White Elephant Bingo is a fun, post holiday party to throw. Post may contain affiliate links.
I love annual traditions/events. It’s something to look forward to and something I can add to every year. One of our annual parties we are always excited about is our White Elephant Bingo party. This was our 3rd year throwing it (see our first one here!).
It all started back when we challenged ourselves to throw 9 parties in 9 weeks. We thought it would help spice up the post holiday blues which come in the months of January and February.
And apparently we aren’t the only ones who look forward to it! A few of our friends were asking us back in December when we were going to host our White Elephant Bingo party. Another admitted that she had saved onto items she had purchased for this party a year before!
Guess those are all good signs it’s a fun event for everyone! 🙂
The Decor
Ever since my golden birthday, I have loved adding a touch of gold to parties whenever I can. So along with being elephant themed, I added a bit of gold.
And of course, if you know me, that means getting the guests involved as well. 🙂
So in the invites, guests were asked to wear gold apparel to the party. And if anyone walked in lacking bling, I had an ample supply of gold necklaces
And what would a White Elephant Bingo party be without a white elephant?! Am I right?!
The Menu
We asked our guests in the invitations to bring a finger food to share. I don’t do this for all the parties I throw because often I want everything to color coordinate. But for this one, I was not as particular about that and was much more interested in the party preparation time it saved me!
But with that being said, I still didn’t want it to look like a potluck. So to help with the aesthetics, I had several versatile white dishes and cake stands
Well…
I did my best, but we just had a lot of food! And everything was delicious!
We served my family’s tasty raspberry punch which is always a favorite. Just ask me if you want the recipe, it is super simple to throw together.
Playing White Elephant Bingo
So you may be wondering what in the world is “White Elephant Bingo”? Well just pretend that Bingo and the White Elephant Exchange had a baby…
No, really, that is the best way to describe it!
Just like in White Elephant, each guest brings a gift and will be most likely leaving with someone else’s. The twist in White Elephant Bingo is that playing Bingo helps determine who gets to pick or steal a present.
After everyone has been able to call out “BINGO!” at least once, we have a final round in which we play black out for one last steal.
In years past, we have just used a bingo calling app to call out the numbers. But this past Christmas, I surprised my husband with a bingo set
But I still prefer my vintage inspired bingo cards that I designed for our 1st White Elephant Bingo Party. And we didn’t dare replace our traditional hershey kisses markers! They are definitely a favorite in more ways than one!
The coveted items of the night were a complete movie package, ‘cold hard cash’ (literally. There was frozen dollars in ice!) and, oddly enough, a disturbing furry cat that dances to music. Who would have thought?!?!?
This party is always a blast! What fun activities do you fill your month of January with? Have you ever thought of throwing a White Elephant Bingo party?
Well…
perhaps you should. 😉
How many guests do you usually have? I got excited and invited 25 friends and all of them are coming!! Now I’m freaking out about time!
Hi Anne! That sounds like it’s going to be fabulous! There are 7 couples that come each year to ours, so that totals 14. I’m predicting that not all 25 of your friends will show up (someone will get sick or have an unexpected event they have to be to), but if they do, that would be awesome, the more the merrier! Did you ask everyone to bring an appetizer/treat to share? That will ensure their is food for everyone and won’t leave it all on your. Your activity will be a little longer due to the amount of people, but as long as you make sure things keep moving along, it will be fine! I’ve attended White Elephant parties (without the bingo aspect) with about 25 people and it was a lot of fun. Do you have enough seating? Enough bingo cards? If so, you are all set! What is making you nervous? I’m so excited for you!!!
Hi. Would you share your bingo cards?
Of course! Just scroll up, the link to the bingo cards I designed are in the post. 🙂
One quick question- if someone calls BINGO more than once, do they get more than one gift, or do you keep playing, BUT only get one gift? Such a fun idea!
Hi Carrie,
It is A LOT of fun! How we play is if someone wins another bingo, they can “steal” (swap) a gift from someone that already has a gift. They do not get a second gift nor can they pick a new gift from the table of unwrapped gifts. And that person that got their gift swapped just keeps that gift, they cannot swap with anyone else. By the end, there are some pretty coveted items. 🙂
We totally have to do this!!!!! I have been wanting to start a holiday party (maybe a Christmas in July party since the holidays are so crazy, though a January party is a great idea!) I am saving this and definitely doing it!
Hi Carlee! Wahoo! I’m glad I sparked an idea for a party for you! I cannot wait to hear how your party goes! It really is a lot of fun and not too much hassle to throw. 🙂