Christmas Blog

To play the game of Dirty Santa or Yankee Swap one must have the spirit of fun and adventure. The game, also known as the Chinese Auction, involves exchanging gifts where the participants do not know who is gifting what. Although this game obviously had a Christmas related beginning, one obscure version traces the origins of the game to the American Civil War. It seems that during the war, to break the monotony of battle, the Yankees and the Confederates swapped prisoners; hence, the name Yankee Swap. There are many versions and variations of the game which has now evolved into a popular party game for any occasion.

Rules of the game

1. In one of the popular versions of the game any number of people can participate. Each participant is asked to bring along a gift worth no more than a few dollars (generally within $10).
2. The unwritten rule of the game is that the gifts are not bought but are items that one finds lying around the house or the garage, things that are valuable but for which you have found no use.
3. Each player picks out a number from a hat and according to his or her number gets a crack at picking a gift.
4. The person who picks the first gift opens it to show it to the rest of the company. Then number two picks a gift and after unwrapping it either keeps it or swaps it with number one.
5. The game goes on till everyone has had their chance and then finally number one gets to either keep their original gift or swap it with anything else they like.

Do’s

• Everyone including children can participate in the game.
• Remember that the minimum number of participants should be four or else the game is no fun.

Don’ts

• Play the game with a pinch of salt and do not take the outcome seriously.
• Do not bring gifts that are absolute junk and unlikely to be useful to anyone.

Posted by admin on December 20th, 2006
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