite so unhappy, but I would be sorry to see such a
> thing
> > happen again.
> >
> > You may think your offering is funny. Every adult you know may agree with
> > you, but please consider that there might be children present who would
> not
> > understand and be disappointed.
> >
> > Arianne Balfour
> >
> > On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 10:23 AM, Jay Rudin <rudin at peoplepc.com> wrote:
> >
> > > It might be a good idea if people understand that the gift exchange is
> a
> > > rather silly game, and here are the rules.
> > >
> > > Everyone who brings a gift will draw a number out of a hat. In order,
> we
> > > will each choose a gift.
> > >
> > > The joker in the deck is that you can either choose a present still
> under
> > > the tree and unwrap it, or you can choose somebody else's gift, and
> then
> > > they get to choose again.
> > >
> > > A given gift can only be stolen twice. Once it's taken by a second
> person,
> > > it's out of the game.
> > >
> > > Some of the gifts will be useful or fun; some will be awful, and some
> will
> > > be in between. The reasonable limits are that you need to be prepared
> to
> > > justify the gift you bring to the morally uptight parents of the
> > > eleven-year-old who might get it.
> > >
> > > It's a good time to pass on that useful SCA item that doesn't match
> your
> > > current persona, or that fit you twenty pounds ago, or that's used in
> an
> > > activity you no longer do. But it's also a good time to pass on that
> > > outrageous item you aren't willing to admit you own.
> > >
> > > Nobody has to play. If it doesn't sound fun, don't bring a gift to it.
> > > (And it's still fun to watch. People start *caring* about who's going
> to
> > > wind up with the Three Stooges clock.)
> > >
> > > Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin
> > >
> > > P.S. A note to newer members. In our period, Yuletide gifts were
> > > exchanged, if at all, at Twelfth Night, so the real gifts that we bring
> to
> > > our friends will happen at our event on January 2, not at the Christmas
> > > party.
> > >
> > > ________________________________________
> > > PeoplePC Online
> > > A better way to Internet
> > > http://www.peoplepc.com
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Steppes mailing list
> > > Steppes at lists.ansteorra.org
> > > http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/steppes-ansteorra.org
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Steppes mailing list
> > Steppes at lists.ansteorra.org
> > http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/steppes-ansteorra.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Steppes mailing list
> Steppes at lists.ansteorra.org
> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/steppes-ansteorra.org
>
_______________________________________________
Steppes mailing list
Steppes at lists.ansteorra.org
http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/steppes-ansteorra.org