Bookish White Elephant Gift Exchange
3
Details
The idea
We will gather by the fire for a swap that's part game, part confession, part treasure hunt: everyone brings one wrapped, unmarked gift, and everyone leaves with a story attached to whatever they end up holding.
Your gift can go one of two ways:
Share a book you've loved. Wrap up a copy of something that changed how you read, made you miss your subway stop, or you've pressed into the hands of every friend who'd let you. A note tucked inside about why this one is worth six hours of someone else's next flight makes it even better.
Go bookish and creative. Anything a reader would love that isn't a book itself — think a hand-poured "old library" candle, a ridiculous and wonderful bookmark, literary tarot cards, a tote bag with a pun you're proud of, tea paired with a genre, a tiny book light for reading past when you should've turned it off, or a page-a-day of someone else's marginalia. If it would make a fellow book person laugh or gasp, it belongs on the table.
Budget: keep it around $30 — the fun here is thoughtfulness, not price tags.
How it plays
We'll go in a round, drawing numbers to set the order. Each person either unwraps a new gift from the pile or "steals" one that's already been opened — the classic white elephant tension of watching someone eye the thing you just claimed. A gift can only be stolen so many times before it's locked in for good, so there's a real art to knowing when to swipe and when to let it go.
By the end, nobody has what they started with, everybody has a story, and at least one person is walking away suspiciously pleased with a candle that smells like a Victorian library.
A few notes for gift-givers
Wrap it so no one can guess what's inside — half the fun is the reveal. If you're sharing a beloved book, a well-loved paperback is just as welcome as something new; there's something lovely about a copy that already has another reader's fold marks in it. And if inspiration is scarce, "a book you'd hand a stranger on a long flight" is never a bad place to start.
Activity Info
Schedule
Start Time
Dec 19 5:00PM PST
to
End Time
Dec 19 6:30PM PST
Location
The Gables Wine Country Inn, Petaluma Hill Road, Santa Rosa, CA, USA