I Love Office Parties

One of the many resolutions I've had in the past is to keep a gratitude journal.  I've read a lot of studies that show that gratitude is a huge contributor to happiness. So...  in the spirit of workplace happiness, once I week, I'd like to have a blog post about something I love about my job.

Because December was so full of parties, Heather Carson, who plans an annual White Elephant Gift Exchange and Pot Luck, postponed our party for January.

I really enjoyed the variety of food and the fun gifts people brought. And it was just fun to hear the laughter! So contagious!

For those of you who have never participated in a White Elephant Gift Exchange, it's a fun way to "re-gift" something you aren't too excited about keeping for yourself. It can be a gag or funny or just something that you already have enough of, but think someone else would enjoy. There's a chance to "steal" from someone else (up to 3 times) or to choose a wrapped mystery gift.  At our exchange, we had everything from the not-so-popular dryer balls to the very popular Leg Lampshade Night Light and Stupid Things People Say Desk Calendar.

Here are the rules Heather distributed:

How a White Elephant Gift Exchange works
1. Each guest who wishes to participate must contribute a gift. Everyone sits or stands in roughly a circle around the pile of gifts.
2. Prepare slips of paper equal to the number of gifts with clearly written numbers. Be sure to distinguish 6 from 9, 1 from 7. Each participating guest draws a number and holds onto that slip of paper.
3. On the first turn, the guest with paper slip #1 chooses a gift, opens it, and all admire it.
4. On the second turn, the guest with paper slip #2 gets the choice of "stealing" any unwrapped gift (#1's) or choosing a wrapped one. If #2 steals #1's gift, then #1 must open a wrapped gift.
5. On the third turn, the guest with paper slip #3 gets the choice of "stealing" any unwrapped gift (#1's or #2's) or choosing a wrapped one.

The game continues based on the following:
1. If a gift is stolen from you, you can steal a gift (within limits, described below), or open a wrapped one.
2. The turn proceeds until a wrapped gift is chosen.
3. A gift cannot be immediately stolen back from the guest who just stole it.
4. The fourth "owner" of a gift gets to keep it. The gift is "dead" after it has been stolen three times.
5. "Owners" of "live" gifts must keep them visible and hold them up when requested.
6. The gift exchange ends when the last wrapped gift is opened. Usually, guests are encouraged to perpetuate the gift stealing as long as there are "live" gifts, but no one is obligated to do this.

What do you love about your job?