White Elephant Number Generator

Three ways to draw the order

Draw from a hat works like a bowl of paper slips: set how many people are playing, then pass one phone round. Each person taps once, sees their number, and passes it on. No number comes up twice.

Shuffle names is for when you know who is coming: type everyone's name, one per line, and shuffle them into an order you can send to the group chat.

Print numbers gives you cut-out cards numbered 1 up to 100. Fold them, put them in a bowl, and let people draw as they arrive.

Once everyone has a number

Player 1 opens the first gift. Everyone after that opens a gift or steals one, and a gift freezes after its third steal. The full rules, with variations for big groups and offices, are on our white elephant rules page.

Tips for a fair draw

• Draw numbers after everyone has arrived, so latecomers are not stuck at the end.
• Higher numbers are better: they have more gifts to choose from. That is why player 1 gets the last swap.
• If someone leaves early, let them go first and open, not steal.

Frequently asked questions