This simple holiday game, which only slightly resembles Secret Santa, can be full of fun and merriment with your own unique personal twist.

Everyone brings a gift, everyone gets a gift, but it is up to the host to decide on the theme. Why make it boring when you can add all kinds of surprises? The possibilities are endless -- tell everyone to regift their worst gift or buy something outrageous, juvenile or incredibly risque. The host may want to put certain limits on things such as cost or type of gift. All the guests bring a wrapped surprise to put in the pile, and then the fun begins.

The most common way to play this game is where everyone hopes for the "best gift" in the pile. It starts with a circle of players, each numbered in turn. The first player selects a gift from the pile and opens it making sure to let everyone see what their prize is. The next person decides if they want a chance at an unopened gift or to "steal" the gift from a player before them. Each player gets to make the decision of take or steal, although each person can only be stolen from three times. When the game has gone full circle, the person without a gift gets to steal or take the last wrapped package. It's a game of chance and, with the right crowd, a lot of fun and laughter.

There are lots of variations, starting with simply pulling people's names from a hat instead of going in a numbered order. Or you can write a holiday-themed poem with instructions that must be followed to indicate who goes next or whether they steal or take. "No. 6, it's your time to go. Grab a gift and don't be slow. Now put on a smile so they won't be sore, 'cause you must swap with No. 4. No. 7, we haven't forgotten you. So choose your gift and don't be blue. Consider well, and when all is said, trade with someone wearing red." You can write your own poem or find one of many of the samples out there already.

You can also mandate that no one unwraps their gift until all have been chosen so that everyone who decides to swap is truly surprised at the end. It becomes a game of chance that works best with a half-dozen folks or more, although the more people that participate, the longer it will take. This activity is a fun present swap in the form of a game. Another popular version involves a pair of dice; each person in turn rolls the dice. If they roll an even number, they get to pick a gift, the game continues until everyone has a gift.

The term "White Elephant" refers to an "undesirable possession" or in this case, gift. There are several locally known names for this popular game, which is played during the holidays. In New England, it's called a Yankee Swap, and in the Deep South, it's Dirty Santa. By the way, it is an unfounded rumor that the term White Elephant traces back to the late 19th century when the King of Siam routinely gifted those he didn't like with a white elephant; apparently the upkeep of a white elephant was a big burden and not easy to get rid of.

In keeping with the notion of a white elephant being something you didn't want, a joke was published in 1907 in a Nebraska newspaper, The Columbus Journal. "A shocking thing happened in one of our nearby towns," the joke begins. "One of the popular society women announced a 'white elephant party.' Every guest was to bring something she could not find any use for and yet too good to throw away ... Nine out of the 11 women invited brought their husbands."

Whichever version of the game you choose, there's a lot of leeway to make it your own and lots of fun. If you know your guests, it should be easy to find a theme that will entertain with laughter. Best of all, everyone gets to go home with a surprise "gift."