It is time for the..... 11th Annual White Elephant Christmas Party,
I have decided to put the party after Christmas, due to craziness before hand with scheduling and people going out of town!
So, it will be on
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 6pm
(earlier time due to families with kids).
Now the place has Yet to be determined.
But MARK YOUR CALENDARS for
Wednesday, Dec 26th this is always a fun night!
To kick off this Years...i found the History of the Term "White Elephant"!
**(Pulled from website, http://sarcasticshrub.blogspot.com/) i don't want to be sighted for plagiarism***
"Have you ever been to one of those Christmas parties where you needed to bring a ‘white elephant’ present? You know, a gift that while being useless is still a gift. The gifting gets going when the first person gets to choose one of the wrapped gifts under the tree. Everyone watches to see what they got and so on down the line. Each subsequent person has a choice between one of the presents already opened or one that has not been opened yet (called stealing). If someone looses their present to another, they now can choose from another new present or steal an opened present from another party goer and so on down the line till everything is gone. To keep this round robin from going on till new year, a present is ‘locked’ on the 4th person who receives it.
Have you ever wondered where the term ‘white elephant’ came from and why it represents a useless present? Like most idioms or sayings, it’s based on some truth from our past.
In some Asian countries, white elephants are sacred and a symbol of royal power; all those discovered are presented to the king. Usually in a ceremony, not confiscated from the finder. The more white elephants the king has, the greater his standing.
In the past white elephants were given as gifts to the king’s friends and allies. The animals needed a lot of care and, being sacred, could not be put to work. They were a great financial burden on the recipient so only the very rich could afford them.
White elephants were sometimes given as a present to enemies (often a lesser noble with whom the king did not like). The unfortunate new owner of this brand spanking new white elephant, unable to use it for work and make any profit from it, was obliged to take care of it. Being of the regular Joe variety of citizen, they would suffer bankruptcy and ruin.
Because of this, the term “white elephant” came, in English, to mean a thing which is more trouble than it is worth, or has outlived its usefulness to the person who has it. While the item may be useful to others, its current owner would usually be glad to be rid of it.
So the next time you go to one of these white elephant parties you can be the uber nerd and recite the history of the term white elephant, or just steal away that toilet paper roll holder with the built in radio you’ve always wanted and be happy that you didn’t get the battery operated carrot peeler you brought."
