Virtual White Elephant Checklist for Remote Teams
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A practical guide from your budget conversation to shipping gifts.
If you work in a distributed team, you may think traditional holiday team-building activities like White Elephant aren't doable. Not anymore! We've built a platform to allow you to host a virtual White Elephant exchange.
It doesn’t matter whether your team is spread across cities, time zones, or continents. This tradition still works. White Elephant is fun, social, and works surprisingly well over a video call when set up correctly. The key is creating a structure that keeps things simple for your team, regardless of where they’re located or how tech-savvy they are.
This walkthrough covers every step: setting a budget, collecting gifts, hosting the game, and following up afterward. Keep it handy as a reference or scroll to the checklist and work straight from there.
If you prefer a single platform that automates the process, tools such as WhiteElephantGame.com can handle most of the tasks below, but the same plan works even if you run the event manually.
1. Decide on a Budget
Setting a budget is the first step in any successful White Elephant exchange. A clear spending limit makes it easy on participants to pick gifts.
Choose a price cap
Most companies pick $15–$30. Higher caps like $40 or $50 can be fun, but be aware of company budget or personal budgets if participants are funding the gifts themselves.
Confirm who pays
- Company-funded (recommended): No reimbursement paperwork for staff and the cost feels like a perk. This also makes it easy to get people excited about the exchange. When companies cover the cost, participation tends to go up. Employees don’t have to weigh whether a small expense is worth it, and it shows that the company cares about creating shared moments. If your budget is tight, even a $10 cap can work—what matters is that it’s clear and consistent.
- Employee-funded: This can also work! It just requires a conversation with everyone in advance to make sure everyone is on the same page with the budget.
Get approval early
Send Finance or leadership a simple note: headcount × price cap = maximum cost. Early sign-off avoids last-minute questions.
Document the decision
Spell out the budget clearly in every invitation and reminder so no one forgets. Don’t assume people will remember the budget weeks after the invite was sent! Repeating the spending limit in reminders, calendar invites, and the platform itself eliminates confusion.
2. Decide on the Gifts
Option A: Host-managed gifts
The host or organizer selects all items and adds them to the platform as links.
Option B: Participant-submitted gifts
Each player finds and adds a product link of their own. The host can approve submissions if necessary to confirm they match the budget and workplace guidelines.
You can also opt for a hybrid model, where some people submit gifts and others choose from a pre-approved list. This allows flexibility while maintaining control over quality and budget. Hosts can curate a “suggested gifts” doc to help those who feel stuck or indecisive.
Gift guidelines
Encouraged: handy office gadgets, books, puzzles, non-perishable snacks, digital gift cards.
Avoid: alcohol (shipping rules differ), items that could offend, clothing that requires size guesses.
If you want to make gift selection easier, consider providing a short list of approved gift ideas to your team. This helps avoid decision fatigue and ensures all submissions align with your team’s values. Platforms like WhiteElephantGame.com also flag gifts that are over budget, so you don’t have to be the budget police!
Themes
Themes can be a fun way to spice up your exchange. Themes might include "Gag Gifts," "Gifts for Foodies," “Only Local Products,” “Work-From-Home Essentials,” or “Something That Sparks Joy.”
Don’t underestimate how creative people can get when they have a little direction! A themed prompt gives people permission to be clever or playful without second-guessing themselves. And for teams who’ve done this more than once, switching up the theme each year keeps things fresh. You might even let the team vote on a theme ahead of time. It adds anticipation and gets people engaged before the game even begins.
3. Configure the Rules
Decide on rules like:
- Max steals per gift: We recommend 3 to prevent any gift from being passed around too much
- Maximum amount one player can be stolen from: We recommend 2 to prevent any one player from being singled out
- Bonus turn for the first player: We recommend yes as the first player should get a chance to steal!
- Turn time: We’ve seen teams play with everything from 15 seconds to 2 minutes per turn, and we recommend ~45 seconds to balance keeping the game moving with giving players enough time. If your group is extra chatty, go longer, but for larger groups, keep it short and sweet to maintain momentum.
You can even make up your own rules! Some teams introduce a “wild card” gift that gets automatically swapped at the end, or allow players to offer trades post-game for fun. Just be sure to keep things simple enough that people can follow along.
4. Schedule and Invite
- Run a poll to find a time slot that suits the majority.
- Calendar invite: include a video conferencing link, gift budget, gift submission deadline, and the game link.
- Check accessibility if anyone uses assistive technologies.
5. Add Some Holiday Flair
A few low-effort ideas can go a long way in making your event feel more festive:
- Dress-up prompts: Ask teammates to wear holiday sweaters, Santa hats, or even pajamas.
- Virtual backgrounds: Share a handful of fun holiday-themed Zoom backgrounds ahead of time, or let everyone pick their own and surprise the group.
- Opening music: Play a short clip of holiday music when people join the call.
- Icebreakers: Start with a quick warm-up question like, “What was the weirdest gift you ever received?”
If you’re using a platform to manage the event, many already include small animations or virtual gift-wrapping effects. Those little touches make the whole experience feel a bit more special and polished, without you having to do extra work
6. Host the Game
Prep before the game: Make sure you’re set up as the host in both your video call and the game platform. Do a tech test the day before so you’re not scrambling with screen sharing on the fly. Have the rules visible on your screen or pinned in chat for quick reference.
00:00: Welcome, remind everyone of rules
02:00: Share the game tab; random order appears
03:00: Player 1 unwraps a gift
Each turn: Next player unwraps or steals
Final turn: Player 1 may steal if the rule is enabled
End: Thank everyone and explain shipping or reimbursement steps
Tips: Keep cameras on if possible and have players tell the host which gift they want to unwrap to keep the event engaging.
7. Follow Up
- Automatic summaries: most platforms email each participant their final gift and next steps.
- Shipping: set a clear deadline and provide addresses if players are shipping gifts themselves
- Reimbursements: provide a form or link to your expense system.
- Feedback: a one-question survey helps improve next year’s event.
It’s also helpful to include gift fulfillment deadlines, especially if people need to ship items themselves. Consider making a shared doc to track who has sent or received their gift if you’re not using a platform that automates that.
A few teams we’ve seen even do a quick “Best Gift” or “Most Stolen Item” vote afterward—just for fun. It adds a sense of closure and gives you stories to laugh about next year.
8. Sample Timeline
Nov 15: Finalize budget
Nov 18: Open the platform and send invites
Dec 1: Gift submission reminder
Dec 5: Submission deadline
Dec 8: Game day
9. FAQ
What if someone forgets to submit a gift?
Have 1–2 backup gifts ready to assign.
Can people spend more than the budget?
Stick to the cap. It keeps things simple.
What if someone disconnects?
Platforms like WhiteElephantGame.com will automatically slot them back into the turn order once they rejoin.
10. Tips for First-Time Hosts
Never hosted a virtual White Elephant before? You’ve got this. Here are a few tips that can make it easier:
- Do a practice run: Even just 10 minutes with a coworker the day before can help you feel confident with the tech.
- Keep energy up: Be positive, encourage reactions, and don’t be afraid to narrate each gift reveal with a little personality.
- Prep a backup plan: Whether it’s a spare gift or an extra co-host, having a fallback keeps things stress-free.
Think of yourself more like an emcee than a referee. Your job is to keep things moving and help people have fun, not to be perfect.
11. Final Thoughts
If you’re on the fence about doing this virtually, don’t be. With a solid plan and a little buy-in from your team, a remote White Elephant can be just as fun as the in-person kind, and sometimes even smoother. The format translates surprisingly well online, especially when people know what to expect and everything runs on schedule. It’s a simple way to bring people together, have a few laughs, and end the year on a lighter note.
Stick to a clear budget, communicate well, and use a tool (or this checklist) to handle logistics. Whether you’re using a platform or managing it yourself, a little planning makes the event smooth and memorable.
Lastly, don't worry about being overly polished. The charm of White Elephant is in the unexpected moments: the weird gift someone thought was hilarious or the dramatic steal that surprised everyone! If people are laughing, you’re doing it right. The rest is just logistics.